Los Angeles herald., 1905-11-21
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
KANSAS CITY, Nov. 20.-Secretary
of War William H. Taft, who was the
guest of honor here tonight at the an
nual banquet of the Commercial club,
said in responding to the toast, "The
Philippines"
"The Philippine islands are ours and
must be ours for more than gen.
Grafton. 1t is quite probable that those
called upon to act as legislators will
not live to see the day when separa-
ton consistent with the welfare of the
Philippines can be made"
| The occasion of the banquet was the
anniversary of the signing of the John
Hay commercial treaty. Thousands Of
persons greeted Secretary Taft during
the day, and everywhere he was given
the most enthusiastic reception. After
dinner he left for Chicago on a special
train.
At the banquet tonight Senator War
rem was toastmaster.
Secretary Taft was given an ovation
when he arose to speak.
He said in part:
"In all the legislation for which con-
gress is responsible affecting the Phil
which can be criticised as Laving a
selfish motive. One is what we might
call the coastwise act, the effect of
which is to require that after July l,
1906, all freight from the Philippine
islands to the United States and the
reverse shall be carried in American
bottoms. And the other is the law by
which there is imposed on products Of
the Philippine islands coming into the
Init tad NJ o.
ley rates. If the coastwise act is per-
mitted to come into effect and the
tax upon Philippine products is not
removed, we have congress assuming
the utterly indefensble position that
for the purpose of the sale of the Phil
ippine products by the Filipinos the
PHILIPPINES shall be regarded and treated
as a foreign country, while for the
purpose of furnishing business to the
American merchant marine they shall
be treated as a domestic country and
shall be made to pay the highest rates
of freight which such a coastwise pro-
vision necessarily entails and implies.
Object of Visit
"The object of my coming to Kansas
| City is 70 enlist your sympathy in an
effort so to amend the constitution on
our statute books that we shall be con-
sistent in our conduct OF the Philip
pines and shall repeal laws which will
give the lie to every charge of lack of
disinterestedness and good faith in
our dealing with our wards of the
Pacific.
"The Legislation proposed for the re.
lief of the Philippines is an act post
poning the application of the coast
wise trailing laws to the trade between
the Philippine islands and the United
States until 1909. making a reduction
of the tariff on sugar and tobacco from
rs per cent to 20 per cent of the Ding
ley rates and on other products of the
Philippines, free trade until 1909, when
| there shall be complete free trade in
the products of either"
Secretary Taft said that the two in
terests in this country arrayed in oppo-
sition to free trade with the Philip
pine islands are the sugar interest and
the tobacco interest. These are inter-
ested on the ground that all the bene-
| fits and all the good which the coun'
try proposes to confer upon the Phil
ippines would result solely in an in
Jury to the sugar and tobacco inter-
ests and at their expense alone, with
out any cost to the rest Of the country
"It will be found" said he, that
these complaining interests are not OBJ
1ecting to this measure OF justice to
the Philippines because 1t is going to
cause them immediate loss, but because
they suppose In years to come, with
the encouragement that the American
market will give to the production Of
tobacco and sugar in the Philippines,
there may come time when the to-
tacco and sugar of the Philippines will
enter into competition with that which
they produce in this country. The at
titude of these men, who really know
the facts, cannot be described as other
I .Na.s s.na. NtasN Naua
opposing the gradual betterment of tho
production OF sugar and tobacco In the
Philippines by opening the American
market. when their fear of injury Is
found cd on presumption most improb-
able"
He declared that unless the Philip
pine importations into the United