The Pacific Commercial Advertiser

CUBAN TREATY
HAS SMALL SHOW

WASHINGTON, June 5.—Senator Bard said today he was reliably informed that the President and the reciprocity advocates in the Senate had shown signs of weakening, and that the prospects of the rebate plan were more flattering than at any time heretofore.

Today's conference of the conciliation committee was not especially productive, and was not expected to be in the absence of Senator Aldrich. He will return tomorrow, and developments of a decisive nature one way or the other may be expected soon.

The beet sugar Senators say it must be a rebate or nothing, and the stalwarts in the House reiterate the statement.

Meantime the President insists that something must be done for Cuba.

A significant dispatch is printed in tonight's New York Post from its Washington correspondent, who is on intimate terms with the President, and whose articles sometimes appear to be inspired. The Evening Post strongly favors reciprocity. The dispatch says:

Colena the Cuban reciprocity matter takes on new and more promising aspects. At once we may look for a special message from the President to Congress. This is the expectation of those members who have discussed the situation with him confidentially during the last few days. Affairs have reached a stage which may fairly be described as a crisis. The fate of the proposed legislation swings on the finely pointed pivot of chance and may make its final move either way. The President has been advised by some of his most trusted friends in the Senate that about the only hope of getting the reciprocity bill through at this session rests with his handling of his share of the business, and they consider that the time has come for him to make a public appeal to the conscience and patriotism of the law-making body.

Truman G. Palmer of Chicago was a witness today before the Senate Committee on Cuban Relations. For the past four years Palmer has been engaged in the promotion of beet sugar interests. He gave a list of 17 American corporations which, he said, have 1,087,777 acres in sugar producing lands in Cuba, with an annual capacity of 256,425 tons. Of these 17 companies 10 have on file war claims against the government of the United States aggregating $9,665,974.

The largest of these claims—for $4,177,698—was filed by the Constancio Sugar Company, with an estate of 57,000 acres and an annual capacity of 21,000 tons. Palmer said he had secured the facts upon which this statement is based from the official records of the Spanish Claims Commission, and from statements made by witnesses before the Senate Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Palmer also presented a list of estates owned by individuals who are citizens of the United States, but most of whom are either of Cuban or American birth. This list included 41 estates of 366,856 acres, with an average sugar production of 294,496 tons. Of these 41 estates 35 filed war claims against the government of the United States aggregating $13,646,544.

Palmer deduced from the figures given in this connection that only 30 per cent of the product was supplied by the farmers who do not own their own factories.