| Show 1 LETSLIGRt INTO IT Amos J Cummings on the Man Who Pioneered Elaine Y HIS OFFICIAL REPORT OUTLINED 1 FolJ1Ji How Judge Stewart of Texas Showeil tho Way To Commercial Reciprocity With Central America I I WASHINGTON D C Sept 41890 Special Spe-cial correspondence of TUB HEIIALDTo the right of the speaker on the extreme edge of the Democratic side of the House sits the tallest man in Congress His face is pale and cleanshaven His snowy hair is combed as Andrew Jackson combed his bail His features and his face recall the face of the great and resolute man The eyes are blue and the mouth firm The man looks like a thinker He rarely smiles His movements are slow and deliberate de-liberate He wears the conventional frock coat a white waistcoat and dresses with neatness His linen is faultless and he wears a black silk watchguard He is not socially inclined nor has he a convivial disposition He seems retiring and reserved re-served You never hear him telling stories or detailing reminiscenses He listens with apparent interest to discussions in the House but rarely rises unless necessary to elucidate a proposition befogged in deba te When he does speak he commands attention atten-tion The friends of this usually quiet man esteem him for his real worth He is Charles Stewart of Houston Tex This is his eighth year in the House He was born in Memphis Tenn and has lived in Texas sinco the year in which James K Polk was elected President In the interest manifested in J G Blaines proposition for commercial reciprocity recip-rocity with the Central and South American Ameri-can republics Charles Stewart is overlooked over-looked Yet ho may be said to be the pioneer pio-neer in the movement Secretary Blaine has only amplified his views and given them a fresh color Attention is concentrated concen-trated upon them because he has used t 1 1 T THE TALLEST MAN IN THE HOUSE HE NEVER SMILES them at a critical moment in the history of his party They would never have attracted at-tracted so much attention were it nol that the McKinley tariff bill is before Congress The secretary has ambuscaded that bill with his North American reciprocity negotiations pollutions He boldly takes issue with the Republican majority in the House and is endeavoring make it appeal that reciprocity recip-rocity is the strongest kind of protection His actions look like an effort to thwart the plans of his great rival in Maine both men being prominent candidates for the presidential presi-dential succession However tbis may be certain it is that Charles Stewart blazed the way for Y S t r t j tIt t-It = lr 4J to 1 tiyt t y i Nt i t c t t r i Blaine It was done during Mr Stewarts first term in Congress He was a member of the committee on foreign affairs Roaring Roar-ing Jim Belford of Colorado had introduced intro-duced 11 a bill to authorize the appointment of a special commissioner for promoting commercial intercourse with such countries coun-tries of Central America as may be found to possess the most natural and available facilities for railway intercommunication with each other and the United States Congressman Jordan of Cincinnati had introduced in-troduced another bill entitled a bill for the encouragement of closer commercial relationship and in the interest of and the perpetuation of peace between the United States and tho republic of Mexico Central and South America and the empire of Brazil Both bills were referred to the committee commit-tee on foreign affairs Charles Stewart was chairman of the sub committee charged with their consideration Ho reported I re-ported a substitute for the two bills and was authorized by the committee to report it to the house This substitute was adopted It led to the appointment of three commissioners who were afterwards sent to South America by President Arthur to obtain such information would aid in he establishment of closer commercial relationship lationship with our sister republics In making his report Charles Stewart called attention to the fact that the balance of the trade was much against us in Cen r I tral and South America The total amount j i of our last annual imports from these countries was 584857000 Our exports to I these countries was 334SO000 This showed a balance of trade against us of 51377000 Charles Stewart made tabular statements showing that the total value of the foreign commerce of these nations including Mexico with all the world each year was 5753913000 The total commerce with the United States was only 142252000 The value of the exports ex-ports of our sister republics was 413014 uoO The United States received only 93819000 of these exports and England gOi nearly all the rest The sister repub Ics imported 5338S2iCOO worth of foreign goods Only S 4SCGJ000 worth came from the United States In his report the judge asserted that there ought to be no balance of trade against us in our commerce with these republics He earnestly recommended the adoption of some