Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-17
IN THE PHILIPPINES
BILL TO REDUCE THE TARIFF RE-
PORTED TODAY.
Next Step Will Be to Establish the
Gold Standard-Secretary Of
Wars Recommendations.

The House committee on ways and means
today favorably reported a bill reducing
the tariff levied on products of the Philip
pine Islands to a rate equivalent to % per
cent Of the Dingley rates. The existing
duty is 70 per cent of the Dngiey rates.
During consideration Of the bill an amend
ment offered by Mr. Richardson of
Tennessee repeating the existing Philippines
tariff law. This was opposed by the ma
jority on the ground that the revenue
which tariff produces is needed; and, fur
ther, that under the treaty of Paris Spain
has an equal tariff footing with the United
States IN the Philippines.
Under existing law the duties collected on
products Of the Philippines go into the
treasury Of the Islands. The War Depart
ment has recommended the reduction of the
tariff from IS to 25 per cent, claiming that
exports to the United States will be stimu-
lated and revenues increased
To Establish the Gold Standard.
The next move for the betterment of in
dustriaI and financial conditions in the
Philippines will be the passage of a bill es-
tablishing the gold standard for the Philip
pines. The committee on insular affairs of
the House now is working on such g. bill,
ly after the holiday recess.
Both the tariff reduction and the gold
standard are recommended by the Philip
pines civil government. The Secretary Of
War has made recomme nda tions upon the
subject as follows:
Secretary Of Wars Recommendations.
81 Go not wish to delay in asking the at
tention Of Congress to two subjects upon
which, l think, if the conditions and needs
Of the islands could be fully understood,
there would be but little controversy and
upon which very simple enactments would
be Of immense value to the people of the
islands, whose welfare the government of
the United States is bound to promote l
earnestly urge, first, that the duties levied
in the United States upon products of the
Philippine archipelago imported therefrom
be reduced to % per cent of the Dingley
tariff rates; second, that the government
Of the island be permitted to establish the
gold standard for its currency, and to take
such measures as it finds to be practicable
and prudent to keep the silver coinage
which it is authorized to issue at parity
with gold, without in any way commit ting
the United States to responsibility there
for.
Loss by Decline of Silver.
THE insular government has in ten
months lost over 81 600 600 gold by the de-
cline in silver because it was operating on
silver basis, and this has changed the
surplus of revenues into deficit at the
very time when the other causes mentioned
have caused an extraordinary demand for
the use of the revenues for the relief of
the people. Agriculture is prostrated. Com
merce is hampered and discouraged. All
the political parties in the Philippines ur-
gently demand a change of the present
currency standard
Some relief would be afforded by open
ing profitable market in the United States
to the products of the islands. Still greater
relief would be afforded by delivering the
business of the islands from the disas-
trous effects of the decline in the price Of
putting 1t upon the substantial basis of the
gold standard currency which exists in the
United States, where we wish them to do
their business, which exists on the con-
tinent Of Europe and in India and Japan,
and the adoption of which is now under
consideration In the Straits Settlements
'"The decline in the price of silver has
carried Mexican dollars down from ratio
of two to one in gold to a ratio of over
two and one-half to one, and this has
borne heavily on the commercial interests
and on the wage earners."
To Serve Out Their Terms.
Secretary Moody has requested Rear Ad-
mirais Melville and Kenny, respectively
chief Of the bureau of steam engineering
and paymaster general Of the navy, to
serve out the remainder OF their four
year terms as bureau chiefs. Both
these officers would have been retired next
January, when they reach the age of sixty
two years. Admiral Melvilles commission
as chief of the bureau of steam engineer