The Portland daily press., 1900-03-30
Senator Beyeridge's Speech
Feature of Debate.

While the vote Ia regarded as presaging
the passage CT the pending measure. 1t lie
not regarded rs Indicating ths haal vote
on the bill. The feature of the debate to-
day was the spesoh of MIR. Beveridge (In-
diana.) He advocated reciprocity be.
tween the Unit:d States and Porto Rico
but announced If all efforts to secure free
trade should fail, he would support the
pending bill. The bill was under discus
sion throughout the session, several I'm
portant amendments being u greed to.
The consular report on the diplomatic
consular appropriation bill was agreed
to In the Senate soon after it convened
to-day.
A concurrent resolution offered by
Mr. Culberson Of Texas, directing the
secretary of wEr and the secretary Of the
navy to "keep seasonably advised the
families of wounded soldiers and sailors,
Of the condition OF the men," was agreod
to. Consideration of the Porto Rico tariff
and government bill was then resumed.
Mr.. BsyeIidge of Indiana addressed the
Senate In support Of the proposition for
free trade between the United States and
the leland of Porto Rico. MIR. Bsveridge
s"idi
Reciprocity with Porto Rico IL not only
a matter of duty; 1t is a measure OF coon
cmio wisdom. 1t Is the reciprocity for
which the great statesmen Of the Repub-
lie have planned and toiled. And IL Is
reciDrocisy not with a foreign country,
but with our own Possession. IL is a
reciprocity of nature; Porto Rioan pro-
ducts supply what We need and can not
so we'll produce, we supply what Porto
Rico needs and can not as we'll produce.
1t Is . reciprocity decreed by natural
laws to which our acts must In the end
conform. 1t is a reciprocity mot made
by hands eternal In the heavens" 1t is
a reciprocity OF predestination-A rslA-
tiOn established in the nature OF things,
and as inevitable es Was our conflict W 18th
our race antagonist In the recent war.
When our markets are open to Porto Hi
can products industry will, and must OF
necessity, be stimulate as by the wine
OF lie itself all through our island, the
people will prosper, money Will pour
into their withered hRnds, and Porto
Rico, now deFolate, will te placed In
the position of prosperity justified 10y It's
resources, Its location and Its possibih-
ties. And with her prosperity she will
In turn endow us. Her markets will ex
elusivelg be ours; for our tariff against
Europe and the world will be- her tariff
against Europe and the world, and 60
our clothing and -four and corn and Inn
plements, and all the products OF our
farms an mills and looms will have ex-
olusiVe m arkets there. And the more
prosperous we make hsr by offeriu2 our
markets to Porto Rico, the more she can
boy of Us, and will Increasing prosper
ity means increasing desires Increasing
prosperity means more mcn9y to satisfy
those desires. And SO. this act OF simple
justice creates a new and exclusive mar
ket for what We raiEe and make, and sup.
plies the money to make that market
valuable--supplies the money by buying
from our own island necessities now pur-
CHASED from foreign lands. But TO CLOSE
our markets to our own possession or to
make those markets dear and difficult,
il to take from our masses the necessities
produced on our own territory; and to
make the markets of our own depen-
denoy dear and difficult to our producers
IL to deny to ourselves the opportunity
session. 1t is a situation which even the
necessity for instant financial relief could
not render endurabls to the Government
OF the United States; and so the fresi-
dent Of this Republic, true to his Fathers
solicltude for Porto Rioo, true TO his
constructive statesmRnship, has, through
the legal and o3n Institutional method or
an executive message TO the Senate and
the Honss. recommended the rslief to the
island by the appropriation of more than
*, O00, GOO, which in turn, relieves the
Congress Of the Omitted States from COM
mittin0 an ofienss against state gmanship
to which It was driven by the absolute