Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-02-15
THE PUERTO RIGAN INHUMANlTY.
Now York Evening Post.


gress are proposing to commit, In the
name of this nation, an act of un-
paralleled and shameful cruelty. We
refer to the bill taxing Puerto Rican
exports and imports to the extent of 20
per cent of the Dingley rates. There
are strong reasons for thinking this bill
unconstitutional. They are set forth
in the minority report; and also in the
individual report of Mr.. Mccall of
Massachusetts, u Republican who has
| the courage of his convictions, and,
what his Republican colleagues ap-
parently have not, n sense Of humanity.
But we do not now insist upon the
illegality of the measure. Chatham
| Indignantly cried in Parliament: II
come not hero armed at all points with
law cases and acts of Parliament, with
| the statute. book doubled down in dog
ears, to defend the cause Of liberty
| So We say today, be the constitutional
right what it may; let the Supreme
Court reverse itself If it choose; rule
out all questions of fiscal need and
policy, the TACT remains that this por-
posed legislation is SO cruel, SO heart,
less, SO charged with disaster and star
walton for 1000. 600 human beings, that
to adopt it would entitle Spain or
Russia or even Turkey to send mis-
sionaries to US.
What are this facts2 They are set
forth in voluminous, detail and with
| overwhelming force in the reports of
our own officials, Governor General
Davis, Consul Hanna, Secretary Root,
Commissioner Carroll, the President
himself, have all shown how the i'm
mediate necessities of Puerto Rico cry
out for freedom of trade with this
country. The inhabitants had practically
a free market in Spain and Cuba. We
destroyed that. Then we double looked
our own against them. The result is,
as Secretary Root declared, that two
crops OF tobacco lie rotting in the
warehouses of Puerto Rico; that her
coffee and her sugar are practically
unstable. This was true even before
the hurricane of last August came 10
complete the ruin We had done our
best to bring about by neglect. The
hurricane was "aE act of God" What
can we call our deliberate attempt to
prevent tine Puerto Ricans from living
by honest labor but an act of the devil?
The tax on their exports is fragrant
enough; but to make them pay one
quarter the Dingley rates on the neces-
saries Of life would argue perfectly
fiendish ingenuity Of malevolenoe.
People do not generally understand
this Tho Dingley Schedule G, "Agri-
cultural Products and Provisions, is
a section full Of ''fake'' duties, SO far
as we are concerned. These are the
hoary old tariff taxes put in to fool the
American farmer, and make him think
that he, too, Is protected. But every
one knows that the high duties dargled
befole his innocent eyes are not opera
tive. They do not affect the cost of
the prime necessities in this country,
for practically none are imported In
Puerto Rico, however, these Dingley
duties would take effect in crushing
fashion. The island has long,imrorted
q vast amount of food products, paying
for them with tobacco and coffee and
sugar Now the Republican plan is,
on the one hand, to refuse the Puerto
Ricans market for what they raise,
and, on the other, to tax them exor-
bitantly for the food they must have
or starye.
Take few sample figures. Com
missioner Carroll returns the Puerto
Rioan imports of rice in 1897 at ", 994,-
122 pounds. Here is a necessity OF life.
now free. We propose to clap on 25
per cent of tibet Dingley rate of 2 cents
per pound. In other words, we propose
to tax a ruined and starving people
$3.50, 0O0 on single and necessary
article of food Did Borgia or
Bajazet ever condemn his subjects to
death with more refined crueltyf The
case will be very much the same with
the other leading imports of Puerto
Rico-kerosene oil, pork, lard, -four,
fish. Salt fish is taxed three-fourths
of a cent pound in the Dingley tariff
flour, 20 per cent ad valorem; lard, two
cents q pound; pork, two cents
pound, and SO on. In other words, all
these sleeping Dingley duties on food,
which are only joke to US, are to be
Weakened by the bill before Congress,
and set to clutching the threats Of the
unhappy Puerto Ricans, whom we
rescued from the tyranny of Spain in
order to fling them into the jaws OF our
Moloch of protection.
This. we say, is an act of stark in
humanity, to which we do not believe
the American people wall ever consent.
Certainly they will not II its monstrous
nature is brought home to them. Why,
we might as well turn our soldiers loose
in the island to butcher the inhabitants,
as to decree their death by act of Con-
eress. When Russia annexed the Crimea
in the last century, she put 80, 900
Tartars, men, women and children, to
the sword. Is our proposed course
whit less unfeeling and bloody? Here
are 900, 900 fellow men; il not fellow
citizens, they are at least our subjects,
as even the Imperialists must admit.
Their lives and fortunes are In our
hands. We propose to rob them Of both.
And the leaders in the crime are tho
Senators from Connecticur--the State of
schools and universities and churches
That State has no more inhabitants
than Puerto Rico; yet its representa-
tives in Congress, some of them lights |
III the religious world, cody urge a bill |
to eStinguish the right of nearly mil
lion men under our flag tc life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
The whole thing seems ghastly joke |
like Swift's proposal to kill and eat |
the babies in Ireland. But If this law |
is pushed in dead earnest, there will |
be need of Swift's seva indignatio |
against its authors and abettors. Is |
this to be final demonstration OF the |
inhuman nature of protectionp When |
the Mckinley tariff worked distress in |
Vienna, it's author exulted over the
misery he had wrought. Will he now |
sit idly by, and see protective tariff |
made an instrument of torture for men |
and women and children under the
American flag? We cannot believe it;
nor can we believe that the religious
and educated opinion of this country
will tolerate the crime which the Re-
l. Il 4.