THE DEMOCRATIC POLICY ON RECIPROCITY WITH CUBA AND ON TRUSTS AND

MONOPOLIES.

ADOPTED AT A CONFERENCE OF THE DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JUNE, 1902.

Resolved, First. That we condemn the Republican majority in Congress for their failure to pass a measure providing reciprocity with Cuba.

Cuban Reciprocity.

The bill which passed the House of Representatives was heartily supported by the Democratic minority after the protection to the Sugar Trust had been removed by the solid Democratic vote, aided by a small minority of the Republican members. As it passed the House, the bill carried relief to Cuba, reduced the price of sugar to American consumers and struck a heavy blow at the notorious and obnoxious Sugar Trust. The refusal of the Republican Senators to consider this measure, unless the protection to the Sugar Trust should be restored, gives evidence that the President and the Republican party in Congress are willing to refuse relief to Cuba and totally ignore American consumers, rather than abandon their alliance with the trusts.

The failure of all reciprocity business with Cuba rests upon the Republican Administration, which is willing to reduce the duty on the raw sugar of our producers, but unwilling to destroy the sugar monopoly.

Second. That the Republican majority in Congress is dominated and controlled by the trusts and monopolies which have the great industries of our country in their grasp, is shown by its action in passing an anti-trust bill througn the House of Representatives in the Fifty-sixth Congress in the closing hours of the session, the Senate refusing to consider the same, as a subterfuge to tide over the election of 1900. That bill has been abandoned, and they have ever since refused, and do now refuse and fail, to bring in any measure to suppress the trusts, or to favor ably report any of the numerous anti-trust bills introduced by Democratic members during this Congress.

THE MONROE DOCTRINE.

"The Monroe doctrine is wholesome and enduring. It is the faith of Americans of every creed and party-is of the very warp and woof of our political being. It was promulgated at the critical moment when the 'holy alliance' was attempting to stifle the republican spirit and re-establish the despotism of Spain upon her revolted colonies in South America and Mexico. The essence of the doctrine as then understood by the world was, while we forbid the establishment of despotic governments upon the American continent, we recognize the corresponding obligation to refrain from any attempt to force our political system upon any part of the Old World. This has been our settled rule of faith and practice for more than three-quarters of a century. Its promulgation defeated the purpose of the 'holy alliance' and destroyed forever the power of Spain upon this continent.

"Under it Louis Napoleon, a third of a century ago, was compelled to withdraw the French army from Mexico and leave the ill-starred Maximilian to his fate. Under it the empire established by foreign bayonets disappeared and the republic was restored. Are we now to say we still recognize the binding force of this doctrine upon other nations, but not upon our own?"-Adlai E. Stevenson, 1900.

The men who made the Republican party are in the grave. The men whom the Republican party made are in Congress."-Wendell Phillips.

PLANKS FROM REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, 1900.

PROMISES MADE ONLY TO BE BROKEN. TRUSTS AND PROTECTED MONOPOLIES CONTROL THE G. O. P. LABOR SIGHS IN VAIN FOR RELIEF LEGISLATION.

Promise and performance have always been far apart with the party of great moral ideas, and the history of parties in the United States has never before shown such lack of performance of the most distinctly promised legislation as by the Republicans for the past two years.

Taking the planks of the Republican National Platform of 1900 as they appear in the official document, the first that demands attention is the one on trusts and monopolies. It reads:

Trusts and Monopolies.

"We recognize the necessity and propriety of the honest cooperation of capital to meet new business conditions, and especially to extend our rapidly increasing foreign trade; but we condemn all conspiracies and combinations intended to restrict business, to create monopolies, to limit production or to control prices, and favor such legislation as will effectively restrain and prevent all such abuses, protect and promote competition, and secure the rights of producers, laborers, and all who are engaged in industry and commerce."

How completely this promise has been ignored by the Republican majority in Congress is known to all. No law has been enacted to curb the trusts or monopolies. The combinations to advance the price of necessities have never before been so rampant and exacting, and no relief has been even attempted by the party in power. The Beef Trust alone has wrung from the American people in the increased price charged by the trust over the price charged in 1896 approximating the enormous sum of $450,000,000 during the year 1902, estimated upon the basis of prevailing prices.

