Arizona republican., 1902-01-07
TIE PHILIPPINE
 TARIFF BILL
It May Become an Amend ment to Civil Govern
 E1eLt Bill.
Senate Republicans Plan to Keep Philippine Measure Separate But a Long Democratic Debate May Cause Change.

Washington. Jan. 6-The Philippine tariff bill will be amended in the sen ate. As in the case Of the Porto Rico tariff bill passed by the house two years ago, it may become only an amendment to the civil government bill. The present republican plan in the senate is to keep the two bills separate. but a long debate by the dem ocrats may cause change
 The Philippine committee is at work on general government bill. Senator Lodge and Senator Spooner have had conferences with Secretary Root. and also have talked with the president re- garding the provisions Of a measure. The Taft commission suggests a bill very similar to the law enacted for Porto Rico. One thing may be depend ed on-the senate will make no prom iscs as to the fUturc; fer Taft says that while the Filipinos are not Tt for self government at this time. it will be saf.. to give them 9 system of government l by January I. 1904.
 Senator Lodge and ether republican 1 leaders say that whatever legislation is enacted will have immediate applica- tioa. There will he no repetition of the Cuban business. The haste with which the Philippines tariff bill was passed l by the house was responsible for 9 number of mistakes which have to be corrected in the senate. The bill was drawn hastily. Lawyers or the senate have discovered F number O. omissions which would embarrass the government seriously in enforcing the law. The chief points of disagreement will be ever the provision to continue the full ] DnSley rates against all imports from the Philippines.
 The Taft commission rpconmended a ! deduction of 50 per cent in the United ! States duty on tobacco. hemp. sugar and ether Philippine products coming ! into this country. The house paid no ! attention to that. Some of the repuh- | lican senators insist that the recom- mendations Of the Taft commission i shall be carried out in the bill before is ] is enacted into. law. Others who are 1 not disposed to make so great con I cessiC1 admit that there must ba some | reduction in the tariff on Philippine ! products in order that they may come ! into this country ol an equal footing 1 with like products from foreign couu- i trics. For inSt&nces. the duty on hemp | Tn this country is S2n a ton The Philip ! pines commission. in it's tariff law, pro ] vided an expert duty of S7.5O a ton on l Al'-Alt' i'l3Gu 4IOIll lildl country Inut makes q total tax of S27.lO a ton on I Philippine hemp seeking a market in the United States. It wouid practic-
 ally shut out from this market all hemp ! from the Philippines.
 | The duty on tobacco in the Dinglev bill is from 90 cents to S2J 50 q pound | In the Philippines tariT bill there is an export duty Of S15 a tom That ex-
 port duty would prevent Philippine to- ! h2cco from competing in this market with the tobacco from Cuba or any other foreign country. The Philippines commission also placed an export duty
 on rice. sugar. indigo and cocoanuts. II is admitted by conservative repub- lican senators that there must be some . tariff concession made 10 the Philip pines in order to place the products from those islands on an equal footing with similar products from foreign countries in our market. IL has been suggested >~tbat the concessions be made 90 as to have the tariff rate here
 and the export rate in the Philippines ccmbiaed equal the Dingley rate on foreign products.
 Hemp is at present the most i'm
 portant export Of the Philippines. and
 it is also very important import into
 this country. We need the hemp from
 the Philippines. and the bill would haNe
 to he modified to allow it to come into
 the United States at combined tariff rot exceeding S20 a ton.
 l T. is proposed in the senate to amend
 the house bill, making tha tariff on
 Philippine hemp S12.5O, which. combined
 with the export tax Of S7.50 a ton levied
 in the Philippines. would make the
 tariff S2c 9 ton. the same as that levied
 against foreign hemp. It will not be so
 easy to figure out the reductions tha.
 must be made in the duty on sugar. to-
 bacco and rice from the Philippines. All
 will have to he modified or reduced by
 the amount of the export tax to prevent
 our tsTii lays from discrimina ting against the Philippnes. which are now
 American territory. Republican sen ators frankly admit that to allow the
 house bill to become q law would give
 just cause for complaint by the Fiji
 pines. and that since the islands have become Anherican territory they had
 been discriminated against rather than
 benefted,L