The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-02-28
A National Duty.

NdllOnal duties thrOng upon the con-
sideration of congress and the public, and
the latter, sooner than the former, recog-
n1zes the urgency where it is needed
The special message of the president to
the senate yesterday, setting forth the
urgent demand for the passage Of the
Philippine tariff hill, ought to stimulate
even the self appointed guardians of
special interests to the spirit of a true
altruism. That tariff bill has been passed
by the house some time since. It proposes
to reduce the tariff on goods coming from
the philippines to 20 per cent Of the Ding
ley rates. The senate committee amend
ed the bill to fix the duties on Philippine
sugar and tobacco at so per cent of those
rates. The senators representing sugar
and tobacco raising states oppose any fur
Their reduction than was made last spring
Ito Is per cent Of the Dingley rates), and
claim that the industries they represent
will be brought to the extreme verge of
ruin by any further reduction. They
point with apprehension to the statistics
showing that, in 1900, ,311,782 pounds Of
sugar were imported into this country
from the Philippines, followed by 4,747, 555
pounds In 1901 and 11,521,215 pounds in
1902, and they treat with Indifference the
facts touching the severe agricultural de-
preston in the islands, asset forth clear ;
ly In the cable from Governor Taft quoted
by the president in his message to the
senate yesterday, and in many reports re-
ceived from private and official sources
during the past few months These pro-,
testants against affording relief to- the
people of the Philippines are theg same.
who have fought. againt any aecomnlo-
dalton to Cuba in the shape of astariff re-
duction sugar and are delaying now
necessary action on the Cuban treaty. de-
manded by the business interests of this
country, who perceive that the treaty will
give US Cuba's future trade through it's
preferential clauses. In this case, they
oppose action looking to the slightest bet
terment of insular agriculture in our own
dependency, knowing, as the president
says, that I'VE have assumed RESPONSE
bi1ities toward the Philippines which we
are in honor bound to fulfil; we have the
specific duty of taking every measure in
our power to see to their prosperity
Congress has after much delay, given
the islands a stable currency, good as
gold, which will prevent serious losses to
the insular government and to the bust
ness interests through the fluctuatio in
the bullion value of the bastard Mexican
dollar. This disability led to the reduc-
ofo for 1;o
which led the natives to believe that the
merchants had conspired to injure them.
Relief from the unreliable currency should
be followed by tariff relief, in view of the
cattle plague and famine, through failure
of the rice crop and other crops, which
affect the welfare of the vast najority of
the Filipinos who are engaged in agrt-
culture, and who needs a revival of bust
ness, such as would come through an
enlarged market for the insular products
in the United States. The injection of
Hawaiian and Porto Rican sugar In our
market free of duty, the former having
come In for many years previous to an
has not injured the sugar interests in this
country a particle, and no claim is made
that it has, even by the beet sugar inter-
est. Moreover, the importat ton of H.
900 900 pounds of Philippine sugar is no
menace to our home sugar industry. which
is very far from keeping up in production
with the increasing population and con-
sumption of sugar, which is about $780,
900 tons a year at present. and about
49, 49, u ia
foreign lands After ten years of "a per
cent protection, beet sugar contributed, in
1900, only 1898 tons to the nations sugar
consumption. and still is below 100, 900 in
production. 1t does not kepe up with the
increase Of the country's population. Tn
der such conditions it is absurd to talk
of the ruin" of the American sugar in
,dustry by a little jag Of 11.oOO,OOO pounds
Of Philippine sugar imported last year.