Waterbury Democrat., 1902-03-12
CUBAN RECIPROCITY
House Republicans Hold Pro-
 longed Caucus.
MANY SPEECHES FOR AND AGAINST.
Exhaustive Argument by Long Of Kansas In Favor of a Twenty
 Per Cent Comcession-Strong l. OunoSiffou I~ nevaTonad

&AAhSAS HI K aVOE OA G 1WGntE
 Per Cent Concession-Strong
 ! Opposition Is Developed.
 ' WASHINGTON, March 12.-About 130 members were present at the fourth conference of house Republic ans called to consider the question of Cuban reciprocity. Speaker Henderson and the leaders on both sides of the controversy were in attendance. Rep Fesentative Cannon Qll.) presided, and an arrangement was made for a diyi- sion of the time between the advocates and opponents Of reciprocity. Repre- sentative Long (Kan.), member of the ways and means committee, opened with an exhaustive argument in favor of the 20 per cent concession advocated by his colleagues of the ways and means committee.
 He argued that the maintenance of a protective tariff was not involved in the proposition of the ways and means committee, but that the policy of rec tprocity was. "The defeat of this bill, ,' said he, means that the Republican party has refused to follow the leader ship of Blaine, of Mckinley and of Roosevelt, and it would mean that rec iprocity was no longer a part of the Republican faith"
 He pointed out that the Republican platform of 1896 referred to the repeal pf the reciprocity agreements under the Mckinley law as national calan1i- ty and demanded their renewal and ex- tension. The original section of the Dingley bill authorizing reciprocity agreements he recalled, named sugar as one of the articles on which the president was authorized to reduce the duties, but the section was changed in the senate and sugar was stricken out.
 This was not charity. It was a gooG bargain. MT. Long contended that in addition to self interest there was a moral obligation upon the United States to grant concessions. He declared that when the commission from Cuba was prevailed upon to accept the Platt amendment President Mckinley assur- ed them that in consideration of its ac- ceptance he would do all in his power to secure economic concessions and said that the commission so reported to the Cuban convention. In conclusion MT. Long said:
 eff this legislation fail and no con- cession be made to Cuba, if the policy of President Mckinley and President Roosevelt 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. After the establishment of the republic of Cuba treaty can provide for the annexation of Cuba, as the recent trea- ty did for the annexation of the Dan- ish West Indies, and that treaty can be submitted to the senate and ratified. Annexation will come in the not far distant future, but when it does come want it to come by the free act of the Cuban people, and when they come permanently under our flag I do not want them to feel they were the vic tims of forcible annexation, which President Mckinley characterized as Criminal aggression"
 When Mir. Long finished speaking, , A1r. Tayler (O) presented protest against the plan of the ways and means committee. The protest was drafted at the conference which the Republicans opposed to reciprocity held Sunday night. It was in the na- ture of a manifesto setting out the grounds on which their opposition was based. being largely an amplifcation of the contention that a reduction of the duty on Cuban reciprocity involved a relaxation of the protective princi- pie.
 MT. William Alden Smith (Mich.) made rousing speech of over an hour against reciprocity, eliciting frequent applause from his supporters. While announcing great admiration for the president, he insisted that there should be no executive interference with the legislative branch of the government. He also assailed the organization of the house for leading the party into dis aster and declared amid tumultuous applause that he would decline to fol- low blindly when the leaders blun- dered.
 He was followed by Mir. Cannon ul).
 At II 40 Speaker Henderson moved an adjournment until next Tuesday, and Littlefeld Cde.) moved to amend and strike out Tuesday, which would have caused a sine die adjournment. but his amendment was lost by a vote of 61 to 70. MT. Henderson's motion was then carried by a vote of 72 to 54.