St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-05-03
EvApED THE TREATY.
Abundant Reason for the
Abandonment Of the Reel
proeity Policy.
Cuba Imposes an Export
Tax Equal to the Duty
RENTED.
The Spanish Government Also
Inclined to Make
Trouble.
Brazil Not Living Up to
the Letter of the
Treaty.

WASHINGTON, May Am evening
paper has this: Abundant reason for
the abandonment of the policy of reel
procity under the Mckinley dill exists
in the complaints received by the state
department regarding the eyasionS OF
the treaty by Spanish officials in Cuba.
The Spanish government was forced
into the treaty by the diplomacy of Mr..
Blaine, because Of the fear that il the
Cuban sugar growers were deprived OF
their market in the United States
through reciprocity arrangements with
other sugar-growing countries they
would rise in revolt against Spain.
The government apparently intends
to make the treaty so unpopular that
it will fall to the ground of its own
weight, and has imposed an excise tax
nearly equal to the duties RENTED by
the Mckinley bill. The Spanish minis
ter gave the assurance when the negoti-
atlOns were in progress that no export
or special duty, national or provincial,
should be imposed on exports which the
United States admitted free of duty, but
the new excise tax, although levied on
sugar for domestic consumption, prac-
tically accomplishes the purpose of an
export duty.
Our government will either protest
strongly against this tax or wipe out
the whole treaty and leave the Cuban
growers to face
A Possible Import Duty
under our new tariff. The Spanish gov
eminent has also shown its inclination
to make trouble by its action regarding
the schedules of articles on which
duties were reduced by the treaty. Such
schedules were to have been prepared
at Washington, as the result of consul
tatiOn between the Spanish minister
here and the state department, but
Spain has twice prepared schedules OF
her own, and Secretary Foster sent
strong protest last summer to Madrid
against this violation of the treaty.
The Brazilian government is also
making trouble over the treaty with
that country, but is not apparently VIC
lating the treaty so dagrantly as the
government of Spain. 1t was under
stood when the schedules of discrimina-
lions in favor of the United States were
made that the general scale of Brazilian
import duties might be raised. The
in favor of this country
were based upon reductions of 25 per
cent on the duties levied on imports
from ether countries, whatever those
might be. Brazil took advantage of this
to raise her dutiable sched
ules as soon as the reciprocity
arrangement was made, and she
was obliged to do so, in
order to obtain sufficient revenue for
carrying on the federal government.
The result has been a very small net
gain to American merchants, while the
people of Brazil are complaining of the
Increased schedules against other couD-
tries and the complications arising from
the determinations in favor of thu
United States. The reciprocity ar
with both Spain and Brazil
would probably be wiped out at once,
but for the desire of the administration
to proceed deliberately and to make our
policy toward the southern countries
dependent upon revision of our entire
fiscal system.