Show THE POLITICAL ISSUES > What Do the Democrats Expect Ex-pect to Gain 7 I IJUTHEIR CURIOUS ATTITUDE J < They Wobblo on tho Cuban Sugar Question Their Degraded Position on the Philippines and the Action of tho iloops There What Will b the Senate Do With the Cuban Sugar Su-gar Question The West Is Determined Deter-mined to Be Heard in the Proposition Proposi-tion Wants to Defer Action COURESPONDENC1S TRIBUNE WashIngtOn June n Xow that the session oC Congress is drawing to a close members arc Indulging In speculation specu-lation as to what degree of success has rewarded the frantic efforts of Democratic Demo-cratic leaders to produce a crop of political po-litical Issues for use In the Congressional Congression-al elections this fall One frequently hears the question Can they make the Philippine Issue stand alone lias it not been shattered shat-tered ZIt teredWhat do they hope to gain by their attitude on Cuban reciprocity they are doing their utmost to prevent a reduction I reduc-tion of the tariff on Cuban raw sugar so that in case the Republicans fall to reduce that tariff the Democrats can go home provided their constituents do not manufacture sugar and make political po-litical capital out of such omission Yet the Democratic steering committees arc doing their utmost to kill the proposed pro-posed reciprocity measure and are very careful of course to avoid going on record In the matter One hears very little antitrust talk since the AttorneyGeneral and the r President called the beef trust and the merger to account and It Is doubtful whether the Democratic Congressional I committee will force that issue this falL falLREPUBLICANS WILLING Republican leaders of both houses of F Congress have had several conferences among themselves and severally with the President the object of which was to reach conclusions on the plan of I campaign for the Congressional elections elec-tions this fall It will not be a dlillcult matter to arrange to meet the Democrats Demo-crats upon their own ground and the Republican committee Is Inclined to let them pick the ground Chairman Babcock Bab-cock of the Republican committee Is quoted afi expressing the opinion that f Republican policies are certain to pie vall and that the Democratic rainmakers rain-makers have not during the present session of Congress succeeded In makIng I mak-ing much of an Impression upon the I minds oC the people throughout the tnI 1 um inirt I that the Democrats will l eto rely almost exclusively upon what they term the Philippine Issue Is-sue for the other alleged issues I have almost petered oul At the beginning of the session the Democrats beat the Cuban reciprocity bushes in the hope of scaring out another llfeuic Issue but they ran amuck of the fact that there was a strong sentiment In both House find Senate opposed to reducing the tariff on Cuban raw sugar so they are now pooling with Republicans in I Congress and encouraging them to defeat de-feat the proposition to reduce the sugar i tariff ostensibly thus to defy the American Amer-ican socalled sugar trust but In reality 10 bait Congress Into an open rupture with President Roosevelt and to place the Republican party In a false light The PreSIdent as In wIll known wishes to do something for Cuba as the lamented MeKlnloy did In his message to Congress President Roosevelt made his position plain on the subject But Western and Southern Congressmen do not agree with him They want to protect the beatsugar Industry of which the East J knows nothing They say there IH as much sugar produced west of the Missouri river as Is consumed by = the Inhabitants of that territory and Unit J he industry Is undergoing wonderful expansion Western Congressmen believe and assert as-sert that the sugar trust must cither control or kill the beetsugar Industry A 50 per cent reduction In the tariff on Cuban raw sugar would paralyze every sugar fncory In Utah Colorado and Nebraska and a 20 per c < mt ieduction nIv In lure the Industry Everybody knows j how the House disposed of the problem and that it Is now up to the Senate ttTII TIIJ3 SENATE AND CUBA i What will the Senate do with the Cuban reciprocity measure There are b Bald to be tnt tnc Kepubllean Senators Sen-ators who will Join the Democrats J In I doing Just what the House did to the American sugar trust Most of these I Senators are from the Vcst yet they do not wish to be regarded as opposing the Admlnfstrallon they arc in something some-thing of a dilemma Conferences are being held Caucuses arc mooted It is another case of the growing power I of the West Western Senators way I that the wall for Cuban reciprocity comes almost solely from Now York and New England capitalists who arc shedding crocodile tea IK for the poor I native Cuban who would receive lithe or no benefit 1 from a > eduction of the 1 tariff as hUM been conclusively shown before the Was and Means committee I Moreover exSenator John M 1 Thurslon of Nebraska returned fiom Cuba this I If week and is I telling his friends that nearly 30 per cent of Cuban sugar J Is now held by alien capitalists It is mostly American money now Invested in Cuban HUgar Eastern money Kllhu i Root Stcietary of War In a New York lawyer and the chief adviser of President z Presi-dent Roosevelt Roth of these gentlemen 2 gentle-men have the utmost conlldence In Gen Leonard Wood who han just returned from Cuba a nd IK said to have reiterated re-iterated to his chieftains his wellknown E contention that this Government must c oJ reduce the tariff on Cuban sugar Yet r I there are a number of strong men In 1 CongrPHB who are not willing to accept this view believing it to hav been conceived hit con-ceived under influences produced by Enalorn merchants who have always i I j6 been able to hornswogglc Congress Into S1i any bit of leglolation thought to be conducive j3 con-ducive