, 1900-04-12
SOMETHING WORTH READING.
The Porto Rican Bill Graphically handl-
ed by Speaker Henderson IN a
Letter 10 a Friend.

l'iV~oibciiVf WHO thoroughly agreed
with us all and worked with might
and main to get the house bill pas
sed, and has been so working in
the senate, The question for me
to settle, as an individual repre-
sentative, is what is my duty.
Now let me get this matter clearly
in your mind, for sooner or later
the country will understand our
position.
81. There are large quantities
of tobacco and sugar in Porto Ri
co, bought up by trusts and syndi-
Gates. They want to get that into
rhe United States free of any duty,
and, when once in, of course, it
will sell in the markets at the same
rates as the tobacco and sugar
which have to pay the full tariff,
thus giving hundreds of thousands
of dollars of profits to the syndi-
Gates, etc. The trusts and syndi-
Gates are fighting the bill and /
have given you the reason why.
There has not been, nor is there
now, to my knowledge, a lobby
here working for the Porto Rican
bill, but these syndicates and the
Goldfish of New England and other
interests including the -four inter
ests, are all trying to get into Por-
to Rico without paying the Is per
cent duty on their products, as
proposed in the bill. While un-
der the Dingley law a rate of 81,
to illustrate, is imposed upon a
certain article, under the house
bill. it would only pay Is cents.
-. Now why have we imposed
this 10 per cent of the Dingley
tariff? Let me answer this. Por-
to Rico is poor and has been swept
by devasting floods. Her people
are net at this time and in their
present condition, able to pay the
expenses of their government. No
one wants the United States to
pay the expenses of running the
government of any of our several
new possessions. The people
themselves III each of the islands
or groups should pay their own
expenses. How is Porto Rico to
do this now that she has no local
government? We must first give
her n local government, and both
houses of congress are at work on
that problem, and, in my opinion,
that problem will be wisely solved
when it is done, but it will take a
year and a half or two years to
formulate a government for her
and to put 1t i'll running order, so
that these people with their own
government machinery, may raise
money to run their W govern
ment. In the meantime, what
should we do? Follow the advice
of the syndicates and trusts and
tax Ibis desolate island, its lands
or its limited productions? Or do
as we propose and put this triHing
duty upon the exports and imports
of the Porto Ricans, and give
every dollar of it back to them to
run their governmentY
This will be felt by none except
the syudicates and trusts aud such
other interests MS will do the buy
ing there and the shipping to POI
to Rico. Indirectly, of course,
some Of this will be paid by the
consumers, but it will fall lightly
upon them, and the burden will
be imperceptible, while a direct
tax would be simply brutal and
lnhntnan. The bill also provides
that this tax shall expire in two
years which is time enough to al
low the government machinery of
Porto Rico to get into working or.
der. There is n proposition to put
n permanent duty upon Porto Ri
co. This is merely a temporary
experiment for her own interests.
My friend, never was n bill so
misreprerented and SO misunder.
stood rs our Porto Ricau bill, aud
the time will come in the near fu-
ture when those who propose a
direct tax, which would result from
absolute free trade, will suffer in
every possible way for their mis-
,r,fl.l .,,,lH.t F.. NJ. ..In 4 /