THE Island of Porto Rico, covering an area of about 3,500 square miles,
had in 1910 a total population of 1,118,012. The population was divided
between the towns and country as follows: Urban population 224,620, or
20.1 per cent of the total number, and rural population 893,392, or 79.9
per cent of the total number. From these figures it is evident that the
greatest problems of Porto Rico--those which affect nearly 80 per cent
of the population--are problems connected with rural life. Of course,
many of the people classified as rural inhabitants do not fall strictly
within this class, as by urban centers we mean towns with a population
of 2,500 inhabitants or more, and thus many of the smaller towns, which
really have the advantages of town life, are classified officially as
rural centers.
The population of Porto Rico is 65.5 per cent, or nearly two thirds,
white, 30 per cent mulatto, and 4.5 per cent black. It is 98.9 per cent
native and 1.1 per cent foreign born. During the period from 1899 to
1910 there was an increase in the total population of the Island of 17.3
per cent, which covered an increase of 25 per cent for the native
whites, a decrease of 14.5 per cent for the foreign born whites, a
decrease of 15.4 per cent for the blacks, and an increase of 10.1 per
cent for the mulattoes. The decrease in the number of foreign born
whites is due to the fact that in the census of 1899 this group included
persons born in the United States, while in 1910 these were classified
as natives. The decrease in the number of blacks is doubtless due to
intermarriage with other classes, and as a result we have the children
of such marriages classified as mulattoes. If the number of such
marriages were sufficiently great, the births of blacks would be
insufficient to offset the deaths, and the number of blacks would, in
that case, necessarily decrease. On this assumption we might very well
prophesy that within a few generations the black population in Porto
Rico will absolutely disappear, and that we shall have an increased
number of mulattoes who, in their turn, will tend to disappear, as they
mingle in marriage with people of less colored blood, and in time the
black race will be practically absorbed by the whites.
Of the foreign countries represented, Spain, with 56.3 per cent of the
total foreign born, leads the list. Cuba and the other West Indies have
20.5 per cent to their credit, France 5.8 per cent, Italy 3.1 per cent,
England 2.9 per cent, Germany 1.9 per cent, Denmark 1.6 per cent, while
no other single country contributes so much as one per cent to the
foreign born population.
The total number of foreign born in 1910 was 11,766. The rural
population of 893,392 was divided among the races as follows: Whites
604,541, blacks 32,918, mulattoes 255,923. Thus we see that the great
majority of the rural population is of the white race, due no doubt, to
the fact that the colder climate of the highlands of the interior does
not agree with the hereditary love which the colored race has for a warm
climate.
The population of Porto Rico comprises a mixture of bloods and races
that complicates the social problems of the Island. The French, Italian,
and Spanish elements have tended to mix with the descendants of the
Indians originally found here, and to this has been added in many cases
a mixture of the blood of the colored race, introduced as slaves into
the Island. In some cases the races from the north of Europe have also
mingled, so that to-day it is inaccurate to speak of the Porto Ricans as
a people of one blood, and the characteristics of the people might be
called a composite of the various race elements which have entered into
the formation of the native population.
The geographical and geological formation of the Island renders it
chiefly agricultural. Little is found in the way of mineral deposits,
and manufacturing on a large scale will never be carried on, due to the
lack of fuel supply and water power. The climate is agreeable and has no
doubt tended to render the people less active than would have been the
case in a colder climate. The prevalence of anemia and malaria
throughout the Island has also weakened the productive ability of the
people and has caused the casual observer to classify the Porto Rican
countryman as unambitious and lazy. The loss of vitality caused by the
diseases just mentioned, together with others which have visited the
Island from time to time, is almost impossible to determine, but there
is no doubt but that the laziness with which the Porto Rican countryman
is credited, disappears with great rapidity when his system has been
freed from the effects of disease.
The Island imports a great part of its food supply, although food stuffs
of a vegetable nature are easily produced and might be raised in
sufficient quantity to maintain our present population. The Island is
too small to provide grazing areas for large numbers of cattle.
The problems of the rural population have been practically untouched up
to the present time, as the dominating element in the social and
political life of Porto Rico has come from the towns. The rural people
have consequently lacked stimulus for self-improvement, inasmuch as
there was nothing done to make them dissatisfied with their condition
and lead them to try to better it. A system of rural schools has been
established by the Department of Education, but not in sufficient number
to accommodate all of the children of the country. The solution of the
rural situation depends upon proper schooling, a system of instruction
which will fit the children for living better rural lives and which
shall not be simply the graded system of the towns transplanted to the
country. The special problems of the country should be taken into
consideration in working out the course of study for the schools, and
specially trained teachers should be provided,--teachers who will look
upon their work in the rural school as their profession in life, and who
will make every effort to adapt themselves to the needs of the community
in which they may be located. A continuation of the work which the
Government has already started to improve the sanitary and hygienic
conditions under which the country people live, the abolishing of anemia
and malaria through continuous effort, and instruction as to proper diet
and care of the body, together with instruction as to how to secure the
necessary kinds of food seems to be the only solution to the rural
situation. Certain other problems which relate to the rural family will
solve themselves as the educational and economic situation is bettered.