The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-05
President Roosevelt Speaks on the Tariff and Cuban
 Reciprocity
RECEIVES A CONTINUOUS
 OVATION AT MINNEAPOLIS
Says the United States Is the Most Prosperous Country Known to His tory-Makes Five Speeches
 In Two Cities.

Minneapolis, Minn., April 4.-President Roosevelt was enthusiastically welcomed in the twin cities today. From the time he arrived at St. Paul until his departure from Minneapolis at Il o'clock tonight for the west, the President was the re- cipent of a continued ovation, the streets through which he passed being a mass of people, while Armory hall at the Univer- sity of Minnesota was crowded The speech at the armory on tariff and reciprocity was well received.
 The President touched on the Cuban question, declaring that we must have military control of southern waters, and saying that the United States was the most prosperous nation known to his- tory. Every pause in the delivery of the address was replete with approving cheers. It was as follows
 The Presidents Speech.
 My Fellow Citizens: At the special session of the senate held in March the Cuban reciprocity treaty was ratified. When this treaty goes into effect, 1t will confer substantial economic benents alike upon Cuba, because of the widen ing of her market in the United States, and upon the United States, because of the equal widening and the progress sive control it will give to our people in the Cuban market.
 This treaty is beneficial to both parties and justifies itself on several grounds. In the first place we offer to Cuba her natural market. We can confer upon her a benefit which no other nation can confer; and for the very reason that we have started her as an inde- pendent republic and that we are rich, prosperous and powerful, it behooves us to stretch out a helping hand to our feebler younger sister. In the next place it widens the market for our products, both the products af the farm and cer tain of our manufactures; and it is therefore in the interests of our farmers, manufacturers, merchants and wage workers.
 Finally, the treaty was not merely warranted. but demanded, apart from all other considerations, by the enlightened consideration of our foreign policy. More and more in the future we must occupy a preponderant position in the waters and along the coasts in the region south of us; not position of control over the republics of the south, but of control of the military situation so as to avoid any possible complications in the fu- ture. Under the Platt amendment Cuba aoreed to give us certain naval stations on her coast.
 Needed But Two. |. The navy department decided that we neeed but two, and We have specified where these two are to be. President Palma has concluded an agreement gv ing them to us-an agreement which the Cuban legislative body will soon ratffy. In other words, the republic of Cuba has assumed special relation to our inter-
 
 she gives us outposts of defense and we are morally bound to extend to her in a degree the benefit of our own econo- mic system. From every standpoint of wise and enlightened home and foreign policy the ratification of the Cuban treaty marked step of substantial pro- gress in the growth of our nation toward greatness at home and abroad.
 Equally important was the action on the tariff upon products of the Philip pines. We gave them a reduction of 9 per cent, and would have given them a reduction of 25 per cent more. had it not been for the opposition, in the hur- ried closing days of the last session, of certain gentlemen who by the way. have been representing themselves both as peculiarly solicitous for the interests of the Philippine people and as special champions of the lowering of tariff du- ties. There is a distinctly humorous side to the fact that the reduction of duties which would benefit Cuba and the Phil ippines as well as ourselves was antag- onized chiefly by those who in theory have been fond of proclaiming them- selves the advanced guardians of the oppressed nationalities In the islands af- fected and the ardent advocates of the reduction of duties generally, but who instantly took violent ground against the practical steps to accomplish either pur- pose.
 Moreover, a law was enacted puttinr anthracite on the free list and com pletely removing the duties on all other kinds of coal for one year.
 Prosperity Unparalleled.
 We are now In a condition of prosner ity unparalleled not merely in our own history but in the history Of any other nation. This prosperity is deep rooted and stands on firm basis because if ia due to the fact that the average AmerI- can has in him the stuff out of which victors are made in the great industrial contests of the present day just as i,, the great military contests of the past. and because he is now able to use and develop his qualities to best advantage under our well-established economic sys- tenn.
 We are winning headship among the nations of the world because our people are able 10 keep Inelr nlgn average of individual citizenship and to show their mastery in the hard. complex. pushing life Of the age. There will be fiuctua- tions from time to time in our prosperity, bu: it will continue to grow just so long ns we keep up this high average of in- dividual citizenship and permit it to work oIt it's own salvation under proper economic legislation.
 The present phenomenal prosperity has been won under a tariff which was made in accordance with certain fixed and de- finite principles, the most important of which is an avowed determination to protect the interests of the American producer. business man, wage-worker, and farmer alike. The general tariff policy, to which. without regard to changes in detail, I believe this country Is irrevocably committed. is fundamen- tally based upon ample recognition of the difference between the cost of pro- ductjon-that is the cost of labor-here