The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-30
The Wrong to Cuba and Ourselves.

New 1Ork Times.
 The most amazing thing about the policy Of the extreme protectloniSts in refusing reciprocity of trade with Cuba is that it is as plain as day that re- clpiocity would be Tn every way or the highest benent to ourselves as nation. They simply demand that tne interests, commercial and political, and the moral obligations Of the United States shall be injured or ignored in order that an in- sIEp meant portion of our own people may have a chance to get little richer out of their fellows. Their attitude Is unfortunately, not hard 10 understand: It is the attitude of heartless greed. But it Is amazing that they should get resDectlul hearing from the representa- tiVes of the people, that they should not be shut out of the committee rooms and the Iobbies of Congress until they have some decent excuse for appearing there. Their motives are aVowedly selfish and mean. Their purpose Is contrary to the code of national morals. The policy they demand is at once harmful to the re- public and disgraceful. No man in pri- vate business could act on the principles they confess and retain a respectable standard among honest business men. It is preposterous and outrageous that they should have the influence they only too plainly possess in the legislation or the country. What is it that every honorable otilcer of the United States at home or in Cuba, who has been engaged in the work go Ing on in CuDa, declares lo pe potH thS duty and the clear interest of the United States toward that nation? It is only that we shall trade with Cuba on terms that will be profitable to 10th parties On the one hand we are asked to reduce the high duties on the chief imports from Cuba to a point that will enable these products to enter our markets at a small profit. If We do so, the consuIn- CTS in our own country will certainly not suffer The sugar and tobacco Cuoa could send us under a slight reductloh of duty might not lessen the cost to the consumer but 1t would tend to do so. It could not in any conceivable manner advance the cost. Whatever eHect u had would be entirely beneficial: On the other hand, the reduction of the Cuban tariff on goods exnOrted there from the United States would give us the. bulk of the trade with the island. and thls would steadily increase with the pros perity of the people. We should pront' as the saving Is. going and coming.
 osition from Cuba, If that little state were entirely independent of our innu- ence or control and If we had no re- sponsiblitv for its future. But we nave such a responsibility. We assumed II vol untarilv. We even forced the plan on htr bv which 1t was assumed We nao gar risoned the island. during and after the war with Spain, and we made 1t con dition of the withdrawal Of our troops that Cuha should put her foreign rela- tinns under our control. We are tnere- fore hound to see that any treaty we may make with her shall be as helpful as nossible to her stability and prosper itv INe are bound to do this, moreover, because the only market in which she can sell so as to maintain the shadow Of nrosperitv is our market. In asking that we do this she offers her own markets