Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930, 1901-01-03
FORAKER TO HARRISON
Porto Rico More Generously Treated Than
ANY Of the Territories.
PEOPLE SATISFIED With THE LAWS
Local Legislature Has Authority to Re-
peal the Tariff If 1t Wishes, but Has
VOrably,

CINCINNATI, Dec. Ex-senator J. B
Foraker has made a reply to the re-
cent speech at Ann Arbor, Mich, of
former President Harrison, in which
Mr.. Harrison criticised the Porto
Rican policy of the government, char
acteriZing it as a departure from cor
rect principles. In a speech before the
Manufacturers club Of this city lass
night Senator Foraker said ON this
point:
All the questions arising under the
Porto Rican legislation are soon to be
passed upon by the supreme court. For
that reason l do not care to discuss
them at this time, but it is in order to
say that the view taken by congress, as
reflected by that legislation, was cred
liable to the generosity, patriotism and
the Industrial spirit of the American
people We found Porto Rico as poor
as poverty could make her. She had no
money, no credit, no system Of taxation
OF any kind. She wanted civil gov
ernment and a revenue to support it.
We gave her a far more liberal civil
government than was ever given to
any territory prior to the civil war,
so far las participation in it by her
people is concerned, and we dealt by
her more generously in providing sup
port for that government than we
have ever yet dealt with any territory.
In requiring her to pay tariff duties
On imports from foreign countries we
did only what we did with Louisiana,
Florida, California and all our other
territories; but in allowing her to put
these duties, when collected, into her
own treasury for the support of her
local government, we did what was
never done before for anybody else;
for in all other cases we have not
only required the payment of these
same duties, but we have also re-
quired them, when they were col
lected, to- be paid into the national
treasury at Washington for the com
mon benefit of the whole country, and,
as to duties on commerce between
Porto Rico and the United States, we
Gid not levy Is per cent, but we re-
mitted IS per cent of the existing
on a number of articles, and the whole
duty on al the rest, and provided that
the Is per cent should be RENTED af-
ter March 1, 1902, or sooner if the
legislature of Porto Rico shall pro-
vide, and that in the meanwhile all
collections of Is per cent b~th there
and in the United States, shall be
paid over to Porto Rico for her own
support. We made this provision be-
cause it was the best and least bur-
densome way possible to raise indis-
pensible revenue for their govern
and not because it was in any sense of
bny benefit to either our government
= OF other people.
The Porto Rican legislature is now
IL session, but neither that body nor
any member of it. nor anybody else,
has taken any step to repeal or alter
the tax system so imposed by con-
gress. On the contrary, all testify
alike to the highest satisfaction with
what congress has done, and the re-
quest will be almost unanimously
made that the provisions enacted
may be continued, if not Indefinitely,
at least until some satisfactory sys-
tenn of proper taxation may be sub
mitted.
In addition, it should be stated that
congress, also in the same generous
spirit, exempted Porto Rico from all
Internal revenue taXation-another
favor never before extended to any
part Of cur people anywhere. Yes, it
is true that the legislation for Porto
Rico was a departure" but it is not
true that it was a departure from
correct nrincin1eS -