Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1897-04-16
THE NEW TARIFF BILL
II is HIGHLY coMMENpE9 BY
FARMERS.
President Mckinley Makee q Good
Record In Dealing with the Cuban
Observation-Disclosures of the Work In
Behalf of international Bimetallism.
Week of Interest.

terest IN Washington, not only ut the
White House, where the applicants for
office are numerous and active, but
also at the Capitol. The tariff bill has
been under discussion and no farmer
could have listened to the discussion
without being able to clearly determine
who were his friends and who were not
his friends. The strong, vigorous argu-
ments of the Republican members Of
the Ways and Means Committee in be-
half of those features of the bill which
are especially beneficial to the farmers
OH the n hand, and the covert sneers
OF the Democratic and Populist orators
relative to the very features of the bill
on the other, show that the farmers Of
the country made no mistake when in
last November they voted the Republic
can party in power and the protective
system in operation. The Republican
members of the committee have shown
that the bill was framed with the in
tcrests of the farmers constantly in
mind, while the attacks upon that
measure by the Democrats have been
specially leveled at those features
which We're beneficial to the farmers.
Chairman Dingley in his opening adj
dress called especial attention to these
features, and Gen. Wheeler, of Confed-
crate fame, who led off the debate for
the free trade wing of the Democracy,
attacked tiercely those features of the
bill which are intended to be especially
valuable to the agricultural communi-
ty. Congressman Hopkins, of Illinois,
devoted Il large share Of his speech to
an explanation of the reciprocity fea-
lures, showing that under the rcciproc-
ity treaties made in pursuance of the
Mckinley law, great advantages We're
gained in foreign markets for our agri-
cultural products and that even great
err opportunities are offered by the new
bill; while Populist Bell, of Colorado,
who followed him in opposition to the
bill, especially attacked the wool sched-
ule and denounced the effort to give the
home market to the American work
men. and thus to the American pro-
ducers. Mr.. Bells speech was freight
ed with sneers at the wool tariff, the
sugar tariff, the tariff on flax and
hemp, and indeed everything in the
bill which is Republican in doctrine,
II which is intended to benefit the
farmer, and these attacks were coupled
with admissions on his part that even
his own State had good beet growing
soil. great opportunities for wool pro-
duction and other agricultural POSSIBLE
titles of extreme value. Populists and
Democrats seemed to vie With each
other in their denunciation of the tariff
measure. and all because it is the pro-
duction of the Republican party.
The Cuban Situation.
An interesting development of the
week has been the additional evidence
of the fact that the attitude of the new
administration with reference to the
protection of American citizens abroad
is being promptly recognized by the
Spanish Government. The contrast be-
tween the present conditions in Cuba
with reference to American citizens
and those which prevailed under the
Cleveland administration is strongly
marked and is the subject of much
comment on all hands. AS everybody
knows during the late administration
scores Of American citizens were inn
prisoned in Cuba, and whatever pre-
tence at a demand for their release was
made was of such n feeble character
as to fail in results. The ringing utter
ances of Senator Sherman, now Sec
rotary of State. in the closing days of
his service in the Senate, in which he
said that American citizens abroad
must and should be protected Mt all
hazards. coupled with the clear declar-
alton of President Mckinley on this
subject, in his inaugural address, have
had a marked and prompt effect in the
attitude of the Spanish Government
and in the few weeks since the new ad-
ministration came in, the prison doors
in Cuba have been thrown open and
large numbers of American citizens
who we're imprisoned there on the
slightest pretcXts, have been given
their freedom. All this has happened
without any buster or protest on the
part Of the new administration, but
simply a clear. vigorous statement of
policy which the Spanish Government
has been wise enough to recognize and
act upon without waiting for further
developments.
International Bimetallism.
While there has been no official an
hOuncement as to the immediate policy
of the administration regarding inter-
national blmetallism the developments
have been such as to warrant the con-
clusion that the negotiations for an in
ternational conference are to be under
taken through authorized representa-
tives of this Government at a very
early date. Whether this will be by
the appointment of special representa-
tives selected for this specific purpose
or through the ministers to the foreign
Governments is not yet clear, but 1t is
known that negotiations are being set
on foot already and that the admins
tration hopes to be able to bring about
a conference in the coming autumn
which will be participated in by the
great nations Of the world. Meantime
the friends of free coinage in the Uni