Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1902-02-20
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular CorespondentJ
Washington, Feb. II, 100,


Washington, Feb. Il, 1902,
The past week in Congress might
be described as "preliminary week"
as it was devoted to preparation
for the important bills which are,
according to the program, to be
voted upon this week. To-day the
House of Representatives will take
up the bill reported by the Ways
and Means Committee abolishing
the war revenue taxes. If the
present program is successful rule
will first be adopted prohibiting
the Offering of motions during the
discussion of the measure and limit
ing the debate to two days. This
is regarded as necessary by the
leaders to prevent Democratic fill
clustering and an effort to precipi-
tate the question of tariff reform, a
policy which the President opposes
as strongly as the leaders in Con-
gress.
The Ways and Means Commit
tee will today take up the question
OF aifording relief to Cuba by reci-
procity or other means. There is a
wide diversity Of opinion as to the
advisability OF such a measure and
as to the means to be employed, il
it is determined that something
must be done. No amount Of Qucs-
tioning from Chairman Payne,
whom | saw this morning, secured
any further information than that
the Committee would try and deter
mine some means of meeting the
Presidents wishes without injury
to any American industry. AIr.
Roosevelt is so firmly convinced
that our duty to Cuba necessitatee
this action and certain of the Re
publicans are so strong in their be-
lief that it would be wisdom to take
steps to secure the bulk of the
Cuban trade that it is most probable
some measure will be framed but
even the members Of the Committee
are at a loss to determine what
form it viii take.
Representative Samuel ID.
Woods, of California, on this sub
ject, tells me that he considers the
position of the President a most
erroneous one and that he is conf
dent that, had the President had
the time and the opportunity to
listen to the testimony before the
Ways Means committee on the sub
ject, he would have changed his
position. ''Ihe Republican party"
said Mr.. Woods, sis pledged by its
national platforms to protect the
beet sugar interests. This nation
has, AT the direction of the Repub-
lican party, spent thousand of dol
lars and thousands of lives to free
Cuba and now Mr.. Roosevelt wants
us to assume the care of horde OF
foreigners at the expense Of our
own people. The form of our gov
ernment is not paternal and there
is certainly no reason why the pa
trimony of American farmers
should be turned over to lot of
idle dagoes. Today, all the Cuban
laborers are employed and at good
wages. They get $23 per month
and if their sugar industry is fur
ther developed they will have to
import Chinese and other cheap
labor to do it. The fact is that the
Cuban sugar crop is in the hands
OF speculators, many Of them
Americans, and that the same peo-
pie have purchased options on the
crops for some years to come. Now
they want us to lower the tariff in
order to increase their profits. The
laborers and the planters will gain
nothing from any reciprocal ar
rangement We may adopt; it will
all go into the hands of a few sugar
men. y
Representative Joseph c. Sibley,
Of Pennsylvania, told me yester,
day, III speaking OF the prospect O1
the Ways and Means Committee :
reporting a measure providing fol
reciprocity with Cuba, that with
certain provisions he would be
willing to vote for it, He said;
"The experts tellme that our lands
will produce beets containing from
2 to i per cent more sugar than will
the lands of competing countries,