The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-02-04
The NEW CUBAN QUESTION

The New CUBAN QUESTION
The military governor Of Cuba. Gen
eral Wood, has issued circular, received
by members of the senate yesterday,
showing the necessity for making imme-
date concessions on the two leading
Cuban products coming to this country.
He .af1rms that a reduction of the duty
on sugar by 33 1-3 per cent is the mini
mum reduction which should be made, and
that would yield the planter profit of
only 4S cents on each 800 pounds of sugar
produced. Without some such concession,
General Wood afirms, as he has before,
that the sugar planting int crest will suf-
fer severely and much labor will be unem-
ployed General Woods testimony is only
part Of a mass of reliable testimony to
the same effect. He has no interest in
misrepresenting the situation. He, with
the administration, recognizes the fact
that there are more than commercial con-
siderations to be regarded in this matter,
and that first Of all comes the moral con-
sideration. 1t is our duty, because we
have given pledges to perform such duty,
to minister to the peace and prosperity of
Cuba until she stands sturdily and health
fully on her feet.
But members OF congress and such pa
pers as the New York Press tell us that
| there is no distress present or threatened
in Cuba, and that all reports to that effect
are false, and that not one cent of conces-
sion should be allowed the Cubans, so
repudiating our special and self-assumed
obligations to those people that they
should not suffer through our interven-
ton in their behalf in 1898. 1t is demon
strable that substantial reduction in the
| duty on sugar can be made and still leave
| good profit to American producers. Mr.,
Henry Oxnard has not replied to the COM
| ments upon the report he made little
| over two years ago. in which he said beet
sugar could be produced at good profit,
even if the tariff duty on sugar were re-
moved entirely. This report was repub-
lished by the New York Evening Post on
! December IA last. Mr. Robert Oxnard,
| Henry's brother, last week concluded that
! something must be done in explanation,
and he addressed a communication to the
| New York Tribune, in which his whole
! argument is that the beet sugar interest
fears that German beet sugar will be
rushed in and reduce the price of the
! American article to such an extent that
American sugar mills will have to close.
But there is no proposition to reduce the
tariff on German sugar or repeal the large
| countervailfng duty which may be ap-
F.. piled on sugar coming from coun-
! tries paying bounty to sugar producers,
! so it still remains true, as Mr.. Henry OK
nard reported in 1899, that there is emo
fear that Cuban production, even under
annexation to the United States can ex-
! pand in our day to the point where the
United States would become exporters in
stead of importers, and hence. that pro-
| lection would no longer protect" The
consumption of sugar in this country is
! increasing much faster than production.
Mr.. Robert Oxnard admits, in the letter
! referred to, that his company has all
along experienced much difficulty getting
beets to grind sour factories" he saws.
have never had enough raw material to
run them on an average more than half
OF regular campaign. The supply. how
ever, is steadily increasing" 1t is GER
I: tainly conceivable from Mr., Oxnard's
! statements that the industry he repre-
sents would not be impaired by conces-
slons TO cuba. 1t Is the competition of
!, German beet sugar which the American
/ Beet Sugar company fears and the tariff
/ and the countervailing duty protect them
1 from that.
| IL cuba is annexed and there is a
| strong Cuban element favoring it. there
will be free Cuban sugar as there is now
i free Hawaiian sugar and free Porto R1can
sugar, and it is evident that refusal to
! make tariff concessions to Cuban products
4 may work such distress and disorder that
/ our government will have to Intervene
/ and annex the island in order to con-
tlnuance OF the betterment policy of the
4 past tour years. With reference tn To-
! oacco, we have the testimony of toba 600
!. men themselves that reduction Of tb -
i duty will work no harm to them. For IN
i stance, President Frye, of the New Ene.
!; land Tobacco Growers association. who
! mas sent in his resignation because the
/ company refused to favor concessions RI
I CUBA, says in his letter:
know that a reduction Of so per cent an
ne aucy on Caban (Havana) tobacco would
! not seriously injure any tobacco interests IN
the united States. But above and bevonil oil
seinsn considerations I know tho nation, .
nonof Is pledged to make such CONCESSIONS IN
uutles on Cuba's chief products as shall he
necessary to restore prosperity to the islond
and knowing all these things I can no lonea,
De tied down and gagged by resolution tbat
absolutely opposes any concessions to cnha
at all, knowing that such a course - ,an
sisted in by the protected interests viii ~
the END 1eopardize the very existence Of orr
whole protective system Our deenlv 10.
menteo PRESIDENT Mckinley saw all this and
uttered the note of warning at Buffalo Alas
that he could not be here now to reiterato
II ana In tones of thunder din it into eara
OF men and interests gone so mad with tha
frenzy or greed and sellshncss that all rea
son and common sense have ceased TO he mart
| and parcef OF their beings. :
| This puts the whole matter in mn.
shell and it is unanswerable. -
| Former Senator w e. Chandler Of Nav
Hampshire is out in long discussion
of the claim that has frequently been made
that Spain would have yielded indepen-
dence to Cuba to avoid war with the
United States. The senator comes to tho
| conclusion that it was the bun4linp or