Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1902-05-22
SUGAR BEET STATES.
They Will Control Senate Action on
Reciprocity Bill.
Measure VIII Probably he Smoth-
cred in Committee on Com
merce, Dominated by Al
Iison and Burrows.
Especial washington Letter.l

- reply, d deeming silence len the most
prudent for the time being"
said Representative Hepburn, of
Iowa, in reference to a remark made
to him by the secretary of war.
lie said: 1t seems IA pity that any
of our people have been encouraged
to engage in a business which would
cripple the Antillean islands, In 9TH
er words, his sympathies were with
the Cubans, as against our own peo-
pie, who have invested their millions
in beet sugar. That remark intensi-
fed my opposition to the reciprocity
bill"
The measure referred to is now be-
fore the senate, and no writer can
positively predict what will be done
with it. but there are good reasons
for believing that the senate will de-
fer action for long time. The bill
is now in charge of the senate com
mittee on commerce. Senators Alli-
son, of Iowa, and Burrows, of Mich
igau, are two of the leading and in
1iuential members of that committee;
and they are from beet sugar produc-
ing states. Men who have had long
years of practical experience in ma
tiOnal affairs are predicting that the
two senators named will kill the meas
ure by smothering it in the commit
tee. They can delay committee action
for couple of months; and then it
will be time for adjournment.
Representative Richardson the lead
er of the democrats in the house of
representatives, says: 'While l have
as high personal regard for the pres
ent chief executive as | have had for
any of his predecessors, | felt that in
dealing with the Cuban reciprocity
bill we had an opportunity to coop
crate with a number of republicans in
defeating the main feature of that bill
in order to show to the president and
TO his successors that they must not
60 too far in undertaking to shape ma
1ional legislation. The representa-
tives of the people have spoken in no
uncertain manner"
Quite a number of statesmen have
expressed substantially the same SEN
timent to your correspondent. There
Sading the house of representatives
while that reciprocity bill was under
consideration; and, in fact, for sew
eral weeks before it was reported
from the committee on ways and
means. But this earnest spirit was
patriotic and not personally bitter.
The speaker and those who believed
with him that the bill reported was
good one were fair with all others
But the opponents of the bill who
stood for protection to the beet sugar
industry, after eXhausting all parlia-
mentary patience, cut themselves
loose from party ties and voted accord
ing to their convictions. Such an in
dependent, non-partisan spirit has not
been displayed in either the senate or
the house of representatives. for more
than quarter Of a century. The final
vote showed unmistakably that the
representatives of the people will leg
islate independently when it comes to
questions directly affecting their con
stituents.
Representative Shafroth, of Colo
rado, says: Il was also amazed when
l heard what the secretary of war
had said to Col. Hepburn; and that
evidence Of the sympathy for Cuba,
which was greater than sympathy for
our own people, impelled me to great