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

ts@a $50 - e1h 1919 VI
three hundred years under Spanish
domination they have been under con-
of ignorance. But. as one of
the men who is seeking TO oppose this
thai. Is pending. calling him
self a delegate from Porto Rico. in
the committee on insular affairs. in
answer TO the question, Are they COM
petent TO down there If you give
local governments" said. NO;
they did not read or write. but h in
tellisent people tell them TO do
He said. You can depend on us to tell
them right and on their following.
is the kind of local government
that you want in a holy minute. l
want ii as rapidly as possible; it may
next year. possibly a partial
civil government this year. but just
soon as we can. What is there at
present? A military government I'M
der the president. and until congress
changes it it viii there remain. A
people whose markets are destroyed by
their divorce from Spain; a people
whose crops have been destroyed by
the most destructive hurricane of
many, many years a aforementioned
people who want to do h best they
can. but who have not much to do
with. being the victims of misfortune
Now. what is the best thing to do?
You and | have to determine that Do
you wan to appropriate money from
the United States treasury-S2,OO0.0O0
for the coming year-to support those
people? "Oh. ii is splendid" you
gentlemen on the other side seem to
say, Ito tear down a structure" o
are good at h Thank God, you
never succeeded at any great rate, bur
you have always been trying eve
since l was born to teal down some
thing. but | never saw you success
fully build up anything. not even q
piCpen. nor even
(Laughter.)
But you say. "Oh. no.: do not enact
this bill" What then? Two million
dollars from the treasury of the United
States to be appropriated for these
Porto Ricans. You are seeking to
be the majority tomorrow. You say
tina you are going to stand together
and vote against this bill. You say
that Won are going to have enough re-
Inducements from this 3de of Nhe
house TO give you a majority. l do
not believe it: but you say so. What
are you going to do? If you spread
free trade over those people and make
no provision for immediate money are
you going to vote il out of the treas
ury? We on this side have to cor
struct: we have got to look ont; Y
have got to do something. This =
must pass or we must vote S2.0OHp
out of the treasury for II ON
year TO care for Porto Rico. We
not like to do that.
But there is another alternative, o.
which has been proposed and We
greatly urged by the delegates. sell
styled in the main, from Porto Rico.
with their American assistants-a
course suggested by some very good
men for our consideration and greatly
urged by some of these people-name-
ly, that we enact a law of congress
bonding the island for $4,000 900.
with or without the United States
guaranty. and pass the money thus
raised over to these Porto Rican dele
gates, to be loaned out TO the people
But that is as wild a project as the
government warehousing scheme was
down in the southern states when the
Populist party was on the rampage. a
party which stole your machinery, by
the way. my Democratic friends. Those
are two of the alternatives. What Is
the third? This bill. What will this
bill doI If enacted, it raises $1,000
600 the first year. 1t begins to raise
this money the yery day it is enacted,
and Will raise more money the first
month than it will the last of the Il
months that it is in operation. Twenty
upon what. Practically upon tobacco
and sugar. Coffee already comes In
free. But the coffee plantations were
destroyed. The old crop in the hands
of the raisers was practically destroy
ed. There is not much coffee to come
in. 1t could come row as well a.
hereafter, but il is not there. There
are 100000 pounds of tobacco there
in the hands of whom?
Ii that tobacco should come to the
United States. paying 30 cents :
pound. that would be S1.05O,Ooo upoI
tobacco in the hands of the America
tobacco trust waiting over there il
Porto Rico for free trade with Port
Rico to come in. Who gets that 81.
10000? VIII it decrease the price
No. there is so little of it in com
parison with the tobacco used in til.
United States that its competition
would not lower the price of tobace,
to any appreciable extent VIII tht
sum of S1.05o.oo0 go into the pockels
of tine poor Porto Ricans tina you ar.
agonizing about, my Missouri friend
No: they have parted with that to
bacco: but il is now in the hands o
the merchants. and thai SI.O50.OO.
viii 90 into the pockets of the Ameri
can tobacco trust, all in the name OF
and humanity and the poor Porte
Ricans. blessed by the crocodile tear
of the gentleman from Missouri. Is this
a fabief No: II Is an open secret in New
York in Washington in various parts
the United States, in Porto Rico
everywhere.
Now, let Us take the next item
sugar. What is the tax upon SUGAR.
We use in the United States 1000
tons of z year. Now.
keep that in mind. 100000 tons
Were does it come froms Fourteen
hundred thousand tons come from
foreign countries and pay ON the aver
3ge a duty Of SI-GU per hundred
3eo.a4o tens come from Hawaii
How much from Porto Rico. At the
ighest estimate Ga.eD ronS-one
fifth of the noun thai comes from
Hawaii Have you any sugar. ore