Evening star., 1901-12-10

alternating this portion of appurtenant terri
tory we must govern it in the light of the
conditions which prevail there
We must not for instance, force upon the
Moros the blessings of the Dingley law, uni
formly and indiscriminatingly applied, un-
less We have the soldiers available to sub
due a savage uprising. The Moros are
not accustomed to taX-duties Of any sort
and were almost ready to revolt when In
1899 and 1900 the attempt was made to
collect there the comparatively light du-
ties imposed by the Spanish law in Luzon.
Nor will the Dingley law and the internal
revenue law of the United States be adapted
to present conditions in the northern Phil
ipptnes. The exaction Of uniform internal
revenue taxes there would subject the Fill
pinos to an unaccustomed and uncomfortable
burden, far heavier than that which Justice
Brown describes in Downes against Bid
well as threatening the Porto Ricans. Our
tariff is SO adjusted as, while raising neces-
sary revenues, to protect and foster indus
tries which develop in the temperate zone
among a highly civilized people, and In q
land so enveloped in network of railroads
and telegraph lines that there is quick and
easy communication between all the parts.
This tariff will not be protective, but de-
structive, If applied to savage and semi
savage tribes in the tropics, handling pro-
lures and facilities Of transportation. 1t is
easy, in examining the Dingley tariff sched-
ules item by item, to discover articles upon
which the duties from the Filipinos point
VI view. are either RIDICULOUS OF rulnOuS.
Just as the Porto Ricans (and curiously
enough even the Hawaiians, who have been
graduated from the appurtenant status) are
now clamorfng, In order to meet the COM
petition Of the cheap Brazilian product,
for a discrimination which will give them
protective duty on coffee (not in uniform
1ty with the states under the Dingley law
which puts coffee on the free lisD, so the
Filipinos will be desperately demanding re-
lief from uniformity of duties numerous
items, including rice, which constitutes the
native bread and which under the Span
ish law paid only about tenth of the
Dfngley rate.
The Blessing of Unequal Taxation.
Whether the power Of discriminating in
legislation concerning the territories is
practically benefit or a curse depends, of
course. upon the use made of it. Ex-Sena-
tor Edmunds says in the North American
Review for August: Unequal taxation is
perhaps the most CALLING and destructive
of all forms Of tyranny" To impose the
burden of equal and uniform national taxa
tion unaccompanied by the corresponding
and related privileges Of representation and
tyrannical and destructive. If the discrim-
ination which results in unequal taxation is
exercised in favor of the appurtenant terri
tory, relieving 1t, for instance, of our inter-
nal revenue taxes, and modifying our tariff
schedules to meet the conditions of produc-
tfon and manufacture which exist in such
terrllOry, the inequality Is equitable and
benef1cent.
The pessimist believes that Congress in
exercising its power Of discriminating leg1s-
lation concerning appurtenant territory will
revel in the opportunity to degrade into SUBJ
jects and virtually enslave the miserable
inhabitants, robbins them through harsh
and unequal tax exactions, and with des-
potic heel trampling under foot and in the
dust their personal rights and republican
aspirations.
The optimist believes that Congress- rep
resenting the people of the United States,
seventy-seven millions inspired by the
American spirit. will inevitably SO exercise
| the constitutionally limited power of dis
elimination as to promote both the ma
tional and territorial welfare, basing ine-
qualities in laws for the appurtenant terri
| tory upon thoughtful consideration Of the
| peculiar needs of such territory, and rec
| ognizfng that the interests Of the nation
and its appurtenancies are identical and
| inseparable and that the republic cannot
| and will not succeed in its aspirations as a
| world power for good unless 1t puts itself
in thought in the place Of its appurtenant
| territory and promotes the latter's welfare
| as it's own.
| Ceddling Newcomers in the Family.
The treatment Of the recent acquisitions
| by the nation, when compared with that of
! former annexations. is encouraging to the
optimist and a rebuke to the slanderous
| imputatian that the American people. either
in themselves or as represented in Congress
or the White House. or the Supreme Court,