The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-01-15
MEND MENT
AGREED UPON,
Sugar Men Force Changes in the
Cuban Treaty.
SENATE COMMITTEE MEETS
FURTHER CHANGES MAY BE
MADE IF NECESSARY.
SENATE COMMITTEE MEETS

Washington, Jan. 1.-THE senate
committee on foreign relations today
agreed to recommend the adoption of
an amendment to the Cuban reciprocity
/ treaty providing that the reduction OF
20 per cent in the tariff on Cuban sugar
shall not be further reduced by any
preferential rate given to another
country. This action was taken at the
instance of the beet sugar men.
Today's meeting also served to de-
velop objections TO other features Of
the treaty. Senator Taliaferro or
Florida made an argument before the
committee urging amendments to the
provisions relating to tobacco and cat
tie. and Senators Bacon and Bailey,
both Democratic members of the COM
mittee, indicated opposition TO the
/ treaty on other grounds Senator Ba-
con offered an amendment applying the
Cuban treaty on the same basis as
other reciprocity treaties with refer
ence to the house of representatives,
but the amendment was not acted
upon. Senator Bailey took positive
ground against the policy of securing
reciprocal relations with other cOun-
tries by means of treaties, saying such
a course was unconstitutional in that
it is an interference with the authority
vested in the house of representatives
to originate all tariff legislation.
The amendment agreed upon is in the
shape Of a provision attached to the
eighth article of the treaty, and is as
-0llows:
Provided. That while this cenven-
| ton is in force. no sugar being the
product of the sofa of the republic of
! Cuba shall be exported from said re
public to the United States at a greater
reduction of duty than 20 per cent be-
low the rates prescribed by the act of
July "A, 1897. and provided further.
that while this convention is in force
no sugar shall be imported into the
| United States from another foreign
country at a lower rate of duty than
that imposed by the act Of July "A,
1891
The committee did not reach a vote
or the motion by Senator Bacon TO
strike out article of the treaty ex-
empting American tobacco from pref
erential rates given by Cuba to Amer
/ lean articles. 1t is claimed that the
adoption of the amendment relative to
the reduction on sugar will have the
effect Of insuring the support of prac
| tically all the Republican senators.
| The opposition to the striking out of
the provision regarding tobacco was
because Of the plea on the part of the
Cubans that under Il American to-
baccO might be shipped to Cuba. and
then exported from that island as Gu
pan TOBACCO II the Bacon amendment
should be adopted, the treaty would
not become effective until il should he
acted upon by the house. &c amend
ment reads:
This treaty shall not take effect I'M
I'll the same shall be approved by the
congress"
Senator Bacon was speaking in sup
port of this amendment when the COM
mittee adjourned. There viii be an
other meeting tomorrow
Some objection has been made BY the
friends of the reciprocity treaties to
the sugar reduction amendment to the
Cuban treaty which was agreed upon
today by the senate committee on for
eign relations They took the position
that the provision that sugar shall not
be imported from other countries than
Cuba at less than the rates of the
Ding4ey law viii have the effect of
fatally inJurlug a number of the other
treaties IL it should be Incorporated
into the treaty, as a reduction on
sugar imported into the United States
IS material feature of several of the
reciprocal agreements now pending in
the senate. This question. however,
has received very little attention at the
hands of the senate. The amendment
relating to Cuban sugar was drawn by
Senator Lodge. and it is understood
that the committees first object was
10 continue the protection now vouch-
safed to American sugar.