The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-05
LOCK HORNS ON CUBA.
President and Speaker Struggle for
 Supremacy.

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 President and Speaker Struggle for l Supremacy.
 Water Weilmans washii igton Special to | Chicago Record Herald.
 IS President Roosevelt or Speaker
 publican Party which s RoS to dictate m saf party W policy on the Cuban question? This Is the question of the hour in | Washington As matters stand today the l President and the Speaker are engaged
 in struggle for the mastery. The i'resi-
 dent insists that Cuba must be given tarin concession which will enable her to
 live. The Speaker insists that the House must not grant such concessions, be- | cause if 1t does the Democrats will carry | the Congressional elections next fall and secure a majority of the members of the lower branch. One or the other must give way. if peace Is to prevail Which | will 1t be? All the indications today are | that 1t will be the Speaker of the House l who yields. and that in one way or an- | other the President will have his way fin 1t is only JuEtiee to Speaker Henderson | to say that he denies there Is any such 1 contest between the President and him. self. Mir. Henderson makes 1t a rule never to be interviewed. According to 1 his theory, he speaks only through the l House" But l am able to say that the 1 following statements reflect the views of 1 tho Speaker:
 ''rhe House of Repr esentativcs has not | decided to reject all propositions to grant ] Cuba some concession. There is no seri- | ous disagreement between the President What is to nc don. for Cuba is still an open question and cannot finally be dc. 1 ternined until the ways and means shall | have finished its investigations. Only one Republican member. of that committee has announced his views. Many lies have
 seen published In the newspapers about this whole matter
 It Is authoritativeiy announced that the Ways and Means Committee will soon renew its Cuban investigations. The l meaning of this is that the storm of
 criticism that has descended upon the
 heads of the members of that committee has produced an effect. This in eonnec- ton with the spirited interview which took place between the President and the Speaker at the .hite House yestes- day indicates that the leaders of tho House are pro pairing for reluctant re-
 treat with as much dignity as pos tble. At yesterday's conference at the White House it ia understood some progress
 was made towards an agret ment, Presi- dent Roosevelt said hc would be content with 25 per cent reduction. and Speak CT Henderson and Mir. Dalzell were will inx to take into consideration the possi- bility of concedlng 15 or nerhaps 20 per
 cent. In the opinion of well informed
 observers some compromise will yet be reached.
 
 declare that a reduction as small as 2o per cent. would not gave them from
 loss. and that anything less would spell ruin. According to their figures the actual cost of producing raw sugar In Cuba and getting it to Havana or other point of shipment is rather more than 7 cents a pound. To this must De added 4o
 cents @ hundred pounds for freight. com
 total cost, without profit. to the planter, l of $2A per hundred pounds in New forN. l There the duty of sl.6S is added, giving | total cost of s.os in the American mar | ks.. The average market price Of Cuban | raw sugar in New York during the year i,ul was SAv41 showing that the Cuban | contention that 20 per cent. reductloa of S1.ss duty would be of no Peneht to | them is an erroneous one. With 32 cents | taken off the duty the actual cost or
 delivering their sugar to the American refiner would be, on thelr own showing:
 ss.T per hundred pounds or about 7. cents under the average market price during the last year.
 It is upon this showing made by the | Cubans themselves that a belief in an l eventful compromise is based. If a rec duction of 90 per cent would give the | Cuban planters a chance for their lire | in this market, 1t remains to inquire l what effect such reduction would have ity of tho members of Congress are coming to the conclusion that 1t would l not injure the beet industry at all. The
 cost of producing refined geet sugar IS
 States taking the average of all the re- fneries and the figures furnished by their 1 owners. As the average price or regnta
 sugar In the Nnited States last year was 1 a little over cents pound. 1t Will De l seen that the beet producers have goou
 margin for profit.
 | Tho refiners of imported raw sugars
 must pay in first cost and duty a1 averagr t.tn
 them approximately cent pound Tor l expense of reflni 1g. marketing ana pront. l On this comparative showing the peet
 producers enjoy oonsdc9an,e . cet,tnrs mrrsim fl, | ail other countries, with the additional
 advantage that their output Is so small ] that 1t can be sold in the re$ion where i produced. with smaller expenses Tor | have carefully looked Into the question | are unable to discover why A reduction of g per cent. in favor of Cuban sugar
 should injure the beet businees.
 Sneaker Hendersons changing attitude.
 under pressure from the public press and the White House. Is likely U be carr!eo | to the point of Q full surrender during the next fortnight. In that case there | will be m end to the suspicious which | were rife a few days ago. and these sus- | nicions were that the Speaker of the House had determined to do something l to rehabilitate his branch Of tho na- 1 tional legislature and himself in public | Aatiruntion, The Speaker and his lieuten- l ants have been chafing under tho crit- clsm 60 often passed that the House is 1 becoming a negligible quantity in na- | tlonal affairs and 1Aat the Senate IS now | the whole thing. | if was believed the Speaker had de
 cided to take stand which should lift 1 the House to the top again as body ot : influence and mower If he were 10 com ] nistsl,. bloct; the most important rchemc 1 pf leslslstion to which President Roose- | welt had committed his admlnistrauon l and render futile ail the President 1 tnvhicb in his message the President has
 said were demanded by every consider,
 ation of honor" the finger of scorn couLa no longer be Nponted at the House or
 R representatives as purely neshs'oi0
 quantity.
 a~rr WxrE CEApY ACT