New-York tribune., 1902-03-18
ON CUBA TONIGHT.
WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE LEAD
ERS CONFIDENT.
POSITION FIGHTING FOR \ RE
BATE PLAN.
[nY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRrBUNE.l

[BT TELEGRAPH TRIBUNE.l
Washington, March 11.-Encouraging progress
was made to-day in the fight for reciprocity
with Cuba Tonight General Grosvenor, a
leading member OF the Ways and Means Com
mittee, said he felt confident that the COM
mittee's bill, with the slight modification pro
posed by Mr.. Sibey. of Pennsylvania would be
adopted in the party caucus tomorrow night by
an overwhelming majority. Chairman Payne
Mr.. Dalzel, of Pennsylvania Mr.. Long Of Kan
sas and other members of the Ways and Means
Committee feel quite sanguine as General
GrosvenOr MI Dick. of Ohio, member of the
'insurgent" committee, also gave a Tribune
correspondent to understand that the ''kickers
about ready to yield and that at the caucus
tomorrow night a satisfactory agreement
would be reached. Although this was fore
shadowed in The Tribune's dispatches last night
assurances of returning peace among House Re
publicans from the sources quoted cannot but
be gratifying to everybody concerned. 1t is con-
fidently believed that to-morrows conference
will be a love feast in comparison with the four
conferences on the same subject that have al
ready been held without definite result. If the
conference agrees as is generally expected, il is
thought that Chairman Payne will report a
Cuban reciprocity bill to the House Wednesday
morning. and that within three weeks the meas
ure Will be placed upon its passage.
W me lllS IttllS pl tpilllutIlCS per duSS eu-
ministration circles tonight at the time
it is fact that some of the insurgents stil
insist that their case has not been lost They
declare that if voted down tomorrow night
they will carry their fight to the floor of the
House, and will there rally strength enough i'm
cooperation with the Democrats to postpone
final action indefinitely by parliamentary OBJ
structlon. This plan contemplates either the pre-
vention of a special rule limiting debate and
cutting off amendments, or if special rule is
considered necessary to prevent amendments
that would have for their object general tariff
revision then appeal Will be taken from the
Speaker every time he rules out such an amend
ment as not germane. and with the full Demo
cratic vote and the votes Of the irreConcilable
insurgents" tariff revision amendments will be
offered and voted on. If the 'kickers' carry out
this programme they will only succeed in bring
ing more trouble themselves than they can
possibly cause to Speaker Henderson and the
present House organization. which Is com
mitted irrevocably TO reciprocity with Cuba.
Delay is all they could hope to accomplish as
neither defeat of the Ways and Means bill nor
revision of any tariff schedule is possible.
ATTITUDE OF THE OPPOSITION.
The remaining insurgents held caucus this
afternoon in the committee room OF Representa-
tive w A. Smith, Of Michigan. and after much
talk adopted a resolution for presentation to the
conference tomorrow night. which will recite IN
effect that they favor any plan Of relief to Cuba
that does not Involve reduction in any tariff
schedule. The meaning Of this is that they will
fight for the rebate plan in the conference to-
morrow. and when they lose most Of them will
yield to the inevitable and pledge support to the
ma tority bill 1t is pointed out by the sup
pOrters of the administration policy that the
of the word relief" by the insurgents" is
the keynote to the whole situation. The ad-
mnstratiOu's object in urging reciprocity with
island II is for the relief Of the United
States In other words. IL is not intended 10
extend charity TO Cuba. but rather TO bring
Cuba into such close commercial relations with
to both countries.
While of course 1t is true that Cuba needs
this form Of help. still II cannot be said that
the benefit is 10 be all on the side Of Cuba and
single industry in this country. on the con
trary, statistics are available which prove
clearly that in the reciprocity arrangement
proposed the general trade Of both countries VIII
be vastly benefited and no interest of either will
be hurt in any way. AS the increased impOrta-
tiOn Of Cuban sugar will not decrease the price
OF that commodity in the United States il is in
conceivable how the beet root people figure out
any sort Of harm to their industry. a parity Of
reasoning along this line Is found in those beet
root States-notably Michigan and Nebraska
where at one time a State bounty was paid
beet sugar. In each State the bounty amounted
TO about one cent a pound. The courts have
held these bounties TO be unconstitutional but
the withdrawal Of the bounty has not affected
in any way the price of sugar or the prosperity
Of the beet root industry. In point OF fact, the
beet root magnateS themselves declare that their
industry, both in Michigan and California,
elsewhere, never In more prosperous con-
dition than it is present, and this in face
Of the fact that the industry is no longer bounty
fed in any community in this country.