The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-03-27
SOME RECENT HISTORY.
The Porto Rican Bill and How 1t Got
Into Its Present shape.

W. f. Curtis, in Chicago Record.
Mr.. PAYNE chairman of the House ways
and means committee, started out all right
on the Porto Rican business. He intro
duced a bill to carry out the Presidents
recommendations for free trade, and wrote
an open letter, in which he gave series
of unanswerable arguments in favor or
its passage. In this letter he declared that
every obligation of the United States to-
ward the people of Porto Rico required
free trade; that it is not only right but
expedient; that there is no danger to the
protected industries of this country, and
that no one could expect legislation for
Porto Rico to be used as a precedent for
the Philippines A more convincing state-
ment than that written by Mr.. Payne for
the information of the people of his dis
trict in favor of free trade with Porto Rico
on the oath of January last, could scarcely
be prepared.
A few days later Mr.. Oxnard, of Ne
braska, met some tobacco growers from
Connecticut and told them that they would
be seriously injured financially If we had
free trade i'm Porto Rico. or words to that
effect. The tobacco men were alarmed.
matters to Mr.. Russell. the Republican
representative from Connecticut. who is a
member of the committee on ways and
means. BY that time Oxnard and the to-
bacco men had concluded that all tobacco
growers in the country would vote the
Democratic ticket If the Payne bill for
free trade with Porto Rico were passed.
and they frightened Mr.. Russell into that
belief. He went with them to Senators Platt
and Hawley of that State, to whom the
story was repeated. By that time Con-
necticut had gone Democratic in their
imagination, had determined the next
presidential election. had defeated McKin-
| ley and elected Bryan, and the whole coun-
try was on the verge of ruin: the Dingley
tariff was repealed, free-silver law had
been enacted, all the workshops of the
country had been closed, the capitalists
were ruined and the working men from
| one end of the land to the other were starv-
| ing because Of cheap Malay competition.
This terrible bugbear was Immediately
| rushed into the residence of Mark Hanna,
| who at once bowed his face to the ground
and began to make vows like a Buddhist
sinner The party then agreed to meet In
| the room of the committee on ways and
| means at the Capitol. where Representa-
| tives Payne, Dalzell, Hopkins. Dolliver and
| other members of the committee were
| nearly frightened out of their wits by the
| party and the country. That afternoon Sen
| ator Platt wrote and introduced a bill pro-
| viding that so per cent of the Dingley
tariff rates should be imposed upon the
products of Porto Rico Mr.. Oxnard was
fearful that was not enough TO save the
country. Mr.. Payne Mr.. Dalzell and Mr.
| Russell took the bill to the War Depart.
| nent, where Secretary Root demonstrated
| with them, and finally induced them to cut
| 1t down to % per cent, and IL was intro
| Guced that way. That Is the history of the
| most disastrous piece of legislation the
Republicans have undertaken for many a