Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-12-02

policy of the administration Sound
morals no less than good business judg-
ment demand that we shall build up
rather than destroy the purchasing
power of our new possessions IL we
hope to do business with them. Manu-
featuring interests all over the country
deluge the government with inquiries
as to the markets that have been opened
to American goods in the archipelago,
and others are awakening to the fact
that control of the Cuban markets is
slipping from our hands, while poll
ticians and wiseacres solemnley debate,
into the hands of more enterprislng
Germans and Englishmen. 1t Is a fact
not rejecting great credit upon our po-
1itical acumen that, having exhausted
much blood and treasure to make CUBA
free" and to control her destinies al
terward, we should now find our COM
mercial relations With the island TO be
growing less active rather IMAM
stronger, and to see others VINO made
no sacrifice reap the fruit of our labor.
Almost pathetic appears the demands
made by some people who want the
Cubans to explain how this happened.
before applying remedy that should
have suggested itself long ago. The
homely philosophy of the saying that
you can not eat your pie and nave II
too" applies in this case as In others.
1t is impossible to do business with the
Philippines or with Cuba unless you
give them chance to sell us some
thing. They buy S37,000.O00 in goods
from Great Britain and Germany to-
day are able to sell thier products in
those and are able to do so In the
United States, and they will continue
to increase their trade with these
countries, under present conditions, IN
definitely. Our trade will continue,
correspontlingly to decrease until In
time. 1t may disappear altogether.
AMERICAN SUGAR INTERESTS.
In the reimbursement of tariff rates,
the friends of such a policy admit,
somebody must suffer, of course, 1t
may be, they say, that the beet root
sugar manufacturers may not be able
to control more than their local mar
kets, should such a policy be inaugur-
ated 1t Is an industry In which con-
siderable money has been invested, but
1t does not seem to have made the
strides that at one time 1t was thought
it would. Notwithstanding a protec-
ton which in one way or another am
cunts to 140 per cent. the yearly sup
ply has in ten years reached the insig-
nificant amount Of only 10000 tons.
There is this, however, to be said, that
indirectly it furnishes profitable oc-
cupation to thousands of people, and
that the by products of the sugar beet
farm are by no means an unimportant
factor in the agricultural economy OF
the country. And while it may be said
that the farmer would simply be COM
PEELED to SOW his fields in rye or wheat
instead of beets. and therefore would
be no loser In the change, 1t yet must
be admitted that diversity of crops is
not an advantage to be lightly lost
sight of, or to be deprecated.
The interets of the Louisiana cane
sugar growers, who return, year after
year, free trade congressman clamor-
ing loudly for protection whenever SUI
gar is being discussed. are identical with
those of the beet root sugar men. or
both of them it may at least be said
that they are employers OF American
labor This is not the case, OF course,
with the Porto Riean and Hawaiian
sugar growers, who resist the extern
sion of the privileges which they enjoy
to sugar growers in the Philippines and
Cuba, not on the broad ground that II
woul injure American labor, but be-
cause il, would cut down their profits.
What those profits. are may be judged
from the fact that in Porto Rico a GER
tain sugar plant, since the American
occupation of the island, has never re-
turned yearly profit of less than 40
per cent on the investment.
These, then. are few of the argu-
ments pro and con which will determ-
inc the policy of congress toward Cuba
and the Philippines They have been
set forth with every endeayor to be en-
tirely fair TO both sides-those who,
with the administration, wish to see
the most liberal policy of reciprocity
tnaugurated consistent with the legiti-
mate demands of home industries, and
those who, In favor of more drastic
mea sures. seek to reach the goal at
single bound. The attempt will be
made, In another article, to throw some
light on the situation as 1t is affected
by the demands OF the tobacco indus