Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1902-11-28
WASHINGTON LETTER.
tFrom our Regular Correspondent. }

Washington, Nov. 24.-There is
probably no more perplexed man in
Washington to-day than President
Roosevelt. After yielding bis own con
victiOns, that the tariff ought to be
revised, and accepting the dictum of
Senator Hanna and his school of poll
ticians, that the winning policy for the
republican party was to ''stand pat, +"
after being assured that if he wanted
to be elected in 1904 be must not cOun-
tenance revision, the President Is now
receiving the assurances of the western
members and senators that the only
hope Of the party in their section of
the country, lines in making good the
pledges of the last campaign, that the
tariff would be revised by its friends :"
In the hope of gaining clearer insight
into the situation the President has
appealed to the members of bis Cabinet
and to the republican leaders. There
is no doubt amongst the eastern MEM
beTs who all say ''stand pat" but secre-
tary Wilson, for instance, says bis state
wants revision. Representative Bah
cock insists on an extra session called
for that purpose exclusively and the
Minnesota delegation say that they
form. The same Is true of Idaho and
other western states which were car
ried for the republican party only by
the personal popularity of the Presi-
dent and the assurance that he would
would curtail the inOrdinate profits of
the trusts.
The argument advanced by the
k-%H &c 1v,&
prosperity cannot last, that tariff re-
vision will preclpitate the reversal Of
present conditions and that it the re-
publican party is caught in the midst
Of an attempt to revise the tariff, which
will be inevitably attend by endless
personal pickering and strife, the coun-
try will administer a prompt rebuke
by voting for their opponents. And a
sample of the kind of advice proffered
the President by his friends was re-
Gently afforded by Senators Lodge and
Burrows. The former signified his
Willingness to ratify the Cuban treaty
because it would not injure bis consti-
tuents who raise neither tobacco nor
beet sugar, but he protested vigorous
ly against the New Foundland treaty
because it might hurt of the fishermen
of bis section. On the other hand,
Senator Burrows expressed his willing
ness to vote for the New Foundland
treaty but protested against tho Cuban
treaty. The fact that the tariff 10 a
local issue is again being demonstrated
together with the fact that no repub-
lican is willing to sacrifice one cent of
protection to the interests of his own
section for the benefit of the country
at large. The President has held open
his message, hoping to be able to jndge
which will be the more polite course
for him to pursue, after he has con
ferred with the senators and represen.
tatives who have been invited to call
on him this week.
The failure of the last session to pass
the Cuban reciprocity bill is bearing
fruit In way that Is cause of grave
anxiety to the administration. The
Cubans, who were last year begging
the United States to grant them some
concessions from the Dingley rates,
have now been flattered and cajoled
into the belief that they are quite in
dependent OF this country and that
there is no reason why they should
seek concessions from this government
at the expence of their relations with
foreign nations. The diplomatic corps
in Havana has been most industrious
in producing this frame of mind among
the Cubans most successful. General
Bliss, who has been sent to Cuba to
negotiate treaty providing that the
Cuban tariff on imports from the Uni
ted States shall remain the same, while
it is raised so per cent. on imports
from other countries, and that the
Dingley rates on Cuban imports to this
country shall be reduced rs per cent, re.
ports that he Is meeting with insur-
mountable difficulties. The President
said at his last Cabinet meeting that be
did not propose to offer any further
concessions to Cuba which he regarded
as foolish and ungfateful and that in
30 far as he was concerned there would