The age-herald., 1902-03-12
Fourth Conference on Cuban Reciprocity as FruitIess as
 Previous Ones.
ADVOCATES OF RELIEF
 BRING FIRST BLOOD
Defeated Motion for Sine Die Adjourn ment By a Vote of 72 to 54. Done for PoIiteness, Say
 the Opposition.

Washington, March Il. - The fourth conference of the House Republicans on the reciprocity question was fruitless like those that preceded 1t, the confer ence adjourning at midnight until next Tuesday.
 The victory was with the advocates of reciprocity. as the motion to ao1ourn was carried 72 to 34, after a motion to amend the motion to make 1t a sine die ad- journment offered by MT. Lttlefield of Maine, one of the leaders of the opposi- tion had been voted down, 61 to 79.
 The motion to adjourn was made by Speaker Henderson, and the opponents of reciprocity claimed after the adjourn ment that some of their friends did not care to offend the speaker by declining to heed his appeal for a further confer ence. Earlier in the evening the advo- cates of reciprocity had insisted on vote tonight on the main proposition. The session tonight was stormy one. MT Sibley offered a compromise propo- sition for a reciprocity arrangement to last until December 1, 1903, which he claimed had the approval and endorse ment of President Roosevelt He also said he had assurances that if the House granted 20 per cent concessi A the Senate would not increase it.
 13o Members Present.
 About 13O members were present at the conference. Representativ Cannon of Illinois presided and arrangements for division of time was made between the advocates and opponents Of reciprocity. Representative Long of Kansas, a mem ber of the ways and means committee, opened the discussion with an extensive argument in favor of the 20 per cent concession advocated by his colleagues. He argued that the maintenance of a protective tariff was not involved in the proposition of the ways and means com mittee but that the policy of reciprocity was. "The defeat of this bill, said he, .'means that the Republican party has refused to follow the leadership Of Blaine, of Mckinley and of Roosevelt, and it would mean that reciprocity was no longer a part of the Republican faith
 He pointed out that the Republican plat form of 1896 referred to the repeal of the reciprocity agreements under the McKin- ley law as a national calamity and de- manded their renewal and extension. The original section of the Dingley bill au- thorizing reciprocity agreements, he said. named sugar as one of the articles on which the President authorized to reduce the duties, but the section was changed in the Senate and sugar was stricken out
 Espoused Reciprocity.
 He espoused reciprocity with Cuba, he said not only because it would be helpful to Cuba, but because he believed we would get an adequate return, and in support of that belief he instanced the result of the reciprocity with Cuba under the Mckinley bill from Sept l, 1891, to August 27 1894. Under that law, sugar. molasses, coffee and hides were admitted free, and in return Spain made conces- sions on our products entering Cuba. Our exports to Cuba increased from $12.224,- eSS in 1884, to $24, ,157 69S in 1893 In 1896 after the agreement was abrogated, they had fallen to $7530,860. Our exports to Cuba were now only S28,07S, TOP out of a total oI s65, ,501, Al. The witness before committee on ways and means, he said, stated that with prosperity in Cuba the importations of that island would amount to $150, ,000,- 900 to $200, 100000 annually. This, he ar- gued, was the trade that Cuba offered Us in return for concessions on sugar and tobacco.
 Tayler Presents Protest.
 When MT. Long finished speaking Llr. Tayler of Ohio presented a protest against the plan of the ways and means committee The protest was drafted at the conference which the Republicans opposed to reciprocity held last night It was in the nature of a manifesto setting out the grounds on which their opposi-
 
 hcation of the contention that a Nreduc- tion of the duty on Cuban sugar involved a relaxation of the protective principle. In lieu of the Tawney proposition for a rebate MT. Tayler offered the following resolution:
 Resolved, first, That we reaffirm adherence to the Republican national platform of 1896, insuring adequate pro- lection to the cane and beet sugar indus tries in the United States, and to the policy of reciprocity as declared in our platform of 1900.
 "Second. That we have maintained and will continue to faithfully discharge the obligations to Cuba assumed by virtue of lI.e treaty of Paris and the Platt amend ments; and that we favor such commer- cial agreements with her as her govern ment when established may be willing to make and which will be in harmony with our national policy of protection and reciprocity; and.
 Third That no further action be taken respecting the proposition of Cuban ciprocity and the following manifesto be considered"
 The manifesto, in part, says
 Oppose Reduction.
 I've oppose the proposition to reduce the tariff on Cuban products coming into this country because it involves a relaxa- tion of protective principle.
 '~rhe Republican platform q 1896 con- demned the Democratic party for not keeping faith with American sugar grow CTS; we seek not to merit for ourselves the same condemnation.
 "rThe proposition to reduce the sugar tariff constitutes. in essence an aban- } donment of the protective principle. And this abandonment is most unhappy be-