The Meat Trust.

The average rise in the wholesale price of meat in the last year has been 75 per cent. over the price in 1896, and this enormous increase in the butcher bill of the American people is largely caused by the Republicans not carrying out their promises to "effectively restrain and prevent" the extortions of the trust. None of the many bills on the trust question introduced by the Democrats were reported from the committees, and no legislation was attempted; showing that the trusts controlled the action of Congress and the Representatives of the Republican party.

The next promise of the Republican platform was reciprocity. This was contained in the general tariff plank, which was as follows:

The Tariff Plank.

"We renew our faith in the policy of protection to American labor. In that policy our industries have been established, diver

"The Republican party * * * is associated with trusts in the minds of the masses. * * * Whenever they find a trust is depending for its exorbitant profits largely on protective duties it will be the duty of Republican Congressmen and Senators to remove the duties at once..-Ex-Senator Washburn, of Minnesota, in New York Tribune, September 11, 1899.

sified and maintained. By protecting the home market competition has been stimulated and production cheapened. Opportunity to the inventive genius of our people has been secured, and wages in every department of labor maintained at high rates, higher now than ever before, and always distinguishing our working people in their better conditions of life from those of any competing country. Enjoying the blessings of the American common school, secure in the right of self government, and protected in the occupancy of their own markets, their constantly increasing knowledge and skill have enabled them finally to enter the markets of the world. We favor the associated policy of reciprocity, so directed as to open our markets on favorable terms for what we do not ourselves produce, in return for free foreign markets."

Cuban Reciprocity.

The

How the reciprocity promise was not kept is now one of the leading political questions, and the division of the Republican party on this subject is emphasized by the declaration of Mr. Roosevelt that he intends to swing around the circle and make stump speeches to awaken the dormant conscience of a large section of his party to carry out the promise made to Cuba. two rival factions into which the Republicans in Congress have been split are each striving to protect a trust-one the Refined Sugar Trust and the other the Beet Sugar Trust, both of which would have been curbed if the Democratic amendment to the Cuban reciprocity bill had been adopted, taking off the differential duty on refined sugar.

The failure to redeem the promises made to Cuba when she accepted the harsh conditions of the Platt amendment are treated under the head of our foreign policy.

Reciprocity Treaties.

The reciprocity treaties with France and other countries negotiated by President McKinley have also been held up in the Senate during the Fifty-sixth and Fifty-seventh Congresses, and no action has been taken. It is true that partial reciprocity treaties were ratified with France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Portugal, by which we admit argols, brandies, still wines and paintings at slightly reduced duties. This was made under section 3 of the tariff law, but the greater reciprocity proposed under section 4 with the countries above named and with others has never been ratified, and has now expired by limitation and cannot be revived. It was doubtless important that a Republican Congress in passing a tariff act should admit brandy and wines and paintings at a reduced duty, for these luxuries are only used by the rich. But why make concession on argols, that being but the crust that accumulates on the inside of wine casks, from which crude material the cream of tartar of commerce is made?

What a boon is Republican reciprocity to the toiling masses— the farmers and the workingmen!

The Democratic position on this and the tariff generally is treated in the articles on tariff and reciprocity.

"** * These enormous combinations of capital control the politics of the country, nominate the candidates, then furnish the means to carry the elections, and later, direct all legislation, State and National, and dominate the use of all executive power."-Hon. William E. Chandler, March 12, 1899.

Labor Plank.

"In the further interest of American workmen, we favor a more effective restriction of the immigration of cheap labor from for eign lands, the extension of opportunities of education for working children, the raising of the age limit for child labor, the protection of free labor as against contract convict labor, and an effective system of labor insurance."

The Labor plank quoted above contained several promises to American workmen, not one of which has been redeemed. The attempt to fulfill in part the promise to restrict immigation of cheap labor from foreign lands, by the passage of the so-called Chinese Exclusion Act, has been denounced by the leading abor organizations of the country as entirely inadequate, and, in fact, throwing the door open to a further influx of Chinese. article, Chinese Exclusion.)

