The Minneapolis journal., 1902-06-30
last DAYS OF CONGRESS

The first session Of the ffty-seventh
congress may be charged with some 1n-
nortant omissions, as every congress may
be charged. 1t has accomplished some
very good things which, although expen-
sive, embody national benefits.
The most regrettable omission is the
failure to enact the Cuban reciprocity
bill, which was demanded by national JUS
tice. honor and humanity, and defeated
bv greed for gain and narrow sel1shness,
under the guise of unsel1sh championship
of the interests Of labor The triumph
of the latter is very apt to rebound with
a backstroke Of retribution. The refusal
to perform this duty to Cuba Is the only
stain upon our honorable, fa1th-keeplng
record Of our fulfillment Of the terms OF
the treaty of Paris. This is not pollt1-
cal question. 1t has been from the very
commencement a question of national
fidelity to national pledges
g The canal question Is practically set
tied, for only details as to construction
have to be wrought out, and il arrange
ments cannot be satisfactorily made with
the Colombian government Nicaragua re-
mains the alternative route. It Is ten
years job at the shortest calculation. As
was expected, the Philippine legislation
has consumed the greater portion or the
time. That is a matter obviously, under
any rational consideration, out of the do
main of politics, but it has been made
shuttlecock for party battledores by the
democrats who conceived the Idea OF
making political capital out of the pro-
posals for the government of the Philip
pines, which involved the assumption by
them of the inconsistent. attitude OF ap-
pearing for the welfare of the ''poor Fill
pinos" and yet opposing ample provisions
for their material and intellectual well
fare, and actually defending them or seek
ing to defend them from the shocking
evidences of the semi barbarism, perfldy
and cruelty of the insurgents in the field
against the sovereignty of the United
States, and vilely slandering our own army
in the archipelago. And they expect to JUS
tify this wholly unpatriotic position in
the approaching congressional campaign!
q The cutting down of taxation over
S72, ,000, 900 ard the passage Of the irriga-
tion bill are measures, which fully meet
I a strong public demand. Nothing has been
done in railroad legislation and the in
terstate commerce commission finds itself
after much talk in congress, compelled to
use its present powers to the best of its
ability to do away with unjust discrimin-
alton in rates and combinations to put ur
rates The combined action Of the gov
ernment and the commission last winter
gave the transgressors big scare, and
has had some good results, but the end is
not yet. This congress has failed to favor
any financial legislation and there is every
evidence that there is considerable
amount of silver influence extant yet. The
useful financial legislation of 1900 wa!
the result of positive agitation by the
public. It will take another st rong devel.
opment of public sentiment to complet.
the operation Of the gold standard legis
lation Of that year, by making the st and
ard silver dollar interchangeable will
gold This congress will not even pas
>the bill providing for the recoinage Of tn.
standard silver dollars into subsidiar!
coins.
If the expenditures of, this congress
reach three-Quarters Of a billion, peopl