Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-09-22
Nebraska
BURKETT At SCOTS BLUFFS
Senator Discusses Irrigation and the
Tariff on Sugar.
TALKS ALONG PROGRESSIVE LINES
WOrld-Herald's sneers About Foreign
Names on Petitions Answered-
All Men Become Americans
when NnturaIiEed.


when NnturaIised.
SCOTS BLUFF. Neb.. Sept H-Cspe-
ciaL)-Senator Burkett and his party came
steaming into town this evening on
schedule time on his automobile Journey
down the Platte valley, and delivered an
address TO the people upon the political
issues OF the day. He had made a speech
at o'clock this afternoon at Morrill,. and
the sixteen miles to this place was made
in record time. Notwithstanding the much
travelling and speaking that the senator
has been doing he seemed fresh and
vigorous and was very generous in his
expression Of appreciation of tic recep-
ton that had been accorded him every
where he had been
He spoke along general political lines
and took a good stiff poke at the World
Herald for a recent article criticising him
in which IL also jbed and ridiculed. as
he said, people who are Of foreign ex-
traction. He quoted from the World
Herald-a- few days ago criticising him
for giving heed to a petition which that
paper. said contained only the signatures of
persouR the great majority of whom had
foreign names and most of which were
written so badly as To be nlegible" and
by men unfamiliar with writing" The
senator read an extract from the World
Herald, which says:
This petition contained the signatures Of
several hundred Persons the great ma
jority Of them having foreign names Most
OF the names were written badly. and
some OF them were entirely illegible.
written by men unfamiliar with writ ng.
and with hands crafnped with hard labor.
But Senator Burkett looked at the messy
petition; and thought that he heard the
1T may be- said senator Burkett. that
the distinguished editor Of the World
Herald. jocund Of his ancestry, can scorn
the men who have foreign names and
those who write with hands cramped with
hard work He may think that a petition.
because II Is messy with the dust and
CRIME of those who toll has no claim to
consideration as the VOICE of the people,
but there are those Of aus who love the
hand that tolls, there are those Of us
who cannot go back many generations
until we trace our own. ancestors to some
foreign shore. and we. are not ready with
the editor OF the world Herald to reject
or ignore a petition siRply because It con-
tains foreign names or is written by
hand cramped with hard labor
Foreigners Now Americans.
And that great paper the World
Herald was not content with its fling at
foreigners in general, but in another part
of the article specializes and particularizes
in it's anathemas against the Russians
who toll in our beat fields The senator
quoted again from what the World Herald
said: The petition contained the names
of some Nebraskans who are interested
in the sugar industry and who are familiar
with the tariff but the very great ma
jority of the petitioners were the Russians,
who had worked in the beet fields"
But these petitions were signed by more
than three thousand persons They lived
here in your community and at Morrill, and
Bridgeport and all over this valley. Some
OF them lived at Grand Island and North
Platte and other places in the state. They
asked that the great sugar beet industry
be not forgotten or overlooked in our tariff
legislation. 70 be sure they were inter
ested in the beet sugar industry Some
OF them had their every dollar tied up in
land that produces the beet. Others may
look to IL - their means of sustenance as
laborers But whatever their interest may
be, whether as producer. of the beet as
laborers in the field, or manufacturer in
the factory, they were entitled to a fair
hearing and not an ignoring simply because
some OF them had foreign names or had
hands eramped with honest toll
Tariff on Sugar Explained.
You people realized the Importance Of
the beet sugar industry when you sent that
petition asking for protection to your pro-
duct, which the World Herald has criti-
clsed. The republican party has been
criticised for its sugar legislation, but l
want TO submit that in the face OF the
history Of the sugar production of all the
world, there Is no patton on earth. that
has managed its sugar legislation as sue
cessfully for the people. both producer
and consumer, as tile United States. 1t
may be subject to criticism, for l have
never seen anything that could not be
criticised in some particulars But the
fact remains that while some n~:lons have
been losing all their sugar predictions and
their sugar factories, and while other
nations like Germany and Austria and
France have been paying large bounties
TO build up their sugar industry, our sugar
production has been growing, ans at the
same time our consumers have been buy
ing their sugar cheaper than any other
people on earth except those of Great
Britain and Its people are doing it tenn
porarily at the cost of the complete an
utilization OF her own sugar industry.
Il do not believe that there is anybody
In this country who purposely would de-
stroy the splendid prospects that you men
In this valley have before you unless il
were the great sugar trust. But uncon-
sciously or inadvisedly, laws may be ad-
vocated that would do just that sort of
thing The world-Herad in this article
criuclses the republicans because they re-
fused TO strike out the Dutch standard.
but that Dutch standard is the protection
that stands between the people and the
producers OF refined beet sugar, and the
chemically beached. cheaper grades OF
sugar from foreign countries That Dutch
standard Is the protection 10 every con-
sumner OF sugar IN this country against the
fraud OF the foreign producer, who would
chemically bleach a. lower grade OF sugar
and sell 1t TO the people for what II is
not
Production il Increasing.
Il shall hail the day when we can pro-
duee within our own territory all the
sugar that we shall need. We produced In
this country last year almost S10O06-,NC
pounds OF cane sugar and We produced OF
beet sugar little more than SOOOJ00O,
pounds. This added 10 the sugar pro-
duced In Hawaii. the Philippines. Porte
Rico and Cuba. as imported last year.
constitutes fOur-fiffhs NJ all th. go.