Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1900-03-13

Who owns 1t? Does the poor Porto Ri
can who cannot read and can not write.
own IL? No. 1t is an open secret that
what ever is there today Is held
by the great American sugar trust:
and when il comes INTO the United
States, il II comes before legislation
Is enacted. IL pay SLIGO . hundred.
Nj friends on the other side OF the
house say we ought to have free trade
and open ports. and at once. The
sugar then coming in and the tobacco
coming in will bring down the price
Of sugar in the United States. Il that
a fact? No. Why Mr.. Chairman. for
80 years. under reciprocity. we have
had free trade with the Hawaiian ISL
ands, as far as sugar is concerned.
and although 800. 600 tons come in
from those islands, 1t IL 50 little. In
comparison to the consumption of this
country, that II o e not bring down
the price of the other 100000 tons
that we import in the United States.
That brings up the price, and the SLIGO
a hundred is rdded to the price Of all
IL sugar coming into our borders
free. because sH7the sugar on hand in
Porto Rico. II admitted in that amer
under the operation of the pending
bill. would nor affect prices materially.
Why. Mr.. Chairman. these W great
trusts have control now Of both Of
these products in the island, and the
moment they land here the price
jumps up by the amount of the Ding
ley tariff bill. and they put the money
in their pockets. Who can dispute
that proposition?
Is this a feeble thing? Is 1t worthy
or unworthy of consideration? l re-
peat again that in the opinion Of all
men of ordinary intelligence who
have examined the matter is that nc
better proposition could be suggested
! than that now before the house, al
though gentlemen on The other l
agonize about the question of trusts,
and tell us about their constitutional
s%cruples, or, in other words. manage
to get into heir hearts M principle
while in their voices and votes they
enunciate another. They have the voice
Of Jacob, but the hand Of Esau.
Laughter and applause on the Repub-
| lican side.1
Now. the Republican party in a ma
5ority In tdds house. with a majority
in the senate, and with the president
of the United States, chargeable with
all that is done, responsible before the
people. having the power to come and
give their best thought and Judgment
to this legislation, must meet the re-
sponsibilities that are thrust upon
them. GApplause.1
Now, l van to be fair. In my
Judgment. my Democratic friends
are not really at heart opposed to
this bill. 1 tell you what they are
hoodooing about. ILaug lter.l They
see that II this humane anu proper
measure is passed and goes into effect.
1t will tell all the country anu all the
world that the American congress.
with it's American civilization. with
its laws and constitution, has the DOW
er to be practical. and they say, 1--WE
will take nothing. when We go out
with h boyle man and with Bryan
and Sulzer or Bryan and somebody
else: we will take nothing when we
go out and undertake to scare the peO-
pie, when we talk of the 81 tribes Of
barbarians, of the SuIu sultan with his
wives, of the Negritos and the Malay
races, and that they will never In 500
years come up to be competent for the
same kind of government that we have.
and that it will cost money, and that
it is wicked. and from the standpoint
OF policy We can not keep them. and
therefore we are going to throw them
away, although we pledged to keep
them. although we paid $40, OOO. 600 In
the bargain, let us throw them away
because 1t Is not safe: the constitu-
ton jumps over there on 1000 legs.
and you can not deal with them"
prolonged laughter and applause.J
The cry has zone forth, For Gods
sake let us defeat the BILL" because its
enactment would show that we
can deal with all questions un-
del our form Of civilization, our
laws and constitution. all tina humani-
~ and civilization demand. fAp-
plause on the Republican side.I There
Is the conflict, there Is the fight you
are trying to put up. There is the
foundation you are trying to lay. And
while Individually 1 do not believe
you would do it, at the expense Of
the starvation of the Porto RIcans.
collectively l believe you would sacri-
fee a great many things and a great
many people to your theories, and for
any faint prophecy of success that
might come 10 you on the evening
winds from the voice Of yonr great
somersault leader. fLaughter.I
In conclusion, Mr.. Speaker and gen.
tlemen, / eliev in our civilization. Ia
our blood, and in what comes to us
by h~eredity; in Dur literature, In our
language, In our science, In our prog
ress, In our capacity to govern our
selves and help better the condition of
those that are necessarily brought In
contact with us. I believe IN the prog
ress of the Anglo-American-G German
French Irish Scotch combination.
Laughter and a~pplause-1 1 believe
now. as we have one common purpose
that We are competent to take care OF
our constitution and Of the civilization
of which IT Is the product 1t Ii no,
the constitution which preserves our
civilization. but 1t Is our civilization
which preserves the constitution.
To illustrate. in Mexico they have a
constitution, an exact copy u ours.
spent some months there q few rears
ago, studying Mexico and the grand
man who is president. and the man
who gives b only possible govern
ment TO Mexico: yet while II In n
republic In form. with state govern
ments in form and state constitutions
ike unto ours. there IL no where ON
earth Russia not excepted. tina has -
autocratic, % desDotic EovGxnmant -