The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-10-10
oP'E EMS CAMPAIGN
Congressman McCIeary Deliv-
ers Address Last Night.
Binuham Lake Audience Listens to a
Lengthy Discussion of the Cuban
Reciprocity Question.

lCdupdlSu al DAASAoA Aon0 AASS AA@e
Ne devoted his speech mainly to the
Cuban reciprocity question. speaking
as follows:
1.-The question is. - said Mr.. Nc
Cleary. Ibid the delegation do right
or wrong in voting against that bills
The delegation thought then and
think now that they did exactly
right. In that opinoin they have
never wavered.
But" said Mr.. McCleary, sit has
been claimed by many advocates or
the bill that it has the Endorsement OF
the president and that he desires and
has urged its passage. This is simply
a bold attempt to bolster up bad
y, bill by the use of good name. |
have no money to throw away. but L
have 500 that I will donate to any char
inv to be named by the first person who
will give one authoritative utterance
of the president indorsiDg the bill. 1t
will not do to say that the president
favors reciprocity with Cuba. Has he
ever Endorsed that billH That is the
question. And it is time those who
have been saying that he has Endorsed
it either to prove that he has or quit
making such assertion Make good
or quit talking, should be the de-
mand of the people.
"He could not very well have made
an issue with representatives who
voted against the house bill, because
he has not even indicated that the
house bill was satisfactory to him. 1t
is in fact we'll known that. it fell short
of his expectations. All he has asked
for ia liberal concessions on the chief
Cuban staples, sugar and tobacco, but
he has not attempted to define the
character or extent of those coLces-
sions or the conditions on which they
should be made. He has not commit
ted himself to any definite measure or
scheme of reciprocity, leaving that, as
he ought, entirely TO congress.
Gan intelligent Americans under
stand that under our. system of gov
eminent the president does not make
the laws; that is the work of con-
gress. The president is authorized to
Ieend to congress from time to time,
Recommendation as to results desira-
BILE TO attain. but it is for congress TO
frame the legislation in the matter.
In ali mis- utterances the president has
steadily kept before the people two
general ideas in this matter: First.
that we should treat Cuba with special
{, kindness and consideration second,
that we should have from her special
consideration. When the committee
of ways and means framed its bill on
the subject the Minnesota delegation
opposed the bill on the very ground
that it would utterly fail of accom-
plishing the purposes indicated by the
president, but that on the contrary
its benefits would go chiefly to The
american Sugar Refining company.
commonly spoken of as the sugar
trust.
81 propose now to show that the
president stands squarely by the dele
CATION in that contention, and that
therefore he himself would have voted
against the bill if he had been MEM
Der of congress at the time. On June
10, 1902. shortly before the adjourn
ment of congress, the president, fear
ing that congress would adjourn with
out devisipg some plan to help Cuba,
sent to congress a special message on
the subject. Speaking of the proposal
to reduce the tariff on Cuban sugar
coming into the United States, as pro-
yided in the pending bill he said:
objection has been made to the
granting of the reduction on the
ground that the substantial benefits
would not 60 to the agricultural pro-
ducers OF sugar, but would inure to
the American sugar refneries. In my
Judgment provision can and should
be made which will guarantee us
dSdluSb lDlS pOs6l Unity.
sit is worth while to read that last
sentence again and to ponder on it.
In my judgment provision can and
should be made which shall guarantee
us against this possibility, Those
words signify beyond question three
things: First, that such provision
has not yet been made, and that the
objection to the bill raised by the
Minnesota delegation is valid one.
SIN the second place they signify
that in the judgment of the president
such provision can be made, again in
dorsing the position of the delegation.
And in the third palce, they show
that the president desires that such
provision be made before the bill
comes to him for consideration. In
other words, the president condemns
the bill as it stands on the very
lgrounds on which the Minnesota dele
cation voted against the bill. The
president in his special message takes
the identical position regarding the
bill which the delegation has occupied
from the beginning.
''When the committee having
charge of such matters shall frame a
bill which shall measur- rp To the
standard set by the presi nj and he
Minnesota delegation, a hill which
shall give its benefits to she agricnl-
tural producers of sugar and whose