The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-04-07
TEDDY USES
OUR COFFEE

III your coffee is good enough for
The White House table, 1t is good
enough for the army and navy" SAID
President Roosevelt to Secretary At
kinson. who visited Mr.. Roosevelt
while in Washington, in company with |
Governor winthrop of Porto Rice, 10 |
urge upon the President the advisa-
bility of lending the friendship of the |
administration to the development or |
divers insular industries, coffee-grow>
ing among them.
The President seemed especially in !
terested i'm the coffee growing PROPOSE
ton. and naturally both the Secreta-
nv and Governor winthrop attacked
along the coffee line. Porto Rico"
said Secretary Atkinson, in the course
of the talk which had as one result
the removal of the army and navy
discrimination against our own coffee,
now raises 30,0OO0Oo pounds of coffee
annually, and we raise three millions
of pounds. Put duty of two cents
n pound on coffee, Mr.. President, and
we would raise 100000 pounds also.
and keep at home large part of the
bounty that goes to Brazil"
"Aha!" said the President rather ac-
quiescent than otherwise.
CONTINUED From Page L.
In fact, it is more than likely that
some such action as this will be taken
at the next session of Congress, with
the approval, and it may be by the
recommendation of the President. And
If this is done, Hawaii will ut oucs
take rank as a coffee producer. Even
with coffee at the present price, when
1t has not paid to pick, the island crop
last year was the largest ever
grown. With two cents per pound
added to the price of it, there would
be money in it. With five cent in
crease it would be a wealth producer.
That the proposition to put higher
duty on coffee is being seriously con-
sidered in high quarters, the following
Washington dispatch to the New York
Sun, will demonstrate:
FROM N. Y. SUN.
WASHINGTON. March t-.-There,
is strong probability that at the
next session of Congress a small duty
will be levied on coffee. Republicans
have beer quietly discussing among
themselves what they regard as an inn
rerative political necessity of over
coming, before the next Congress cleo
ton, the deficit now facing the county.
They do not wish to go before lie
people with an ugly deficit AS they
know II would be an extremely diff
Gu. task. why should there be
Treasury deficit in view of the enor-
nous revenue of the country and the
greatest prosperity? The ordinary cx-
penses of the Government will natural
ly increase during the next two years,
and the leaders cannot hope to en-
force next session the Spartan economy
that prevailed last session in view OF
the popular demand for public i'm
provements. Therefore, the leader $
agreed, the only way the deficit could
be overcome was by increasing the
revenues.
THE question then arose as to how
this could be NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
by increasing the internal revenue
taxes or the customs duties, or by the
imposition of document or stamp
taxes. Objections were many to all
these propositions.
THE attention of members of the
Senate Committee on Finance and of
the Ways and Means Committee then
naturally turned to coffee and duty
as taxable property, and certain sug-
gestions made in the Ways and Means
Committee during the hearing on the
Curtis Bill to reduce the duty on
Philippine tobacco and sugar, afforded
what many believed to be an effective
answer to any charge of taxing the
poor mans coffee pot"
This suggestion was that instead OF
encouraging the Philippines to COM
pete with the American sugar and to-
bacco interests by giving them free
entrance to our markets they should
be encouraged to produce some tropi-
cal products, which can never be rails.
ed In the United States. and which are
now imported in large quantities from
sub-tropical countries that take very
little from us, in return-rubber, spices
and fibre, but especially coffee, of which
this country imports immense quaint
ties
IAN of these articles, it was repre-.
sented, could be produced in our own
possessions-Porto Rico and the Phil
ippines.
1T was agreed that. by the imposi-
tion of slight tariff on foreign coffee
and by admitting coffee from American
possessions free. the attention OF the
Philippines could be diverted to an is.
land product industry which would not
interfere in any way with any Ameri-
can industry. Meanwhile, as 1t would
require some years to develop coffee
growing in the Islands, the duty would
raise large sums of money for the
United States treasury and be OF ines.
Unable assistance to Porto Rico.
Since it is now considered that
some measure must be adopted, these
arguments have been considered by the
Senators and members of the Ways
and Means Committee. and are meeting
with much favor. 1t Is agreed that ir
addition to relieving the Philippines
and Porto Rico and, above all, the
United States treasury. an ugly con.
test with the beet-sugar and tobacco