The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-05-30
ARTHUR ROPES. General Editor
Porto Kican Sugar.

The secretary of the treasury has
sent to the House of Representatives,
in response to resolution of inquiry,
the names of firms, individuals or cor
porations which had paid tariff duties on
merchandise of any kind imported into
the United States from Porto Rico
since the treaty with Spain, with the
amount paid by each. This statement
shows that the duties paid on sugar,
aggregated 81 ,487 1865, paid by eighteen
importers. OF this sum the American
Sugar Refining Company-commonly
known as the sugar trust-paid 1887
551, A. s. Lascelles & Co., $513 ,223,
and the remainder was in sums ranging
from S103,0 65 down to 50, 233.
While the Porto Rico tariff bill was
under consideration, its opponents in
the House and Senate, and throughout
the country, sought to cover the meas
ure with odium by charging that the
measure was dictated by the trusts, and
chief among these the sugar trust. 1t
was bhdb u Iowa NClJ lOW-
Republicans made this objection to the
bill. 1t was less singular that the Dem
ocrats, with whom these. Republican
Congressman allied themselves, should
oppose the measure on this ground,
for they are never scrupulous or ra-
tional in their opposition. Any old
thing suffices with them as reason.
1t is simply enough for them to know
that measure or principle is Repub-
lican, and it forthwith encounters their
hostility.
For example, Senator Jones, chair
man of the national Democratic COM
mittee, talked much against trusts, and
particularly the sugar trust. The real
quality of his enmity to trusts, and to
this "black BEAST among these asso-
Citations, the sugar trust, was shown by
the circumstance that he violently OPP
posed the proposition to levy duty of
fifteen per cent Of the Dingley tariff
rate on the imports of raw sugar from
Porto Rico. He commended for the adj
mission of Porto Rican sugar absolute
ly free from a tariff duty Of any kind
and his fellow Democrats-and small
number Of Republicans-in the House
and Senate for many days sustained his
contention in debate and by their votes.
Had he and his allies succeeded, many
thousands of dollars would have been
added to the profits Of the sugar trust,
instead of being applied to help and re-
generate the Porto Ricans.
Senator Jones and his fellow Demo
Gratis went much further than this in
their efforts to contribute to the treas
ury of the sugar trust. They proposed
to make this object of their lip abhor-
renee present of 1857 ,351, instead of
turning it over to the suffering inhabit-
ants of Porto Rico. When the bill to
appropriate and expend for the benefit
of Porto Rico all duties collected on i'm
ports from that island since April IL,
1899, amounting to more than $2,000,-
600, was pending in the Senate, Mr..
Jones offered an amendment to return
those duties "to the personsfrom whom
they were collected" If Mr.. Jones'
proposition had been adopted and his
desire realized, the sum Of 1857 ,551
would have been refunded to the sugar
trust from the treasury OF the United
States, as shown by the statement of
Secretary Gage of the amount of duty
the trust paid.
The public was divided at the time
as to the purpose OF the chairman OF
the Democratic national committee in
proposing this amendment, whether he
intended the sum he proposed the Unit
ed States should refund as recon-
pense for past or as bid for future
campaign favors, or simply as testi-
monial due to the trust. That no
honest purpose inspired his action was
apparent from the circumstance that he
sought to cover his intentions by loud
cries of fraud and corruption against
the trainers and supporters of the Por-
to Rican tariff. The chairman and hie
party are, however, under the embar.
RAISING necessity of explaining why
they preferred to restore this large sum
of$2,000,00 to the men who had pro.
perly paid it under the laws of the land
rather than to turn it over to the Porte
Ricans for their schools, roads and
other public or charitable works. The
Republicans can safely rest their case
as regards this whole affair.