Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-12
BEET MEN DEFEATED
Republican Caucus Fails to Take
Action, But Test OF Strength
is Taken.
1t Shows the Friends of Cuban
Reciprocity Are in the
Lead.
The Test Came on Motion to Ad.
journ the Caucus
Sine Die.

adjourning at midnight until neS
Tuesday The victory was with TIL
advocates of reciprocity, as the motto
to adjourn carried by vote of ~
"a, after a motion to amend the motto
to make it a sine die adjournment, of
fered by Mr.. Littefield, of Maine, on
i'of the leaders of the opposition, ha
been voted down, 81 to 20.
The motion to adjourn was made b
Speaker Henderson, and the opponent
; of reciprocity claimed after adjourn
ment that some of their friends did no
care to offend the speaker by declin
ing to heed his appeal for furthe
conference. Earlier in the evening tn
3 opponents of reciprocity had insisted
upon vote last night on the mali
i proposition.
4 The session last night was a storm,
one. Mr.. Sibley, of Pennsylvania, of
fered a compromise proposition for T;
reciprocity arrangement to last unit
/ December 1, 1903, which he claimed
had the approval and endorsement o
President Roosevelt. He also said h,
had assurances that if the house
granted a 90 per cent concession tn,
senate would not increase it.
About 100 members were present las
night at the fourth conference OF house
republicans called to consider the
question of Cuban reciprocity. Speak
er Henderson and other leaders or
both sides We're in attendance. Rep
resentative Cannon of Illinois presided
and an arrangement was made for 9
division of the time between the adj
yocates and opponents of reciprocity.
| Representative Long, of Kansas, 4
member of the ways and means COM
mittee, opened with an exhaustive ar
gument in favor of the 90 per cent
concession advocated by his colleagues
of the ways and means committee. He
argued that the maintenance of a pro-
festive tariff was not involved in the
proposition of the ways and means
committee, but that the policy of reci-
procity was. 1.-THE defeat of this BILL,
said he, means that republicans have
refused to follow the leadership of
Blaine, of Mckinley and of Roosevelt,
and would mean that reciprocity was
no longer a part of the republican
faith
He pointed out that the republican
platform of 1896 referred to the repeal
of the reciprocity agreemnts as ma
tional calamity and demanded their re-
newal and extension. He insisted that
the hearings before the committee on
ways and means showed conclusively
that concessions made on Cuban sugar
would not affect the price of sugar in
this country, and that the beet sugar
inductry would not be injured.
A reduction of 20 per cent on Cuban
sugar. leaving the duty on such sugar
at s1.34 per hundred pounds. would not
enable the Cubans. after paying freight
rates and cost of refining. to compete
with the beet sugar in Chicago, Kan
sas City or Denver, which are the
principal markets for beet sugar He
espoused reciprocity with Cuba, he
said, not only because it would be
helpful to Cuba, but because he be-
lieved we would get an adequate re-
turn. The witnesses before the COM
mittee on ways and means, he said.
stated that with prosperity in Cuba
the importations of that island would
amount of $50 to 200 millions annu-
ally, instead of about $50, 900, the
present figures.
Mr.. Long contended that in addi-
ton to self interest there was moral
He declared that when
the commission from Cuba was pre-
vailed upon to accept the Platt amend
ment that President Mckinley assured
them that in consideration of it's ac-
I, -.
to secure economic concessions and
said that the commission so reported
to the Cuban convention. He pre-
sented detailed figures to show that the
Porto Rican sugar growers had re-
ceived the full benefit of the free adj
of sugar from that island. from
which, he argued, that the Cubans, not
the sugar trust. would get the benefit
and all the benefit-of any reduction
might make.
If this legislation fails and no con-
cession be made to Cuba-if the policy
Of President Mckinley and President
be defeated by this house
1t does not mean that the beet sugar
industry, by the control of this house.
can prevent free sugar from Cuba. A
treaty can be negotiated with that
country by the president.
THAT treaty can provide for the an.
nexation of Cuba, as the recent treaty.
did for the annexation of the Danish
West indies, and that treaty can be
submitted to the senate and ratified.
The moment that the ratifications are
under the decision of the
supreme court in the Porto Rican |
case, we would have free trade with
Cuba on all products The house
would be powerless to prevent it,
1t would be the part of wisdom, he
said, for the beet sugar interests to
agree to a reasonable concession that |
would not injure their industry in the
degree rather than to be
to accept possible annexa-
ion in the immediate future.
When Mr.. Long finished speaking
Mr.. Taylor, of Ohio, presented protest
against the plan of the ways and means
The protest was drafted at
he conference which the republicans
opposed to reciprocity held Monday |
hight 1t was in the nature of mani
este, setting out the grounds on which |
heir opposition was based, being
argely an application of the conten-
ion that q reduction of the duty on
Cuban reciprocity involved a relaxation
# the protective principle. In lieu of
he Tawney proposition for a rebate,
Mr. TAYLOR offered the following resolu-