Evening star., 1903-11-16
TO AMEND CUBAN BILL.
Report of the Minority Of Ways and
Means Committee.

means COHul1LIcS.
A minority report on the Cuban bill. set
ting forth the views of Messrs Williams OF
Mississippi, Swanson of Virginia. Mcclellan
of New York and Clark of Missouri OF the
ways and means committee was filed In
the House today.
MIR. Cooper of Texas, also a member of
the minority Of the ways and means COM
mittee. presented long report condemning
the Cuban treaty in toto.
The minority says it believes the OH
should be amended by striking out the
clause which provides that there snail DE
no reduction of duty on sugar from othef
countries while the Cuban treaty Is in
force, and also by striking out the diHer-
ential on refined sugar. The report says
with respect to these amendments
"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 oinu d
succeeding Congress, as Is attempted IN @ .nIs
bill in the case Of sugars imported from
Cuba nor to attempt to bind the treaty
making power of the United States IN
succeeding Congress or under succeeotiE
administration, as is attempted IN the plii
in the case of sugars imported from o.he.
foreign countries. We do not believe that
the language proposed to be stricken out ls'
could be made, of binding force ana el
feet. even If enacted into law. II is + os.en
sibly. at any rate, waiver to some extent
of the general right OF abrogati0n ana es-
tablishes a precedent of evil import. .,,,
'In the second place. we are not Wiling
to bind ourselves, nor silently to acqulesce
In an attempt-although legally and moral
ly ineffectual-to bind us to cont1ue IN eX-
istence at a given fixed rate duty upon
any product imported into the united
States for any definite period, whether the
article be sugar or anything else or
whether it be the product of the island OF
Cuba or Of any other country, or Oh all
other countries.
OF
moment suggest or require different
treatment of tariff schedules. A schedule
is not a fetch to be worshiped. We hope
therefore. the House will strike out the
provision.
The abolition of the differential duty on
refined sugar is advocated on the ground
that this amendment would deprive the SUI
gar trust of it's power of eXtortion, ana
attention is directed to the fact that the
House in the Fifty-seventh Congress adopt
ed this amendment to the bill then pro-
posed. for the same reason that 1t IS now
suggested by the minority. The report
says:
"If the amendment we propose to ofrer
shall be adopted, we shall gladly vote for
the bill. believing that 1t will at one ana
the same time diminish to certain extent
the trust evil, furnish a better and wider
market for American agricultural and man
ufactured products in Cuba and benefit the
American consumer of Cuban products.
These are three consummationS deVoutly
Mr. Cooper's Report.
Representative Cooper says in his supple
mental report:
"Since filing my objections to the bill Of
the F1fty-seventh Congress providing for
commercial reciprocal relations with Cuba
1 have carefully considered the subject
further from every point of view. with
the result that my objections to the Cuban
reciprocity project have become only
strengthened and confirmed, and 1 cannot
approve or support the bill reported in this
extraordinary session of the Ftfty-eighth
Congress by the majority of the committee
on way and means.
I'm the light Of all the facts and argu-
ments pertaining to the subject, so far as l
can apprehend and understand them. the
bill and the purpose for which 1t is framed
viii not prove beneficial to the people Of
either Cuba or the United States. nor Is the
measure demanded by any considerations
of honor, duty, or even expediency, but on
the contrary, the bill, In my judgment, VIII
tend, if enacted to the injury of our own
people, if not also the Cubans themselves.
Mr. Cooper declares grave doubts as TO
the constitutionality Of the bill present
themselves at the very outset.
Mr.. Cooper declares there will be no re-
duction in the price of sugar to the con-
sumer and consequently no benefit from
the treaty. In conclusion he says:
This bill does not require Cuba to enact
stringent immigration laws, like those OF
the United States. AS a consequence cheap
labor will naturally gravitate to Cuba and
pr oduce sugar there in competition with
the high-priced labor of the United States.