to the welfare 01 New York and Ncv England manufacturers Thus the r p Cuban tariff question resolves Itself 11 Into a fcctlonril Issue 1 us between the tlit t2 Edot and the West > THE WEST TO BE HEARD i J Clearly the West Is determined to be brolll IM this caSe and 1 ° 1 his rcaaon I a he cnlcrs In the Senate are beginning J I r o talc compromise Some of them he 1Cc that the President will be satisfied AA to meia the Senate majority on middle r i ground mmii hope for a solution on that 9 basis They hope to avoid any action 1 that could bo construed as an effort tot to-t M ignore the President for this I would be impolitic and afford too much gnulllra I I r tjon to the Democrats Conservative men hero bellow Hint the Miculled In 5 L aurrectoH In the Senate can be Induced to concede iomothlng and that an TJ flhTIlCzthIe adjustment may be reached I 1 MUIi o Phi happy termination however cannot can-not bp iii < HtCli uiih fcruilnty for the icaFoii Unit there are active Democratic I obptnutloiiH in the genre hofcc chief vJ4 flight IP i In helping to put the Repub I licans Into It dllnnra i s DEMOCRATIC UNCERTAINTY Nobody heie Is i quite iletJ tiers rotand the attitude of the Democrats In respect to the proposed reduction of the tariff on Cuban raw sugar They nrofoes to stand with the house majority ma-jority as against the proposition yet a fundamental principle of Democracy Is free trade or a InrlfY for tevcnue only Cortalnlv I William Jennings Bryan could not consistently nnd will not seriously advocate he I maintenance of any tariff t Upon Cuban sugar Imported I Import-ed Into the t United Slates Vet his partisan par-tisan lieutenants In Congress are In sympathy and accord with the action of the Republican dissenters In the House in producing an Impossible bill on the subject one which they knew the I Senate could not and would not accept Everybody knows it was au effort to kill the reciprocity measure thus to preserve cMslIng tariffs and the Democrats glonled over the apparent ap-parent success attained They are now very anxious to have the Senate Sen-ate do Just what the House did and Will vote that way They think the people will rebuke the Republican party the dominant parly for failure to reduce the tariff If the Democrats are right In their tactics of obstruction obstruc-tion the t Republican Insurrcctos are right as a matter of principle and If Cuban reciprocity in this session is doomed the Democrats must share the responsibility If any While their action ac-tion will jleac the sugarproducing Staleu In l the West and Ir thought by a I large majority of people to be right and just It not only belles a basic principle of Democracy but It takes Cuban reciprocity out of politics In so far as the Impending Congressional compalgn may be concerned Certainly the Bryanlte fuslonlsls of Nebraska and Utah will not dare to raise the question on the hustings WANT TO STAVE IT OFF So great Is he I desire of the D mo cri tic steering committee that Cuban reciprocity shall be stave off that its members have urged upon the Senate the Immediate taking up of the Isthmian Isth-mian canal bill upon the disposition cf the Philippine bill The Demajnits admit ad-mit there will be iu canal this session ses-sion nor do they want one But they have agreed with 112 Republican in juirreelos to lake It up airJ to prolong pro-long the dcbnto up 011 It If Uv so doing Cuban reciprocity may be smoked out t Thus the Democratic leaders seek lo play the transcontinental railway allied al-lied Interests against tho Eocnlld 1 American sugar trust The latter wants the tariff on Cuban sugar relucod 11 per cent The railways alwavs hive opposed the Kthmlan l ca 111 schemer With his I situation on the I boards it Is expected that the nvnse hot oath t er will soon srt In xntl rote an adjournment ad-journment To be sure there Is Vl > ry t little sentiment In favor of passing the canal bill this session but there is a desire to learn more about the subject and to consider It seriously a r t the t net session of Congress It Is said the I President will be requeslsi by joint resolution to appoint a commission of able engineers and financier I In I look carefully into the new aspects of the case and to report Us Hurting late In the year This coulo be providol for of in r few lava if d course a v < v desired de-sired but the alleged debate on the I canal may be prolonged Indefinitely If administration leaders In Uu Senate Sen-ate do not succeed In ranging a compromise com-promise on Cuban reciprocity which shall gain the support of every Republican Repub-lican In the Senate Should they succeed suc-ceed however the day of adjournment might be forecas Led definitely say uboul Juno 20th The House is nearly up with Its business WHAT REAL ISSUE la view of the above outline of the situation what real Issue can the DCIII ocrats Like home to the people this l fall Can they make votes In Utah Idaho Wyoming and Nebraska by distributing dis-tributing speeches aonilnng wholesale whole-sale denunciation of the American soldier sol-dier In arms All reports from thc Vest agree that the Democratic shout ers in the Senate have made votes for the Republican Congressional I candidates candi-dates ys the fuslonlst voters arc proud of the army and of the part their sons and they themselves toolc In the war and they are not shedding croeodlle tears for treacherous t Filipino rebels The national Democratic Congressional committee must hac > had a hunch along these line for It has ordered a million copies of Senator Dubolss speech on the Philippine quest Ion In which the array Is not mentioned The committee on the other hand It Is aald concedes a blunder has been made and will life sparingly of speeches made by Democrats In the Senate whoso sole home I was abuse of the army of occupation In the Philippine Islands J B HAYNES |