St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-04-04

Grip-Library Associations.
From our regular correspondent.
1t was announced that Senator
Proctor of Vermont, would speak
Friday afternoon on the Porto Ricau
bill in the Senate and we went over
to hear him, but was told that she
had started in very early and finished
his address in about half-hour"
and was for free trade, so we were
too late to hear him, but the Demo-
cratic papers endorse his speech as
very good and are much pleased to
have him favor their side of the ones.
ton, they say. Senator Pettus, Dem.
ocrat, and an ex.confederate officer
from Alabama, about 80 years old,
exercised his powers of ridicule at the
expense OF Senator Gallinger of New
Hampshire and more especially carl
catured the young Republican sena.
tor from Indiana, who had made an
address the day previous. Senator
Beveridge is about 38 years old, and
draws great audiences in the galleries
and is much admired for his gifts of
oratory, but the older Senator's were
absent, many did not pay him great
difference during the delivery OF his
address. His wife is very ill since
their return from visit to the Phil
ippine Islands and he was summoned
to her bedside as soon as he had COM
pleted his address, it was reported;
his absence allowed the senator from
Alabama an open field in which to
Caricature the enthusiastic orator
from Indiana.
Some assert that Senator Beve-
ridge shows considerable sophomore
cal bloom in his speeches, while Others
declare the old conservative senator's
show some jealousy of the rising star
of the West, who is coming to the
front so quickly. Senator Beveridge
would introduce a free plank also
but he would not apply the same
fixed formula OF laws to all dependen-
cies; he would not treat Porto Rico
the same as Hawaii, nor deal with
the Philippines in the same manner
as the others; he thought the propo-
sition would be as mad as it was
novel. He emphasized the fact that
the necessities Of the differt mt depend
encies differ and the same laws cam
not be made for all. He did not be-
lieve that the constitution manacles
our hands and narrows our vision;
it is rather chart by which we sail
the seas and make all ports, and
free commission for the exercise OF
strength as it developes. He said
the opposition say that we have no
liberty of invention, no scope for the
exercise OF common sense, no power
to apply one method to one case the
best suited for it and another method
for another case. The question re-
solved itself thus: Does the consti-
tuition give congress free hand over
the possessions or does the constitu-
ton give them free hand over us?
de admitted the authority of prece-
dent to certain degree, but he de-
clared that reciprocal trade with
Porto Rico was no precedent for the
same thing with the Philippines, for
we may have free trade with Porto
Rlco and tariff with the Philippines
II best as the welfare of the people de-
mands. To declare for uniform pol.
ICY and taxation and ignore differen-
cieS OF people and location would
write failure on the movement. He
SAID that he should vote for the civil
government bill, for he argued that
the sooner Porto Rico gets civil gov
eminent, the quicker it will get free
trade. His address was followed by
consideration of the amendments to
the dill.
Senator Morgan's free coinage
amendment brought out quite dis
cusslon, for he objected to taking the
peso from the Porto Ricans, practi-
CaIly one dollar, and paying them so
cents; Senator Foraker explained
mat the peso is only worth 4S cents,
I'D our money but we generously pro-
pose to pay them 60 cents, when we
'dh get it for less elsewhere, if they
wish to make the exchange. The
republicans differ so much in their
opinions that some think that they
Will have to form an independent
party, if each man is to be supreme
court all within himself.
II f1inht 10 ... -.