The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-03-09
The Republicans and Puerto
Rico.

themselves toward Puerto Rico,
a thick and thin administration
organ loudly boasts of the latest
act in this political tragi comedy
as "a stroke of bold, broad states
manship." Adulation of power
could scarcely go a greater
length than this display of senil
ity. In order to better estimate
this "stroke" a brief review of
the acts and facts which have led
up to it may be permitted, says
the Philadelphia Record.
When President Mckinley de-
clared in his December message
that the "plain duty" of Con
gress to open our markets to free
trade with Puerto Rico as the
only means of enabling its inhab-
itantS to recover from the blows
of recent years there was a gen
eral assent to the proposition on
political as well as humane
grounds. In accordance with
this view the Ways and Means
Committee prepared a bill to es-
tabliSh free trade between the
United States and Puerto Rico,
in consideration of the fact that
Puerto Rico already constituted
a territory of the United States,
and was, therefore. entitled to
free intercourse with the rest of
the country. This policy was
not merely necessary for the sore
ly tried PuertOriquenos who had
been made dependent upon the
support of the United States 10y
the fortunes of war, but it was
demanded by the constitutional
form of our government. The
Constitution as well as the moral
obligation of the United States
toward Puerto Rico joined in de-
handing free trade with the is.
land as the only reasonable sOlu-
ton of a difficulty.
Then, however, when the
Payne free trade bill was ready
to report there began to rise muir
murs of opposition from interests
with which the Republican lead
ers from the President down felt
obliged to reckon. 1t began to
dawn upon the majority in Con-
gress that it would be imprudent
to provoke these interests not
only, but to establish a precedent
that might be applied hereafter
to trade relations with the Philip.
pines and possibly with Cuba.
No sooner did the Republican
leaders become penetrated with
this fear than all considerations
of moral obligations toward Pu.
ertO Rico and all misgivings as to
the Constitution and its require
ments melted into thin air, The
same oratOrical facility with
which Payne and Dalzell and
Dolliver and GrOsvenor were pre-.
pared to advocate free trade with
Puerto Rico was brought into
/ requiSition in behalf of bill to
impose discriminating tariff
on the island and tie up its COM
mercial arteries in face of the
Constitutional provision that "all
duties, excuses and impOsts
shall be uniform throughout the
United States" In addition to
the cheap rhetoric that was put
to this service all the power of
the administration was employed
to stihe the opposition of cOnsci-
entious Republican opponents of
the iniquity.
Finally, when the blunder of
the Payne tariff was consummat.
ed, so far as the Republican ma
jority of the House and the adj
ministration are concerned, the
President sent in his message
recommending an appropriation
of So, 000,0 900 as aims to the Pu-
ertO Ricans. 1t is thought that
the prompt passage of this bill
by the House will soothe the con-
sciences of the American people
and conciliate the inhabitants of
Puerto Rico with a policy that
malignly discriminates against
their trade and against them
selves. The sum that is wrung
from them by an unjust levy Of
duties with one hand is returned
to them with the other in aims
and bounty. One sad mistake
of this policy is in overlooking
the fact that the people of Puerto
Rico, are descendants of the
Spaniards, though poor, are not
wanting in honorable pride. 1t
will require something more than
this money-giving to reconcile
them with legislation which treats
them as vassals beyond the pro-
lection of the Constitution of the
United States.
Such is the "bold, broad states
manship" which the American
people are invited to contemplate
with admiration. 1t is a states
manship of aims giving that
would sacrifice such sentiments
of policy towards Puerto Rico,