Show TAFFFORFOTO RICO j Serious Economic Contest May Grow Out of Affair I PRESENT IHUBBUB IS MILD I But a Faint Prelude to What is Likely Like-ly to Follow Herbert Myrick Chairman of the League of American Ameri-can Producers Talks Upon the Subject Sub-ject An Important Interview on a Question Which Now Agitates the American People Cause for the Change of Front in Washington TRIBUNE SPECIAL Chicago March lSThe most serious seri-ous pllltlcocconoinlc contest ever witnessed wit-nessed In the United States may yet grow out of the Porto Rican alTah The great hubbub It has already created cre-ated Is but a faint prelude to the uproar up-roar that may follow the present effort to sacrifice American farmers to tropl I cal monopolies Yet there Is a very I simple and Just way to avoid this and many other threatened difficulties Si o said Herbert Myrick chairman of tlu > League of Domestic Producers In an important Interview yesterday Under that name the various agricultural labor la-bor and manufacturing interest I claimed to be endangered by tropical competition have formed u coalition of these organizations representing more than 3000000 of voters The change of front by tho Administration at Washington Wash-ington Is attributed largely to the leagues recent petition and memorial to Congress Mr Myrick said SUGAR REFINERS TRUST The sugar refiners trust depends for its very life upon Imported raw sugar Its death knell is sounded by the development de-velopment of domestic beet sugar pro duction ao well as by other competition The trust shares lave shrunk almost onehalf In i market vuue But if the SUgar refiners trust can get raw cane sugar admitted duty free from the tropics It can throttle the domestic boot sugar Industry and renllxc profits be yond the dreams of avarice The same la true of the tobacco and cigar trust and also the tropical fruit truwt INFLUENCE BELIEVED MOVE These powerful Interests together with the Spanish landlords and specu lators who have acquired lands In Per to Rico Cuba and the Philippines are the influences that are exerting such tremendous but artfully concealed uressure in behalf of free tradn with the tropics If they succeed vast syn dicates will be perfected to employ coolie labor In the unlimited fertile soils of those Islands in producing sugar tobacco fruits I ts vegetables rice cotton etc as well as cigars cotton cloth and other manufactures at prices that will greatly undersell domestic producers unless wages and living in this comm try descend to a level with the tropics PRODUCED BY YELLOW LABOR Hawaii affords striking proof that this is Just what will happen She has Imoorlcd 60000 coolies and doui bled Jier sugar production within a few < years largely since annexation Java and Egypt produce sugar at n cost that laughs at tariffs Last year about half the sugar imported into the United States was produced by yellow labor double the proportion of five years ago The American farmer and Worklngmen realize that protection against the pro ducts of coolie labor is now ns essential to selfpreservationas were the Chinese exclusion acts of the United Slates and Australia INDUSTRIES THREATENED But arc the domestic Industries threatened of any particular conse thence Mr Myrick was asked They certainly are he replied Ci gar leaf Is grown on a large scale In New Haven Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Ohio Wisconsin Florida Georgia and Texas The domestic manufacture of clgans represents 100 OWOCO of Invested capital 5150000000 worth of annual product pays 125000 people 60000000 In wages yearly and consumes 50000000 worth of tobacco and other supplies mostly produced In the United States Under tropical free trade this vast domestic Industry would be largely transferred to Havana and Manila whore wages are but a fraction of those earned by American cigar makers The fruit Industry of California alpno represents 50000000 and thou sands of people The vegetable indus try represents an annual product of equal value UNDERSELL DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Lying at the very door of our home market Cuba Porto Rico arid Jamaica can pay full duty and still undersell domestic producers Cotton culture and inanufuclure in the Orient will have a great impetus under coolie la bor Cubar has already asked for a protective tariff against Louisiana rice Although woolen manufacturers are making more money than ever before lower duties on wool are sought for through reciprocity with Argentina The culture of sugar bcetn in the North and Weal and of sugar cane in the South and the manufacturer of sugar