(See

The labor organizations sent thousands of petitions to Congress to restrict undesirable immigration by requiring an educational test, and an amendment covering this was added to the Shattuc immigration bill in the House, but was eliminated in the Senate, so that the bill as finally passed was merely a codification of the immigration laws, and did not in any way cover the legislation petitioned for by the American workingman.

Labor Snubbed by Republicans.

Thus all the promises made to labor were broken by a Republican Congress; but to make a showing of favoring the legislation asked for, and for political advantage, they played a see-saw game on the American workingman-first raising his hopes by passing a measure to his liking through the House, and then amending or defeating it in the Senate at the instance of the masters. Sometimes this would be reversed, the Senate doing the hope-raising and the House doing the amending or defeating, but usually the former was the case, the Congressional election being at hand.

A great show was made of hearings before the committees to whom labor legislation was referred, but in the end labor was snubbed by the Republican majority and the fair promises made in the platform were unfulfilled. (For the evidence and record, see Labor Legislation and Chinese Exclusion.)

Ship-Subsidy.

"Our present dependence upon foreign shipping for nine-tenths of our foreign-carrying trade is a great loss to the industry of this country. It is also a serious danger to our trade, for its sudden withdrawal in the event of European war would seriously cripple our expanding foreign commerce. The national defense and naval efficiency of this country, moreover, supply a compelling reason for legislation which will enable us to recover our former place among the trade-carrying fleets of the world."

The fourth plank, quoted above, from the Republican platform, deals with American shipping, and although it does not openly favor the ship subsidy bill, it was evidently intended to pronounce for legislation to subsidize the Ship Trust. If the promise made in this plank has any other object, it is another case of promises broken, for no legislation other than the ship subsidy bill has been even attempted.

"Hanna points to what he terms the present prosperous condition of labor as the result of trade combinations. Why, the proposition is absurd. Trusts are not formed for the purpose of helping the laborer, but for the purpose of getting larger profits out of investment."-Ex-Senator Washburn, of Minnesota, Uctober, 1899.

Promise to the Ship Trust Partially Fulfilled.

Of all the important planks in the Republican platform, the promise to the Ship Trust to pass the subsidy bill was intended to be carried out, or the failure to pass the bill through the Fifty-sixth Congress would not have been re-attempted in the late session. Senator Hanna, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Senator Frye, the President pro tem. of the Senate, were the sponsors for the bill, and the President recommended it in his message to Congress. It was forced through the Senate, but even the trust-loving stomach of the Republicans in the House could not stand a steal of $180,000,000. The trials and tribulations of an appeal to the voters were soon to take place, and the bill was held up in committee for the more favorable opportunity of the short session, after the elections had occurred. Thus was the fourth promise broken unwillingly.

Statehood for the Territories.

"We favor home rule for and the early aumission to Statehood of the Territories of New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma."

The fifth promise made to the American people was for Statehood for the Territories, and this for political purposes was broken, as the other promises have been. The Democrats were united in favor of the admission of New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma, and with the aid of those Republicans who were independent of the party leaders the bill passed the House. In the Senate it was never reported from the Committee on Territories, and would never have been heard of again during the session had not Senator Quay threatened to hold up all legislation in the last days of the session until an agreement was made to take up the bill at the next session. This action of Senator Quay was said to be inspired by the hope of seeing an old partner elected Senator from one of the prospective States. What the fate of the bill will be in the short session is doubtful, for all the leaders of the Republican party in the Senate but Senator Quay are opposed to its passage, fearing that the proposed new States would be found in the Democratic column.

The glittering generalities which chiefly compose the other parts of the Republican platform, containing, as they do, no distinct promises, it is unnecessary to investigate in detail, for if any legislation has been enacted that covers them it will be found that it was to the interest of the dominant party, and not of the whole people.

It is impossible to expect that those Republican candidates for Congress who are asking a re-election at the hands of the voters will reverse their action and keep the promises made by the national convention of the party when the Fifty-eighth Congress convenes with any better faith than they have in the past two Congresses. It will be found in nearly every instance that the platforms adopted at the Congressional district conventions endorse the national platform of 1900, and make other pledges, also, but with this record how can they be believed?