The Portland daily press., 1890-07-19
SECRETARY BLAINES PROPOSITIONS
Member of the Ways and Means
Committee Talks.
Spain Apparently Willing to Let Su-
gar Take Its Chance.
Effects Of the Letters TO Discourage
Tariff Legislation.

Boston, July 18.-The journal today
prints the following despatch from Webb,
its Washington correspondent:
The letter of Secretary Blaine relative to
sugar in Cuba and Porto Rico and the Nc
Kinley bill continues to excite attention
here. A number of the public men say they
do not understand how to explain and do
not see what the object Of Mr.. Blaine is. A
prominent member OF the committee on
ways and means who had great deal to do
with the sugar schedules, commenting on
the situation as it is presented in the view
of the latest letter of Mr.. Blaine, said today !:
SIN speaking about the sugars Of Cuba and
Porto Rico Mr.. Blaine brings a new element
into the contr oversy. Prior to this time
there has been no question as to the sugars
from those Spanish colonies. The amend
ment which Secretary Blaine proposed 10
the committee on ways and means, as we'll
as the amendment which he proposed in the
Senate and which is now pending at the in
stance of Mr.. Hale, does not include the su-
gars of Porto Rico and Cuba. 1t relates
only to the nations of the American conti-
nent and not to the colonial dependencies In
America. Of European powers. Now the
America, outside of the islands of Cuba and
Porto Rico. the colonies of Spain, are incon-
siderable in amount. There is little from
Venezuela, and there is some in Brazil, but
the quantity is not enough to make an appre-
clable effect upon either our revenues or the
price of sugar. The great bulk of the sugars
produced on this continent are grown ON the
islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. Yet Mr.
Blaine himself did not contemplate these
sugars as an element in the general question
of the basis for negotiating reciprocity treat
les when he had his hearing before the Re-
publican members of the committee on ways
and means early in tue session, and this was
not because the sugar grown on these two
islands was overlooked. On the contrary
Secretary Blaine was particularly asked by
whether or not he had any reason to believe
that any negotiations of that sort
would be entered into with Spain rela-
tive to the sugars of Porto Rico and Cuba.
He answered that he had no such informa-
tion, and did not believe that it would be
with Spain. The suggestion of Cuba and
Porto Rico in recent letter, therefore, must
have been an afterthought. 1t is not true,
moreover, that the Administration has any
recent information which would warrant the
suggestion contained in that letter. Mr.
Blaine has, so far as the Administration
knows, no further knowledge in that respect
than he had at the time of the interview of
the Republican members of the Committee
on Ways and Means, when he said there
was no chance Of entering into any nego-
tiation Of the sort with Spain respecting the
sugar grown upon colonial islands in the
West Indies.
SIN order to make it entirely sure that there
Is no mistake about this matter, President
Harrison was directly asked yesterday
or additional information as to the disposi-
tion of Spain on this subject, and il the
Administration had been advised that Spain
was ready to listen to any such suggestions
as are contained in the letter of Mr.. Blaine; /;
whether resolution calling for such infor-
nation on the part of Congress was desired.
The Presidents reply was that the Admins
tration was in receipt of no recent infor-
nation upon the subject, and had never re-
ceived a suggestion that Spain was
tain such propositions relative to sugar in
Cuba and Porto Rico as are referred to in the
letter from Mr.. Blaine. The President also
said that no resolution from Congress asking
for such information was at all desirable.
The sugar OF these two Spanish West In
dian islands" continued this member of the
committee on ways and means, "is the key
note to the whole position. Without being
able to secure the concessions which Mr..
Blaine recommends as to the sugars of these
Islands, the letter has no practical value. If
applied TO the sugars produced in the other
nations, as the amendment proposed by Mr..
bale calls for, the effect would not be to Sc
cure anything in return that would be of
value, and it would also not reduce the price
the letter letter of Mr. % Blaine comes IN ait altogether r
too late. 1t was presented to the Republican
members of the committee on ways and
means and was carefully considered by
them. AT the same time the Republican
members Of that committee had petition
signed by ninety Republican members of the
House from the Western States demanding
that sugar be made free, or at least that the
legislation in the tariff bill should be so
shaped that the price OF sugar must necessa-
rily be greatly reduced. The demand Of the
West, they said, was for free sugar.
''In view, therefore, of this demand from
more than two-thirds of the Republicans of
the House, it Is difficult to see what the Re-
publican members of the committee on ways
and means could have done different from
what they did do; and the suggestions of Mr..
Blaine, which have now been renewed In the
Senate. can have no other effect, 1t seems to
me, than to create the opinion that it may be
as well not to have any tariff legislation and
to go away in the possible. hope that the
conditions referred to by Mr.. Blaine
Aside from that depressing effect upon
any tariff legislation it does not seem
to me, and am sure that it does not seem to
any of the other Republican members of the
committee on ways and means, that the let
ter of Mr. Blaine can have any other effect
than to discourage all efforts for tariff legis-
lation at this session. In that respect, un-
doubtedly. the publication of the letters is
to be regretted. Unless Mr.. Blaine has in
formation as to the probable attitude Of
Spain with respect to the sugars grown in
Cuba and Porto Rico different from that of
which the President has knowledge, the lat
est suggestion In his letter on this subject
will have no practical effect. For my part, l
am not willing to have a repetition of the
experience of the United States with the
Sandwich Islands. That would seem to me
to be the penalty of carrying into effect some
of the recommendations of Mr.. Blaine with
respect to the countries Of Central and South
America. AS matter of fact now we give
in effect five million dollars to the Hawaiian