The evening times., 1900-02-27
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY p. 1900.
/. Compromise with Sin.

Whether the Republican leaders in Con-
sress think that they have savd tie
PAYNE Porto Rican Tariff bill by means of
the latest compromise or not We are un-
able to say. Why any honest man should
find himself able to commit fifteen per
cent crime when one at tWentJ live per
cent would be impossible TO him, Is
question too abstTuse for easy ans Ner
Yet Payne Dalzen, and GTosyenor, with
their lucid Hanna bargain counter logit
appear to think that the difference is am
pie TO meet every objection, and TO sa We
every Republican conscience. As TO the
latter peint they are experts. and ought
To know.
We are happy to see that there are fow
Republicans--men like Mr.. Littlefeld Of
Maine. Mr. Mccall OF Massachusetts. and
Mr.. BromwelI of Ohi0-who refuse to be
!ieve that the Constitution Of the United
States viii be violated in a smaller degree
hy the proposition Of the amended bill %
impose only fifteen per cent Of Dingleyisn
on Porto Rico instead Of the higher figure
originally intended. In their minds and
in he minds Of all decent citizens the
measure is no less obnoxious 10 law ana
public policy because its provisions are
made a little less inhuman IN their opera
tion than The great oil. sugar, tobacco,
and rum trusts demanded they should be.
In short. il may be considered sim doubt
ful if the trust statesmen in ihe House
can pass the bill and it viii be flr better
for the Administration If they fail.
The compromise. if it may be 50 called.
is not without evidence OF shrewdness on
The part of those who framed it, although
ils object is necessarily apparent 10 the
nest casual observer The theory Of the
subterfuge evidently is that the monopo-
lies. seeing that they cannot get twenty
ike per cent unconstitutional pr0tection
against American territory. viii take If
teen rather than nothing; and that the
duties thus unlawfully exacted viii be low
enough to make il hardly worth while foI
sufferers 20 engage in costly litigation 70
secure a decision from the Supreme Court
declaring the act unconstitutional
In any such forecast the trust repre-
sentatiyes will find themselves mistaken.
1t is possible that it may be found i'm
practicable to get a test case before the
tribunal Of last resort between now and
the Presidential election; but Mr.. Payne
knows that when such a thing shall hap
pen. ID will mark the end OF tariffs against
American domestic commerce. and The
opening of an era Of unrestricted free
trade between the American mainland and
the American islands. If Mr. Payne un-
derstands and realizes this, and most GER
tainly he does. whatever he may say, for
party purposes. TO the contrary. the same
facts must be equally plain 10 the people
in whose interests the benevolent inten-
tions toward Porto Rico of the President,
the Secretary of War, and the House Ways
and Means Committee have been changed.
Persons like Mr.. Rockefeller Of the oil
trust. Mr.. Duke of the tobacco trust, and
the Senatorial protector Of the New En-
gland rum trust--who is not Mr.. Lodge
are not likely to be without excellent legal
advice in matter Of legislation. Conse-
quently they all know by this time that
nothing short OF packing the Supreme
Court can prevent that body from declar-
lug that free trade between the States and
Territories is guaranteed by the Consti-
tuition.