This recommendation is not based on a constitutional right of the Puertoriquenos, but on the ground that, by the act of annexation, we have destroyed the old markets of these people and are bound in duty to provide them with new ones on terms equally favorable with those they enjoyed under Spanish rule. On this point there was the widest divergence possible between the President and the framers of the original Tariff Reduction Bill, and there is still the same divergence between him and the supporters of the amended bill that finally passed the House under the mandate of the machine. There is no misunderstanding whatever on this point on the part of the intelligent, liberal, and patriotic Republican sentiment, in and out of Congress, which has been arrayed against the 25 per cent. tariff bill, and is still arrayed against its successor, the 15 per cent. measure.

Notwithstanding the overwhelming public sentiment in opposition to a tax on Puerto Rico products, on March 16 the Senate passed the Puerto Rico Relief Appropriation Bill and refused to extend to the islanders constitutional rights. The bill as passed reads as follows:

"Be it enacted, etc., that the sum of $2,095,455, being the amount of customs revenue received on importations by the United States from Puerto Rico since the evacuation of Puerto Rico by the Spanish forces on the 18th of October, 1898, to the 1st of January, 1900, shall be placed at the disposal of the President, to be used for the government now existing and which may hereafter be es tablished in Puerto Rico, and for public education, public works and other governmental and public purposes therein, and the said sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated for the purposes herein specified out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropri ated."

THE territorial expansion of our country, through annexation of Hawaii, Tutuila, Guam, and the Philippines, as well also the open-door policy that has so greatly increased our trade relations with China, has made the laying of a Pacific cable an inexorable necessity. This extreme need is in a fair way of being supplied in a reasonably short while. Two bills providing for construction of cables across the Pacific, with a station at Honolulu, were introduced directly after the holiday recess of Congress (1900). The House Committee on Foreign Commerce reported favorably on the measure, authorizing a private corporation to undertake the work and pledging the govern ment to the payment of a substantial subsidy for a term of years. The Senate Naval Committee, reporting a similar bill, made the recommendation that a direct line. of cable communication between this country and the far East be constructed and controlled absolutely by the United States government. The recommendation of the House Committee was that the cable be laid and controlled by a private corporation, and that as a guarantee, or subvention, the government pay to such corporation the sum of $250,000 annually, for a period of twenty years, for such service as the government may require. The contention of opponents of the scheme of private ownership

was:

Aid to private concerns by fat bounties from the public

This recommendation is not based on a constitutional right of the Puertoriquenos, but on the ground that, by the act of annexation, we have destroyed the old markets of these people and are bound in duty to provide them with new ones on terms equally favorable with those they enjoyed under Spanish rule. On this point there was the widest divergence possible between the President and the framers of the original Tariff Reduction Bill, and there is still the same divergence between him and the supporters. of the amended bill that finally passed the House under the mandate of the machine. There is no misunderstanding whatever on this point on the part of the intelligent, liberal, and patriotic Republican sentiment, in and out of Congress, which has been arrayed against the 25 per cent. tariff bill, and is still arrayed against its successor, the 15 per cent. measure.

Notwithstanding the overwhelming public sentiment in opposition to a tax on Puerto Rico products, on March 16 the Senate passed the Puerto Rico Relief Appropriation Bill and refused to extend to the islanders constitutional rights. The bill as passed reads as follows:

"Be it enacted, etc., that the sum of $2,095,455, being the amount of customs revenue received on importations by the United States from Puerto Rico since the evacua tion of Puerto Rico by the Spanish forces on the 18th of October, 1898, to the 1st of January, 1900, shall be placed at the disposal of the President, to be used for the government now existing and which may hereafter be es tablished in Puerto Rico, and for public education, public works and other governmental and public purposes therein, and the said sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated for the purposes herein specified out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropri ated."

CHAPTER LVI.

THE PACIFIC CABLE.

THE territorial expansion of our country, through annexation of Hawaii, Tutuila, Guam, and the Philippines, as well also the open-door policy that has so greatly increased our trade relations with China, has made the laying of a Pacific cable an inexorable necessity. This extreme need is in a fair way of being supplied in a reasonably short while. Two bills providing for construction of cables across the Pacific, with a station at Honolulu, were introduced directly after the holiday recess of Congress (1900). The House Committee on Foreign Commerce reported favorably on the measure, authorizing a private corporation to undertake the work and pledging the govern ment to the payment of a substantial subsidy for a term of years. The Senate Naval Committee, reporting a similar bill, made the recommendation that a direct line. of cable communication between this country and the far East be constructed and controlled absolutely by the United States government. The recommendation of the House Committee was that the cable be laid and controlled by a private corporation, and that as a guarantee, or subvention, the government pay to such corporation the sum of $250,000 annually, for a period of twenty years, for such service as the government may require. The contention of opponents of the scheme of private ownership

was:

Aid to private concerns by fat bounties from the public

purse has never been popular with the American people. The abuses which are liable to arise from this system are numerous and obvious. If the government furnishes the assistance asked for in the laying and operation of the cable, the line will remain private property, and when the period covered by the subsidy agreement expires it will have to stand on the same footing as other customers of the cable company.

If, however, the cable is constructed outright as a national undertaking which forms a part of the general defense scheme of the United States, like the building of forts and warships, the title to the property remains in the government's possession, and it will possess the right to send messages to Manila at all times without cost. The need of a cable to the Philippines is evident if the Stars and Stripes are to continue to float over the islands, but it will be many years before the commercial tolls received for messages can be expected to defray the cost of construction and operation. If a Pacific cable used primarily for business purposes would pay from a commercial standpoint, there would be no ground on which to ask for the help of lavish subsidies. Since it is admitted that the present necessity for such a line is chiefly strategic and defensive, it is better for the government to build it, own it, and operate it.

THE SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.

It was an excellent work that the 56th Congress set about, in planning legislation that would rehabilitate our merchant navy, and multiply our flag on the high sea. More than fifty years ago, when the population of the United States was hardly 40,000,000, a greater number of vessels crossed the ocean under American colors than now. Our coastwise trade has grown enormously, but our export business, great