therefrom would be wined out by the tropical free trade This Is one of the moiit promising agricultural and manu facturing industries is the one new business left and farmers are deter mined to have this home market for 5100000000 worth yearly of this new and profitable crop BET SUGAR INDUSTRY Such policy In best for the country For Instance under Icelproclly Porto Rico increased her consumptionof Hour only 15 per cents per capita yearly for her lOCOCOO people while the beet su gar Industry if developed only enough for local consumption would put SHO into the pockets of the people of Min nesota and the Northwest Beet sugar Industry Is now so far developed In New York Michigan Ohio Wisconsin Minnesota Virginia Illinois Iowa South Dakota Nebraska Colorado Utah Now Mexico Washington Ore gon and California that to sacrifice it to tropical trusts would be a crime Today therefore the Americanfarmer says to Congress I have supported protection for other Intor ste now 1 want them to support protection for the farmer If sugar fruits tobacco vegetables etc are to be admitted free from Porto Rico Cuba or the Phil ippines then it will be free manufac tures from England mid Europe If duties on tho produce I have to soil are reduced 12 to 20 per cent by reel proclty then make a like reduction on the manufacture 1 have to buy So long as there Is protection I want my share of It psperlally on theHe things upon which a duty will really protect Dont subject me to free trade condi I tions and expect mo to Vote protection j for the other fellow POSITION OF TIlE FARMER The farmers position is impregna ble It Is Just He asks no special fa vors only to be treated equally as well 1 as the labor and capital in other in dustries It Is i slgnilfeanl also thai the fanner is supported in this position bv labor wilci is the chief eomiunier oC his products Workers in 011161 Vd catlons know that when the farmer prospers ali the Industries thrive I Rut how < m i Porto Rlian prodiirln I be excluded 1C It Is a part of the United Slates Domestic producers bitterly resent establishing a precedent for Porto Rico that must Inevitably bo applied ap-plied to Cuba and the Philippine later Wo prefer to avoid the constitutional issue for a few years by leaving Porto Rico as a military possession wIth a civil government within the President direction The present military tarift admits foods Implements and other necessities free of duty into Porto Rico WHAT IS PROPOSED Instead of taxing these lllce other articled 15 per cent as proposed In the House bill pending in tIme Senate we would let the Islands stand at present A Joint resolution authorizing time President to reduce somewhat duties on Porto RIcan products shiplmCi at present pres-ent is all that is needed since the big appropriation for th Porto Rican rei lkf has passed This would afford the Islanders every facility for getting on theIr feet again As a matter of fact they can pay full duties to get Into the United Slates and still make more money than American farmers and not work half so hard This will nlso give our statesmen abundant time to decide upon time government of PortoKlco ATTITUDE TOWARD CUBA What is the attitude of domestic < m producers toward Cuba and the Philip I pines pinesTreat them alike replied Mr My rick llPlp the Filipinos to selfgov ernment ond nominal Independence as lImo United Slates Is giving tutelage to Cuba Tills will be vastly better for I our foreign trade os well aK for our I domestic Intcrevtn and at the t same lime will wine out th economic constitutional con-stitutional and moral questions in volved In I Imperialism I When this isi accomplished Porto IClco might com > In before With as a Territory but not Justice toward all time whole mass of I complicated issues growing out of the Porto RIcan affair would be thus disj nosed of An Increasing number of Senators and Representatives of both parties favor this proposition I bci llee 11 will yet be carried out Will the people approve TIme party that walks this plank will win hands down next November re i I oiled Chairman Myrick The American Ameri-can people will never submit to the i I competition of yellow labor Some nl j leged sympathy has bien Industriously J worked up by the Porto Rican lobby at I Washington which IM headed by a i Biltlsh ViceConsul who Is not even a citizen of Porto Rico When tills whole case Is fully understood thf American people will practically all take the position po-sition now held by Uu league of Do mostlc Producers This Is i a matter of I selfpreservation not of politics with I the American farmer or worklngman |