The age-herald., 1900-02-23
THE PORTO REGAIN
 DEBATE CONTINUES Mccall of Massachusetts 0ppoS- ed His Brother Republicans. GROSVENOR DEFENDS BILL He Said He wss Not McKinley's Mouth piece, But Knew Failure to Pass
 the Bill Would Cause the
 President Sorrow
GROSvENOR DEFENDS BILL

including one by Representative Grosvenor
 of Ohio, who answered a number of ques-
 tions as to the attitude of the president;
 another by representative Mccall of Mas sachusetts, the republican member of the ways and means committee, who odssented from the majority report, and Representa- tive Moody, another Massachusetts repub- lican, who sharply criticized the position of his colleague. MT. Mcclellan of New York and Mir. Brantly of Georgca also spoke against the bill and MT. Parker of New Jersey in support of it. The debate was continued at a night session.
 MT. Mcclellan of New York opened the
 debate, speaking in opposition to the bill. MT. Mcclellan said in part:
 "On its face the bill is simple enough It provides for a reduction of 75 per cent in the Dingley bill in tariff rates all goods | imported to and from Porto Rico, and yet, 1t is the most outrageous opportunism thas
 has been submitted to legislative body at least since the days of that prophet of op- portunism Leon Gambetta.
 1.-The bill must be considered from two aspects, the legal and the moral. The posi- tion of the majority in reference to the status of Porto Rico is this:
 'Tha: Porto Rico belongs to the United States but is not a part of the United States, and that the constitution does not excnd over it propia vgore. Having enun- ciatcd this proposition, the majority demurs and insists that even if the constitution does extend over Porto Rico propia vigore, the treaty of Paris is the supreme law of the land, and if in conflict with the con stitution then that treaty is paramount
 ''In the case of Porto Rico there has been no violation of the great principle that
 governments are instituted among men, de- irving their just powers from the consent of the governed
 Status Of Inhabitants
 Porto Rico belongs fo us, and it is
 necessary for us to consider, first, what is the status of it's inhabitants, and, second what is the status of its territory | Mir. Mcclellan then argued at some length, | quoting a great many decisions, to prove that the position of the majority was un- | tenabe and that the inhabitants of Porto | Rico are citizens of the Urited States within | the constitutional rights of citizens, and | that the constitution extends propia vigore | over the island of Porto Rico, the United Stats only holding it in trust for the state eventually to be erected out of its territory. In closing, MT. Mcclellan said: "There are those of us who fond of saying | that the white mans burden lies far be- yond the summer seas, and that the white | man requires that he bear his burden no matter how much 1t press him.
 'snhere are those of us who, in all sim cerety, maintain that it is the duty of this country to extend the blessings of its civt- ization to the people of the east. They tell us that an open door in China would increase our commerce, and that an addi- tion of the million pauper savages to our body polite would improve the condition of American labor. 1 may be conservative beyond reason, but I think I am an humble member of the great majority of the peo- pie of this country when l believe the greatest glory of free people is in its honor and In its righteousness as a nation; that there is only one rule of conduct for
 the individual and for government; that
 the same standard of honor should govern
 this congress as governs it's most incon-
 spicuous member, and our ultimate dest-
 nies must be worked out in the factories
 of New York and the fishing smacks
 of New England, in the wheat fields of the
 west and on the plantations of the south;
 that we must strive for happiness, not in Asia, but in America; that radiance of our flag consists not in the triumphs of unneces- sary foreign wars, but in the triumphs of necessary domestic peace; that the wealth
 or this nation should not be expended in
 behalf of the selfish ambitions of the few, but in the cause of the many; that the duty
 Of the United States does not lie in the
 conquest of the Oriental people, but in the
 conquest, in the Happiness of our own.'
 Frequently Applauded
 Mir Mcclellan was frequently and gener-
 ously applauded by his democratic asso-
 ciates.
 MT. Brantley of Georgia spoke against
 the bill and particularly on the future of
 the Philippines. He pointed out that a
 year had elapsed since the treaty of peace
 and yet congress had failed thus far to lay
 down a policy for the Philippines. It was
 this inaction by congress, he said, which spread uncertainty among the Filipinos and
 nerved them to further opposition. He de- clared that the new Philippine commission could accomplish nothing, and if it went
 to the Philippines at all it should go with
 the authority and power which congress alone could grant.
 MT. Grosvenor said there appeared to be great sensitiveness lest the wishes of the president should not be carried out. The president had performed his constitutional duty in presenting his views to congress. Since then much of the information had been submitted, showing that it was nec- essary to raise money for Porto Rico in some way in order to restore the depressed industries and institutions of the island. This information had been conclusive that views had changed There was only one alternative to this tariff measure and- that was to go down in our pockets and appropriate money from the treasury enough to sustain the island.
 MT. Richardson of Tennessee at this point asked: q understand that the gentleman holds that the president did not understand the situation at the time of his message? Now I ask him if the president understands the situation at this time?"
 Was Not the Mouth Pi,ce
 MT. Grosvenor responded that he was not tn. mouth piece of the president. He added: "I think l know the president reasonably well and speaking as an individual and knowing all the things involved in the sit uation here now, I think that nothing would give the president greater sorrow than the defeat of this bill, and the turn ing over of this house to the democratic r1:nority.''
 Mr Grosvenor said it was hardly to be supposed that the president al the time he made his recommendation for the relief of Porto Rico appreciated that such simple