The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1902-05-01
REPUBLICANS in QUANDARY.
Troubles That the Dominant Party Is Now
Facing.

n TdciDy-
81 WASHINGTON, April 29-Discussion
of the bill providing for civil government
Il of the Philippines is giving renewed en-
phasis to the fact for some time appar-
81 ent that the Republican party is fairly
q upon the defensive, without overstep-
n ping the bounds of parliamentary pro-
priety.
The speeches of Senator Rawlins and
Carmack have been simply terrific in
arraignment of the Philippine policy Of
s the Republican party.
Recent developments have enormously
strengthened the position of the oppon-
81 ents of that policy Disclosures concern
q ing water cure" shooting of natives
without trial and Major Waller and or
hers of General Smith to spare none over
4 the age of ten years and to make samar
a bowling wilderness have placed the ad-
ministrations supporters at grave dis
advantage.
AS these disclosures are official they
cannot be met by mere details or by
q apostrophes to the flag and broad as
sumption that American soldiers can
do no wrong.
The Republican Senators show by their
action and some of them privately ad-
Il nit that they feel the difficulty of the
situation.
Apparently truth begins to dawn upon
q them that, however noble may be the
a natural instincts of the American sold
a Ter, it is impossible to carry out bad
i policy by good methods; that a war OF
subjugation necessarily provoke des-
i perate and sometimes treacherous re-
sIstance and those in turn lead to acts
81 of retaliation or punishment that are
& shocking alike to humanity ana TO Christ
# ian civilization.
# Ii is an open secret that many promi-
81 nent Republicans are sick at heart of
# the whole Philippine business and would
m themselves gladly do the 'scuttle act'' il
H they could without confessing their party
guilty of a gigantic blunder. Moreover.
I ~'the Cuban reciprocity tight is still on and
is hurting the Republicans badly. The
beet sugar men openly charge that to
reduce the duty on raw sugar is solely
for the benefit of the sugar trust, while
4 the House leaders denantiy assert that
II the duty on sugar is too high and that
n everybody knew it TO be when the Ding
Il ley law framed Still they were hotly
II opposed to taking off the differentiai on
Fl refined sugar.
The beet sugar men insist that this
+ was in the interest of the sugar trust.
AT the same time they themselves, by
n their own admission, only voted to re-
Il move the diferential in order to defeat
n the bill.
Altogether the fight is not very cred
liable to either wing of the Republican
party The bill Is now tied UP in the
senate Committee on Relations with
Cuba and the immediate representatives
OF the administration are strenuously en-
deayoring to muster votes enough TO re-
duce the duty on raw sugar without
touching that on the refined article.
The effect OF this Will be to give the
sugar trust not only a full measure of its
present protection but new and important
advantages. while the sugar beet and
cane growers lose part of their pro-
lection and the consumers save nothing
on the cost of their sugar.
y Meanwhile the Democrats look on with
amused satisfaction. To them the meas
4 nre as proposed Is neither fish nor flesh
and they are perfectly. willing to have
Republicans indulge in charges and coun-
'eF-eharges which are bringing out into
boid relief some of the worst features of
the existing tariff and which cannot but
inJure the dominant party in the APP
Preaching Congressional campaign.
Belief is gaining ground that SO far
as Cuba is concerned the true solution
oi the problem will ultimately be found
III the annexation Of the island to the
united States in accordance with the plan
proposed by preventative Newlands,
winch is to make 1t constitutional re-