New-York tribune., 1900-03-07
THE PUERTO RICAN BILL.
IT'S PASSAGE BY THE SENATE EN-
PECTED-REPUBLICAN TO HOLD
CONFERENCES.
TBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRrBUSE.I

TBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRrBUNE.1
Washington, March 6.-The prospect now Is
that the Puerto Rican bill will pass the Senate
by a safe majority. 1t is reported that the
committee will accept the amendment of which
Senator McCumber has given notice. providing
for the free admission of breadstufrs and meat
products into Puerto Rico from the United
States 1t is expected that this amendment
VIII make the bill satisfactory to the Mime
sofa and other Northwestern Senator'S and that
all of them will support 1t. Most of the bread
stuffs and meat products now exported from the
United States to Puerto Rico are admitted free
of duty, under Executive orders issued last fall,
a few weeks after the hurricane, and all the
food supplies, medicines and clothing contributed
by private benevolence in the United States for
the relief of the destitute and suffering in
habitants of the island were also admitted free
of duty
Persons who loud in their denunciations
Of the Puerto Rican tariff rates adopted by the
House of Representatives and charge that
body with design and attempt to oppress the
Puerto Ricans-to "starve them to DEATH
either do not know what the rates or care
fully conceal the facts. In either case the alb
surdity of their contention is clearly apparent
in the light of the truth.
THE FACTS AS TO TARIFF RATES.
There were imported into Puerto Rico from
the United States in the month of January,
1900 $500 barrels of flour, the average export
price of which was S3 A a barrel. The duty
on it, II the Puerto Rican Tariff bill had been
a law and in force. would have been 3$a per
cent ad valorem, equivalent to 12.9 cents
a barrel. which was 3S.7 cents barrel less
than It would have been If imported from Spain
in 1897. Really, it does though the
wheat millers Of the Northwest unduly ex-
tied and exercised on account of the PROPOSE
ton to impose duty Of 3A per cent ad valorem
on their product for the benefit of Puerto Rfcan
revenues, duty which would amount to 81 W
a hundred barrels.
Similar small rates OF duty proposed to
be levied on other food products imported into
Puerto Rico from the United States. The chief
articles of food consumption, so far as an over
wheIming proportion of the Puerto Rican popu-
lation Is concerned, are wheat. flour, cornmeal,
rye beans and peas. Goldfish, bacon, hams, salted
pork and lard. The proposed duty on cornmeal
is cents bushel. 4S pounds; rice, $40 OF
cent pound beans. So cents a bushel of GU
pounds; Goldfish. 1.125-1, 600 cent a pound, or
11A cents the 100 pounds; bacon and hams, q
of a cent pound: salted and picked pork, 3A
per cent ad valoreu,, 1SA cents the 100
pounds; lard $40 Of l cent a pound, 80
cents the 100 pounds.
SUGAR AND TOBACCO DUTIES
The chief products Of Puerto Rico for exporta-
ton are sugar. coffee and tobacco The hurri-
cane of August, 1899. destroyed the coffee
plantations. and comparatively little coffee will
be produced for export in the next four years.
Coffee is admitted into the United States free
of duty. The total import Of that commodity
from Puerto Rico from November 1, 1898. to
January 81 1900, amounted to $780, .631 pounds.
The proposed duty on Puerto Rican tobacco will
O = a mound which is
to % 1-10 per cent ad valorem on the average
value of the importations in January, 1900. The
men who advocate this small rate of duty in
Congress are characterized corruptonists and
denounced as tools of the tobacco trust by pro-
fessional free traders and tobacco spectators
in Puerto Rico. The proposed duty on sugar
testing 96 degrees-the highest grade below
fined sugar-would amount to a small fraction
over 25A cents the hundred pounds, about
10 7-10 per cent ad valorem. and the advocates
Of this rate Of duty in Congress are charged
with being tools of the Sugar Trust. which
wants the sugar admitted free OF duty, and de-
nounced as worse oppressors of the poor Puerto
Ricans than was Spain which laid a duty of
nearly SO one hundred pounds of sugar
from Puerto Rico. The importations Of such
sugars into the United States from Puerto Rico
in the period from November l. 1898. to January
81 1900 amounted to 115 562 343 pounds of the
importations were according TO the Dngey law,
and were IS per cent higher than the pending
bin proposes.
An amendment pror )sed by Senator Nelson
of Minnesota to the Puerto Rican bill to-day
provides for free trade between the United
States and Puerto Rico but it is understood
he will support the bill If the McCumber amend
ment shall be adopted.
1t is expected that the Republicans of the
Senate will hold a conference at an early day
to consider the Puerto Rican bill. and agree
upon a plan of action Those who favor this
course believe that If it had been pursued in
the House the Puerto Rcan Tariff bill would
have passed that body with less friction and
difficulty.
SUPREME COURT DECISION WANTED
The need of having the fulness and extent of
the authority of Congress to enact the legisla-
ton concerning the new possessions clearly de-
fined by the Supreme Court of the United States
is also perhaps more strongly realized than IL
before the minority in Congress had as
sumed and defended it's present attitude
1t is understood that the matter was consid-
cred and fully discussed in the Cabinet meeting
to-day, and that every member present sus-
tained the course pursued by the majority in the
House of Representatives The enactment pv
Congress of tariff for Puerto Rico different
from that of the United States will undoubtedly
bring about speedy judicial determination of
the power and authority of Congress in the
premises-a result which is regarded of the ut
most Importance bearing directly on future
legislation for the Philippines.
VIEWS OF A CABINET MEMBER
Cabinet officer said to-day that free trade
with the Philippines meant the breaking down
of the protective tariff system; ii meant com
petition by inferior labor with American labor;
the manufacture of goods in the PHILIPPINES
with cheap labor and their shipment to This
country in competition with goods manufact-
ured here; the disruption of the open door
policy with the European nations in China
An