Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-04-16
Treaty With Cuba is OF Great
Value 70 All Interests in
United States
SUGAR CLAIM IS REFuTEE
Allegations That Treaty Benefits But
One Interest Shown to be Incorrect
imports Increase Nearly Three Fold
and Exports More Than Doubled
General News. ....

/
ten asserted in the United States that
| our reciprocity treaty with Cuba does
not benefit anybody but the sugar trust.
That statement has been made freely
and frequently in the senate and house
! of representatives at washington by
the opponents Of the reciprocity policy
and by representatives of the sugar
| beet interest who oppose all conces-.
sions to any other producers of thar
staple The opinion of the Cuban
planters and business men is that the
treaty, so far as it goes, has been OF
! great value to all Of the interests and
! industries concerned, and they are very
anxious that 1t shall be enlarged and
| extended so as to produce greater BEN
efts and offer larger advantages to-
trade. One of the planks' in the plat
| form Of the new conservatives national
party of Cuba, which is composed of
planters and business men, advocates
closer commercial relations with the
United States, and every one who has
anything at stake here, native or for
| eign favors complete annexation and
free trade. The reciprocity treaty has
promoted trade with the United States
/ very largely but the planter has not
| been benefited SO much as the business
man. It has not increased the price
| of sugar so much as it has decreased
the prices of articles imported from the
| United States. The general tariff on
sugar under the Dingley act is 1925 per
hundred-weight. Cuban sugar enjoys
a discount of 20 per cent from that rate
or 10 cents per hundredweight, making
the net tax on her products $3.50, as
against 1925 on European beet sugar
and the products of the other West In
dia islands.
: The trust does not control the price
of sugar That is'fixed in London but
| it does dictate the share of the Cuban
planters in the discount allowed under
the treaty which, generally speaking,
is about one-half or 221a cents per
hundredweight, more or less dependent
upon profits. The planter enjoys a
more important advantage from the
reduction of duties on merchandise inn
ported from the United States into
SuU6t, anu tHC NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. VI luz
United States have the benefit of a
very largely increased trade. Under
the treaty commerce has expanded very
rapidly. /, In 1892, when the Blaine re-
ciprocity treaty with Cuba was in OPP
eratioR our imports from Cuba
amounted to $7S,7C6,506, and our ex-
ports to Cuba reached the then high
water mark OF S24157, SOS. If that
| treaty had been allowed to stand 1t
would have resulted in much greater
volume of trade and a much greater
advantage to both countries. But it
was revoked by the Cleveland admins
tration, and our commerce with Cuba
instantly dropped to $40017,73O imports
and s7,530,SS0 exports.
The Instruction which resulted in
the independence of Cuba was directly
due to the repeal of that treaty. be-
cause it threw out of employment a
majority of the laboring classes on
the island and left them at liberty
TO take the field as insurgents. 1t
also paralyzed trade and created uni
versal discomfort which was the
strongest influence in favor of indie
pendence that could be offered.
effect in 1903, has proved to be of i'm
portance equal to that of the original
Blaine reciprocity arrangement. Our
imports from Cuba have increased
nearly three fold, and our exports of
manufactured merchandise to the is
land have more than doubled, without
the slightest injury to any interest,
however small. on either side of the
straits We sell the Cubans merchan-
disc they do not produce, but could
buy as easily in other markets. We send
them flour, rice coal. pork products.
machinery and many other articles
which they have heretofore purchased
in Europe, but are now buying from
the United States, because the rec<
procity treaty admits them at a dis
count from the regular rates.