The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-12-29
House Bill Before Senate for
Reducing Philippine Tariff
THE DEMOCRATIC POLICY
The Fight VIII be Made Upon the
Statement of the Hon. Luke {.
Wright, Vice-Governor of
the Islands.
BY wATTERsoN sTEALEY.

Washingt.-, December 2s-tSpecial.)-
The senate democrats promise to take
plenty of time to consider the house bill
designed to reduce the Dingley tariff
rates from 70 per cent to % per cent be-
tween the United States and the Philip
pine Islands, although the bill was in
troduced in the house one day and pass
ed the next. The democrats will make
their fight upon the statement of Hon.
Luke e. Wright, vice governor of the
Philippines, who, when a witness before
the house ways and means committee
last week, came out in favor of free
trade. When the act of which the pres
ent bill is an amendment was before the
house Representative Payne stated, on
December IT, 1901, that the bill must be
Immediately enacted, without waiting for
the reception of the report of the Taft
commission, lest our constituents should
import tobacco and sugar, a :. what not
from the Philippines, free of duty into
the United States" Despite the urgency
that he claimed, the act was not APP
proved until March 8, 1902, nearly three
months later. 1t is claimed that the
great haste in which the republicans in
trOduced and passed their % per cent
amendment last week, is due to Govern
or Wrights testimony, which has not
yet appeared in print, and therefore only
the members of the ways ana means
committee who were present understood
that he had advocated out and out free
trade with the islands Representative
Mcclellan of New York in his minority
report, which will probably form the
basis of democratic opposition in the
senate, said the question is not upon the
imposition upon the amendment of the
tariff law now in force 1T is safe to
assume" says Mr. Mcclellan, that il
the majority had the courage to do SO
they would repeal the act of March s,
1902, in so far as to permit goods to come
from the Philippines to the United States
free of duty.
I'm view, however, of the extravagant
expressions used by members of the ma
Jority when the original act was before
the house, In which they insisted that
American workingmen and American In
terests must be protected from a flood
of cheap Philippine products, time must
be given the country to forget before the
bars are let down.
when the bill was before the COM
mittee on ways and means we offered
three amendments-first, for absolute
free trade between the Philippines and
of duty both ways between the Philip
pines and the United States; and, third.
for the free admission of all goods i'm
ported into the United States from the
Philippines. All three amendments were
rejected by the majority.
Under the rules of the house, under
the rule with which this bill will doubt
less be called up for discussion, it will
be impossible to amend or radically alter
it's terms. Members of the house will be
forced to vote either aye or mo- upon
its final passage A vote against the bill
is a vote for the maintenance of the
present rates of duty-75 per cent of
those imposed by the Dingley law A
vote for the bill is a vote in favor of
reducing the rates imposed to % per cent
of those imposed by the Dingley law.
If the opportunity is offered. we shall
try to amend the bill; failing, being
power1ess to relieve the country from
what we believe to be an unconstitution-
al system and as a choice between two
evils, we shall vote for the bill.