The age-herald., 1901-12-18
Bill to Provide Temporary Revenues for the
 Islands SOME LIVELY COLLOQHES Payne Opens the Debate and DeAr. mond Ends It With lmpassioned Speech Opposing Retention
 of the Islands.

mond of Missouri, who has just return ed from a trip to the Philippines, in op- position to the retention of the islands were the features.
 Mr. Payne, the floor leader of the ma- jority, opened the debate Owing to the indisposition of MT. Richardson. who has the grippe, the duty of opening for the minority devolved upon MT. Swan son of Virginia. The other speakers were Mir. Grosvenor. Republican of Ohio, ana Mir. Robertson, Democrat of Louisiana, for the bill and Messrs. shafroth, silver, Colorado; DeArmond, Democrat of Ms souri; Mr. Thayer, Democrat of Massa- chusetts; and Mir. Patterson, Democrat of Tennessee, against it. MT. Robertson said he would support the bills because free trade with the islands and recipro- city with Cuba, which was threatened, would destroy the sugar interests Of his state. Tomorrow MT. Mccall, Repub- lican member of the ways and means committee from Massachusetts will op- pose the bill, time having been granted him by the Democrats.
 Payne opens Debate. l
 Mr. Payne carefully explained the pur- pose of the bill, which has already been set forth in his report.
 MT. Payne contrasted the Spanish tax rate with those fixed by the commission which were a great deal lower MT. Payne explained that the commission had continued portion of the old Span ish export tax on hemp, sugar ana to- bacco owing to the difficulty or levylng and exporting a land tax. He did not like the idea of an export tax, but there seemed to be no other way at present. Immediate action was necessary to meet the situation created by the Supreme Court decision. MT. Payne also explained the feature of the bill providing for the extension of the navigation laws of the United States to the islands, and the per mission it granted to foreign vessels to ply between Philippine >and American ports until January 19OA when 1t was hoped American ships would be able to take care of this business.
 Education In Philippines.
 MT. Payne aroused enthusiasm as he described the great work of civilization which was going on along the line of education. Our friends on the other side" said he, howl about our imperial istic government of the natives. We are trying to lift them up to the standard of American citizenship"
 Are you trying to fit them for citizen ship In the United States or citizenship in the Philippine Islands?" asked Mr. Gaines of Tennessee.
 'We will cross that bridge when we come to it." replied MT. Payne. But if you on the other side. will cooperate with us, we will fit them for citizenship in the Philippine Islands. the United States or any other country lRepuph- can applause)
 ''We will cooperate with you" replied MT. Gaines when you carry the consti- tuition and the flag to the Philippines"
 ''I am surprised" observed MT. Payne, "to hear the gentleman from Tennessee make that statement. He has just re- turned from the islands Is 1t possible he did not carry the constitution and flag with him?" Gaughter)
 MT. Swanson Speaks.
 MT. Swanson of Virginia deplored the fact that the Supreme Court had re- versed its previous decisions and had seen proper to confer upon Congress ab- solute power to govern territories. He deprecated as pernicious the principle of the bill which fixed the tariff duties on goods going from the United States into the Philippines. He insisted that 1t was precisely the same power that the Brit ish Parliament sought to exercise over the American colonies, against which they rebelled. He said that Philippine sugar, to enter our markets, must pay a duty of $36 per ton, while ours could be sold in their markets upon the payment of SIT per ton; that their hemp must pay oF xxybi ao1I1d Q Philippines at $11 per ton; that our coal could enter at 25 cents per ton, while theirs, when sold here, must pay 67 cents per ton; that our tobacco enters their markets on a payment of SS cents per pound, while theirs must pay $1.85 per pound. He said fit place for such a bill was in the Cortes of Spain, and not in the Congress of the United States.
 He pointed out that the President and Secretary of War favored making gener- ous concessions in tariff duties on impor- tations of sugar and tobacco from Cuba, yet this bill failed to make any conces- sions on the same importations from the Philippines. He said that if the policy of the Republican party was to prevail it was better, in order to get trade con sessions from the United States, to be a subject of Great Britain and thereby se- cure a reciprocity treaty, than to be an inhabitant of the Philippine Islands. He said that a proper solution of the Philip pine question would be a declaration by Congress that the inhabitants of the isl- ands should be given independence as soon as safe and stable government could be maintained.
 MT. rhayer, Massachusetts, declared that we had overpowered the Filipipos but had not conquered them; that the same Spirit of liberty which led them to rebel against the tyranny of Spain still animated them. This bill, which proposed to tax them at both ends of the line would naturally arouse their resentment
 MT Grosvencr, Ohio, said he believed 'that if it had not been for the explosion of the Maine there would not have been any war, but that all the results which have followed would have been worked out except the acquisition of the Philip pines
 Speaking of the Taft commission he was saying that one Of tie members of that commission was distinguished Tennes- see Democrat, when MT Pearce. Tennes- see. interrupted to say that in the cam paign of 1900 Luke F. Wright, to whom MT. Grosvenor had referred, had voted the straight Republican ticket.
 MT. Shafroth said the spirit of indc- pendenee and liberty lived ir the FIlipins as well as the American, and that until the Fiiplnos were free the situation could not be satisfactory either to them or to us.
 DeArmond Is Caustic. MT. De Armond of Missouri. who also has recently returned from the Philip pines aroused much enthusiasm on the