The Washington weekly post., 1900-04-03

care By wtst party In power. TIE Interests o.
Americas Iasar vii bs protected. Porto Rico .
7e' miles fron or coast. the Philippine saaa-
Poro REQ l. an actazI ard geographical dePea5sae7
q tss American oontinent: TIRE PHILIPPINES belong
20 Asia Porto Ri-o can enter our political system.
IN The Philippines We have laid our hands upou the
wealth and cozn@ree q tss Orieat and IN twenty
Eve years In IL Judgment. Ein see retu~n
therefr0z. upon that great ocean and upon tzs
western coss. q this continent. that viii put 20
confusion and rsfu;e every objection tAat be
uzads - itat acguIt,;I0a- When that tir-s comes.
and the tine oo-s8 70 adjust and se;tle the rels-
tons q iris country 20 the Philippines, the rights
= American labor viii be protected b. any party
that nay be in power.
How i1co1Eize1t tkis whole subIsct-natter seems
IN detzI zhsn We c0uzider it. ] understand. a1i
,Alak I an reliably Informed. that the provisions
o. The eoesing laws q the United States are eK-
tended 70 Porto Rico. 80 that all commerce BE-
tween iris country and that dependency must b,
done Ia vessels enrolled and licensed and owned in
the United statez Yet We propose 70 compel prod
from here 20 be carried there and produce fro3
there TO Be brought here under tsriF imposition
that our coast marine shall have the exclusive priVi
lsge q carrying taxed packed articles from a de-
Dendency o, this country 70 the States
should Heed Public Opinion.
Senator Davis pointed out that the
House bill did not have to be passed 10 in
sure a decision from the Supreme Court.
az his own amendment. with its stamp
tax and per centUm CT revenue tax, pro-
yided ample ground for raising a legal
question He then continued:
think could be as firm a. anybody against
sudden, convulsive. trsnsitory public opinion. but
when the opinion o. the public. whose servants We
are, speaking through every organ Of expression.
veek after week. and swelling in intensity, in
volume. and Indignation, speaks with intelligence
70 u.s. Il viii be well fOr 20 hear II. for It will
make itself heard It is said that this subject IL
not understood. Mr. President. It is well under
stood. Il is in vain that anv man can claim ha
need lot lay the hatterng UnctiOn to his soul that
the editors OF the great journals throughout the
land in many cities do not understand the subject
Just well Il is futile 70 pretend that the
mass OF tie people throughput the country do not
understand a subject 50 simple as this They under
stand perfectly well the difference between building
Up wall which bars commercial intercourse be-
tween this country and Of its dependencies and
a system Of taxation srch I shall propose which
imposes on Porto Rico the same system on the same
principle as that Imposed In the United States.
Pernicious Msckery of the Tariff.
Mr.. Davis emphasized the fact that
under the House bill there would be free
rum, while medicines. clothing. boots and
shoes, &c, would be taxed He insisted
that by taxing rum, as he proposes. S1.OO0,-
coo could be annually raised, while the
aggregate Of revenues from the tariff,
much or little, is unknown. In conclusion
he said:
have said about al, wan; on this bill. 1t has
been imperfeCtIy said insdequately said, but it
has been said with the most thorough and unalter
able conviction that what have said is right abso-
lutely rigAt-right not in a party sense but polit
cally and economically right. In my judgment ths
only course that be logically wisely pursued
under present conditions is TO abandon this per
nicious rocke-y Of a tariff tetWee1 Porto Rico and
the United States and return 10 the path Of plain
duty and pursue it to its logical and beneficial
consequences.
Additional Amendments Proposed.
Senators Davis and Nelson introduced
amendment 10 the Porto Rico bill We'd
nesday. Senator Davis's amendment is a
modification of his previous amendment,
and II provides for a duty on tobacco
and rum when brought into the United
States from Porto Rico.
Senator Nelson's amendment is a sub
stitute for section of the bill. and is as
follows:
Section 9 That on and after the passage Of this
act all articles imported into the United States
from Porto Rico and all articles imported into
Porto Rico from the United States shall be exempt
from duty provided, however, that articles OF
Porto Rican manufacture coming into the United
States shall, before being Withdrawn for consump-
tion or sale. be subject to the payment OF a tax
equal 10 the internal revenue tax imposed in the
United States upon the like articles OF domestic
manufacture; said tax to be paid by internal reve-
stamp stamps 10 be purchased and provided
By the Commissioner Of Internal Revenue and 10
be procured from the collector OF internal revenue
at or most convenient to the port Of entry Of said
articles in the United States. and TO be affixed
Under such regulations a the Commissioner Of In
ternal Revenue. with the approval OF the Secretary
Of the Treasury, shall prescribe.
During the consideration of the Alaskan
code bill in the Senate Wednesday, Senator
Jones, Of Arkansas, made a sharp attack
UTon the Secretary of War for issuing
permits to miners to dredge the Cape
Nome sands, supposed TO be rich IN gold.
He denounced the Secretary's action as
an outrage and plain usurpation Of au-
thCrity."
An amendment, proposed by Mr. Garter,
was adopted as follows:
That, subject only TO such general limitations as
nay be necessary TO exempt navigation from arti-
hclal distractions. all land and shoa water below
high tide the shores bays and inlets of Ber
ing Sea within the Jurisdiction Of the United States
shall be subject 10 exploration for gold and other
precious metals by citizens Of the United States or
persons who have legally declared their intentions
10 become such, under such reasonable rules and
regulations the miners in organized mining dis
trcts may have heretofore made or may hereafter
make governing the temporary possession thereof
for exploration and mining purposes until other
wise provided by law; Provided. further that the
rules and regulations established by the miners shall
not be in conflict with the mining laws Of the
United States; and ali permits heretofore gran u
auth ring a-y 1erson or FH--Nus, corporation
III .Ey u HXcayGte -r mir .f.-g cay Of SAID
-s.z-s sTs hereby revoked ard declared null and
void.
Bills Approved Uy tiIr President.
The Pres 'rnt MS lCDrOVpd hills 40