policy that would lead to commercial J 0 i l q 1 I I h 1 lll I Y t ilk i z2 I HE BLAZED THE WAY ron RLAINE reciprocity lie pointed to the fact that for tho year ending June 30 18S3 there was a balance of trade with Mexico in our favor amounting to 7021000 He laid it to our railroad communications with that country I and to the liberal and progressive spirit actuating the Mexican government in en couraging American investments Like re suits ho urged could be obtained in states of Central and South America by a similar process There was no insuperable obstacle to building a railroad from the United States to the Argentine Republic He said that it would meet with but few natural obstacle in the way of its construction The distance dis-tance would not exceed 0800 miles It I could be shortened to 5100 miles by becin I ing construction at the City of Mexico where it might connect with the railroads already built Charles Stewart alluded to other means means and facilities whereby reciproba commerce relations between numb F t i It S 0 > 2 t lies and this country could be promoted 1 While there was no direct suggestion of the i establishment of free trade between these I I republics and the United States the report 1 foreshadowed it It alluded to the fact that j Great Britian had control of more than half Of the foreign trade with these countries coun-tries while the United States had less than onefifth of it It did not however go so far as to say that with the balance ol trade so heavily against us our sister republics re-publics could not get what wo owed them except through British brokers Nor did he say that this was due to Great Britains policy of free trade Hedid not argue that if all the other nations in the world pursued pur-sued a protective policy payment for their exports nust necessarily pass through the hands of a freetrade nation Tree abridgment and analysis of Charles J Stewarts report shows that Secretary j I Blames proposition is not new It was made in a modest way by a modest man j from a modest committee to a mcdest House The secretary may have unconsciously uncon-sciously draw inspiration from it or he may have evolved his ideas from his own brain Possibly he learned nothing about it from Charles Stewart Certain it is that tho reciprocity doctrine has been promulgated by him at a time and in a manner when it I would attract universal attention Very few persons paid any attention to Charles Stewarts report Not more than a score of members in the Fortyeighth Congress i knew that he wrote it Only a few of his colleagues in the present Congress ara aware of the fact Bdlfords and Jordans bills were introduced troduced not long after Hinton Rowen Helper had giveu vent to his scheme for a railroad from the Arctic circle to terra del Fuego The two bills were regarded arded as the result of Helpers project 1he whole scheme was evidently regarded as chimerical Governor Curtin of Penn sylvania was chairman of tho committee Stewart had on > foreign affairs Charles been > placed upon the committee by Speaker Carlisle It was his first term in Congress Tow know him Governor Curtin mani festly had an appreciation of his worth for be made him chairman of the subcommittee subcommit-tee to which the two bills were referred Another member of the committee was William K Cox of Nirh Carolina I il Lr j I d1 1j tr I f tr fV1 I t IPr I ti I f > 1 1 d V12 f I J1 1 f11 I nf U ll ir fiifU i l i Ji Irl jh I IT r J V l jiJrF1 I 1 1 rvJ Al 1 f1 1 t riill rc r q I < lilt j if e u 1 j iVfi j tc7 ii t 1 = J 1 t 3 I t G 11 HE SAID IT WOULD MEET WITH BUT FEW NATURAL OBSTACLES Nobody supposed that anything would be done with the bills When Charles Stewart made his report to the full committee however how-ever everybody was surprised Its importance impor-tance was recognized at once by Governor Curtin Ha warmly complimented Stewart Stew-art William W Eaton of Connecticut was at this time a member of the committee en foreign affairs The report throw a flood of light upon his mind He saw its im nortancs and agieed with its conclusions It was Unanimosly adopted by the committee com-mittee It throw Helper into ecstacles He wrote Stewart that when the Arctic circle and Terra del Fuego were connected by railthe name of the first locomotive should be Texas and the first palace car Charles Stewart Charles Stewart is no longer a member of the committee on foreign affairs In the following Congress he was transferred to tho committee on rivers and harbors Tho transfer was made at his own request He believed that ho could serve the interests of his constituents better as a member of that committee than as a member of the committee on foreign affairs The First i t t b ka Z I Zi i 1 Congressional district of Texas may have gained by the transfer but the nation at large was a loser It will be a long time i before the committee on foreign affairs makes a report more concise and more important im-portant AMOS J CUMMINGS |
