Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-02
LOWER DUTIES URGED
Reduced Tariff on Philippine
Sugar and Tobacco Favored.
CASE PLAINLY STATED
SECRETARY TAFT'S LETTER TO
CHAIRMAN PAYNE.
Demonstrates That the Imports From
the Islands Cannot Affect the In
terests Of the United States.
CASE PLAINLY STATED


Secretary Taft has written to Representa-
tive Payne, chairman of the ways and
means committee of the House of Repre-
sentatives, a summary of reasons why, in
the judgment of the War Department. the
bill to lower to % per cent of Dingley
tariff the duty on Philippine sugar and to-
bacco introduced by Mr.. Curtis, should
pass. Secretary Taft says:
First. Whatever ultimately will be done
with the Philippine Islands, they are nee
essarily for the next generation to be a
part of the United States, and the people
of the United States are trustees in holding
the Philippine Islands for the benefit of the
people of those islands, and are under sa-
cred obligation to treat the people of the
islands as their wards. With this relation
between the United States and the islands
there is no more reason for tariff against
the introduction of the products of the
islands into the United States than there is
for a tariff on the products of Alaska, or
the Hawaiian Islands, or Porto Rico, or, in
deed, of New Mexico and Arizona.
The Spanish Market Lost.
Second Under the Spanish regime the
Philippine Islands We're granted differ
entail of approximately cents pound
on sugar introduced from the Philippines
into Spain, an advantage of that amount
of duty over the importations of sugar from
all the non-Spanish parts of the world.
with respect to tobacco, the Spanish
government maintained a monopoly In the
manufacture and sale of tobacco, and took
all of it's supply from Cuba and the Phil
ippine Islands. Since that time, as / am
informed, the Spanish government has pur-
chased its tobacco where 1t could get 1t
cheapest, and the Philippine markets have
not necessarily been given the benefit of
the Spanish patronage. The change of SOW
ereignty, therefore, has taken away from
the tobacco growers and manufacturers Of
the Philippine Islands and the sugar grow
ers of those islands the monopoly of the
valuable market of Spain. The United
States is under an obligation to make this
deficiency good. In addition to this, there
has been imposed a heavier tax on tobacco
and sugar in Japan and Australia, which
has much reduced the opportunities for
profitable sale of both products.
Burden on the Islands.
Third The Congress of the United
States has enacted a law by which, after
the LIST of July, 1906, all merchandise from
the Philippine Islands carried to the United
States directly Or indirectly must come
In American bottoms. Unless Congress by
It's law snail make the markets III lne
United States peculiarly profitable and
shall take down all tariff obstruction to the
passage of merchandise from the Philip
pines to the United States, this law Is a
most unjust law. 1t cannot be assumed
that Congress in treating the Philippine Is
lands for purposes of the patronage of
American ships as part of the United States,
and thus imposing a burden on the com
merce of the Philippine Islands, will now
deny the corresponding and necessary bene-
fit of free commercial relations
Fourth. Congress has, for the benefit Of
the farmers, laborers and cordage manu-
facturers of this country, repealed the ex-
port tax and imposed by the laws of the
Philippine Islands on Manila hemp export
ed directly from the islands to the United
States, and has thus reduced the revenues
of the islands, which otherwise would have
been raised there during the enforcement
of this act, 81, 051 900 at the end of the
fiscal year 1904 1t should be said that
in order to make UP the deficit caused by
this appropriation of the revenues Of the
islands for the benefit of American labor
ana farm and business interests, a provi-
sion was made by which all duties collect
ed on imports from the Philippine Islands
and paid into the treasury of the United
States should be turned over to the treas
ury of the Philippine Islands. but this was
insufficient to meet the drain on the reve-
nues of the Philippines, so that the net 'oss
sustained by the insular revenues on ac-
count of the repeal of the export tax on
hemp during the three years was $500, 900
at the end of the last fiscal year Except
for the fact that Congress regarded the
Philippine Islands as part of the United
States. and felt justified, because of other
benefits which it proposed to extend to
those Islands in aiding particular classes Of
it's citizens in this country such legis-
lation would be unjust and improper
Not Freedom of Trade.
Fifth. We are not pressing at this time
a bill which shall permit all the products of
the Philippine Islands to enter without the
payment of any duty whatever. If we were
to admit into the United States all products
of the Philippine Islands free Of duty, the
reciprocal obligation on the part of the
islands to admit merchandise from the
United States free of duty would probably
arise, and merchandise from the United
States could not be admitted free under the
treaty of Paris without extending the same
privilege to merchants from Spain until the
year 1909, a condition which would too
seriously imp IL the customs r. venue Of the
islands. By 1909, however. we hope to have
an internal revenue tax so adjusted that
the loss in customs revenues on goods COM
ing from the United States may be offset
by the internal revenue.
Sixth. This House once passed bill re-
ducinF the tariff sugar and tobacco Of
the Philippines to % per cent. The bill
passed without great opposition. There was
no particular opposition because a CONSUL
tation of the statistics showed that there
need not be any. 1t was only after the
opposition, which we have now,s has been
nursed by paid professional agents. who
have circulated unfounded statements
among the trade, and have misled many
persons not familiar with the facts to enter
a protest. The minute that these state
ments are carefully examined the portent-
Gus prophecies of enormous stimulated pro-
duction of sugar and tobacco in the Philip
pine Islands and an obstruction of the to-
bacco and sugar interests in the United
States are seen TO be only the product OF
tjmorous imaginations and to rest on no
credible evidence whatever.
Sugar and Tobacco Interests.
I'VE are, however, now met with the de-
cided opposition to this bill by the repre-
sentatives of all sugar and tobacco inter-
ests of this country, with the exception of
a very important part of the country in the
production of sugar-HaWaii and Porto
Rico The argument is that the reduction
in tne duty effected by this bill viii so slim
ulate the production of sugar and tobacco
in the Philippine Islands that the sugar
and tobacco markets of this country Will
he swamped with the Philippine products.
prices viii be reduced. and the Louisiana
cane sugar interests the beet sugar inter-