The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-05-01
THE LOOTERS
HAVE IT FIXED.
Commission May Grant Fran
chises at Pleasure.
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GRABS.
The Poor Porto Ricsns Will Have to Suffer
AS Usual While Others Make Mint
or Money on Their
Grants.
Especial Correspondence.)

Washington, April 29.-Everybody
who understands the true inwardness
Of the Puerto Rican situation must
sympathize with the trusts who worked
so hard to get a chance to loot the
island, with the Republican party,
which sacrificed SO much to grant their
desires and with the president, who
tried so hard to get permission to com
plete the deal. At this moment of
writing, 1t cannot be told positively
whether the resolution authorizing the
continuance Of army officers in their
posts until next August, together with
the amendment limiting the disposal
of franchises added by the house, will
become law or not. If 1t does. 1t will
become so at the eleventh hour, but it
seems more probable that 1t will fail
altogether.
The whole scheme was such a
beautiful one that it Is almost a pity
that 1t failed. The original tariff bill
| and government bill, 1T will be remem-
| bered, was fixed up by the senate COM
| mittee on Puerto Rico, of which Sena-
| tor Foraker is chairman. There was
no chance to debate the government
features and so the trusts and corpora
tions and looters managed to have in
serted a little Joker. providing that the
executive council of the island should
have authority to grant franchises
without the least Neutrality-suspicious.
non amendable, irrepealable, exempt
| from all taxation, franchises without
making any compensation to the island
government for them. Even the tiny
little franchises Of the cities Of the
island were included IN this vast
scheme. The city government of San
Juan, for instance, If it Is ever constitu-
ted, may find the streets Of that city
given away to street car companies,
possibly with provisions that no other
companies shall ever be permitted to
compete with them.
The bill was rushed through the
house under the party lash and became
a law with these provisions unchanged.
But then the trusts and looters wanted
men appointed on the executive coun-
Gil who could be depended upon not to
make mistakes in dealing out the pie.
Their men were too well known and
it was feared that they would stand q
chance of rejection even by the sub
servient senate. So they got the presi-
dent to ask time to select the appoin-
tees. Instead of May 1, the time pre-
scribed by the bill, he asked that he be
allowed till August 1. after the senate
had adjourned, so that no confirmation
would be possible until it met again
next December. Long before the latter
date. the council could be called upon
! to make a clean sweep Of the island
franchises. The senate passed the
resolution as asked, but the house in.
sisted upon amending it so as to limit
the franchises and mate them, as they
are made in every state of the Union
for a fixed term only, and subject tC
amendment or repeal.
The senate refused to accept this
, and disagreement was the result o.
the conference between the two houses
and unless Senator Foraker return.
from New York before Monday tn,
Puerto Rican civil government bill will
go into effect before the resolutions car
be passed. Representatives Cooper ant
Jones, of Virginia, and Senator Cockrel
insisted that the house amendments re
garding franchises should remain in thu
bill, but Senator Foraker and Perkin!
and Representative Cannon, who votet
for the amendments in the house. were
not so much impressed with their neces
sity, SO the conference failed. Sena
| tOr fOTdkeT announced tndl he wal
compelled to go to New York, ant
, would not return before Monday, so i
is expected the resolutions will fail, al
! after the civil government bill goe
into effect on Tuesday the resolution
, will be of no avail.
Now, the situation is just this. B.
insisting on the right to appoint thei
men, the looters have drawn the at
tention Of the country to the audaciou
scheme and have imperiled its sue
, cess. The Republican party has de
clared itself opposed even to reason
able" restriction on the robbers and ha
in so much imperiled itself If tn
resolution fails the civilian appointee
must be selected at once and must b.
confirmed by the senate, instead of be
ing appointed in hole and corner way
later on. If the resolution passes, tn
; scheme Of plunder will be blocked IL
either event, there will not be such al
overwhelming mass of loot to draw OF
for the campaign funds this fall.