Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-12-01

AOuAoidAu 1uISAd6S eAPOSillOu. JuuSe
Sale is said to be the first man Of his
race to hold judicial position in Mis-
Souri,. He is an excellent lawyer and
will in all human probability make an
excellent judge.
Queer.
If the elder Disraeli were living he
would unquestionably lay hold of the
eulogy upon Senator Matthew Stanley
Quay-Cousin Matt-which Governor
Pennypacker of Pennsylvania injected
into his Thanksgiving proclamation
and add it to his "Curiosities Of Liter
nture." 1t is presumed that his excel
lency was working on the principle
Remember now thy Creator" Since
Chicago university professor placed
John d. Rockefeller above Shakespeare
us literary character nothing so queer
has appeared in print as Pennypacker's
effusion.
Minority Report on Cuban Reciprocity.
We, minority members Of the committee
on ways and means. make the following
report of our views concerning H. r. 1921.
being bill entitled "a bill to carry into
effect convention between the United
States and the republic Of Cuba, signed
on the 18th day of December, in the year
1902" introduced in the house of repre-
sentatives on the 18th day of November.
1903. by Mr.. Payne Of New York and re-
ferred to the committee on ways and
means:
We believe that the bill as reported by
the committee on ways and means ought
to have been amended in committee be-
fore being reported and ought now to be
amended in the house before its passage,
as follows:
BY striking out the following language,
beginning in line Is, page 2, and ending in
line 2, page 8:
provided, That while said convention
! Is in force no sugar imported from the
republic OF Cuba and being the product
! of the soil OF industry of the republic Of
Cuba shall be admitted into the United
States at a reduction of duty greater
| than 20 per cent Of the rates of duty
thereon, as provided by the tariff act Of
the United States, approved July "a, 1897.
and no sugar the product of any other
foreign country shall be admitted by
treaty or convention into the United
States while this convention Is in force
at lower rate Of duty than that provid-
ed by the tariff act Of the United States
approved July "a. 1897"
| And by inserting the following in lieu
! thereof:
Il
ment and the issuance of said proclama-
ton and while said agreement shall re-
main in force there shall be levied, COL
lected and paid in lieu of the duties there
on now provided by law on all sugars
above No. 16 Dutch standard in color and
all sugar which has gone through
process of refining imported into the
United States 1.S25 cents per pound
1 Our objection to the language proposed
to be stricken out is twofold:
First. as a general principle. one con-
gress has no right to attempt to bind
succeeding congress- as IL attempted In
| this bill in the case of sugars imported
| from Cuba, nor to attempt to bind the
treaty making power of the United States
in a succeeding congress or under a sue
lceedtng administration, as Is attempted
in the bill. in the case of sugars imported
from other foreign countries We do not
believe that the language proposed to be
stricken out is or could be made of bind
ing force and effect even II enacted into
law 1t is, ostensibly. at any rate, a
waiver, to some extent. of the general
1 right to abrogation and establishes a
precedent of evil import.
In the second place. we are not willing
to bind ourselves nor silently to acquiesce
in an attempt-although legally and
morally Intellectual to bind us-to continue
in existence, at given fixed rate, q duty
upon any product imported into the Unit
l
the article be sugar or anything else or
whether 1t be the product Of the island Of
Cuba or Of any other country or Of all
other countries.
Public needs and interests may at any
moment suggest or require different
treatment Of tariff schedules A schedule
il not fetch to be woEshiped. We hope
therefore, the house will strike out the
provision.
We think, in the next place, that there
ought to be inserted in lieu Of the provi-
sion proposed to be stricken out or else.
where in the bill the language proposed
to be inserted by the amendment above
referred to, because, in our opinion. we
would thereby deprive the great sugar
trust of this country Of some Of Its power
to extort from the consumer. curtail Its
power to bear down the price of the raH
material. thereby injuring the sugar
planter and lessen its ability to dictate tc
wholesale and retail dealers In sugar the
manner in which they shall do bushes.
and the price at which they shall sell re-
fined sugar
The house during the Fifty-seventh con
gress took this view and passed al
amendment identically worded as nov
. proposed by us. The house took tina
view after full investigation and com
| paratively full discussion of the question
and the very treaty proposed to be pu
in force by this bill (H. r. 1920 would
1
charged with the duty Of legislation II
. other branches Of the government bee,
willing to see tho burden upon the Ameri
can consumer OF sugars and other prod
ucts imported from Cuba into the ynitet
States lightened or had they been wilin;
to see the Cuban market for American
J products enlarged. even though at som
. expense to the great sugar trust Of tn
Y United States The only injury to tn
e trust itself even would have been t.
E lessen to small degree Its power to ex
tort from the consumer and to tyranniz
4 over producers and commerce.
II the amendment VIC propose to offe
. shall be adopted we shall gladly vote 70
! the bill, believing that it will at one an,
? the same time diminish to a certain ex
tent the trust evil, furnish a better an,
+ wider and further market for American
:? Agricultural and manufactured product
tn Cuba and benefit the American con
t sumner of Cuban products. These ar
: three consummations devoutly to /
wished.
I II the amendment shall not be adcpte
Q we still recommend the passage of til
4 bill despite its bad features, because W
think that the good to be done by 4,
passage will far overbalance the ey
which will result from a failure to tax
advantage Of the opportunity to diminis
the power of the sugar trust and the ev
resulting from the bad precedent propos
Ing, Intellectually, 1t is true, to prevent til
' duties upon Cuban sugars and upo
! sugars from other countries whenever
shall appear wise and expedient to do 80 b
, | reciprocal treaty agreement or statute Law
! Believing, as we do, that commerc
. ought to be as nearly untrammeled a
/ possible, consistently with the needs OF
revenue for economical and effective gov
1 ernmNntn1 ptofr M ~