WHAT THE POSSESSION OF PORTO RICO WILL MEAN.
The heading of this chapter presents a most difficult problem at this
time. It would require an inspired prophet to answer the question, and
all that we can do is to look at it as dispassionately as possible, and
to show the opinions of those who are more or less informed upon the
subject. From these opinions the reader must of necessity draw his own
conjectures.
Of course, from the very nature of conditions the land is at the present
time of writing in a most unsettled state, from a political, commercial
and social point of view.
A new element has entered into the lives of the Porto Ricans, and this
new element naturally brings with it an unknown future.
The Spaniards and Porto Ricans have but little idea of political
tolerance. They are enemies, now, and both seem to think that the
opposite party is to be abused, persecuted and even tortured.
Many of the Porto Ricans, on the word of a competent authority, believe
that violence to the persons or property of the Spaniards will be
acceptable to the Americans. The Spaniards, sharing this belief, live in
a constant state of terror, fearing for their possessions and even for
their lives.
The withdrawal to an extent of the Spanish troops gave the guerillas
full license, and they burned a number of plantations before our forces
were put in charge.
Both natives and Spanish, it might be said, were busy in cutting each
other's throats. The people became more or less terrorized, and begged
for American protection.
About the first of September, Major-General Wilson met at dinner a large
number of prominent islanders, and in response to a toast, he made a
rather long speech. As this speech was and is of great interest, we make
no apology for reproducing almost in full here.
General Wilson said:
"The great Republic, unlike the governments of Europe, has no subjects.
It extends its rights and privileges freely and equally to all men,
regardless of race or color or previous condition, who reside within its
far-reaching dominions. It makes citizens of all who forswear their
allegiance to foreign Powers, princes and potentates, and promise
henceforth to bear true faith and allegiance to the United States.
"The expulsion of the Spanish power from your beautiful and
long-suffering island and the hoisting of the American flag will be
followed shortly, let us hope, by the establishment of a stable civil
administration, based on the American principle of local
self-government.
"The government now exercising supreme authority in the island, you will
understand, is a government of conquest, in which the will of the
military commander is substituted for that of the Spanish king and
Cortes. It does not pretend to interfere with the local laws, except in
so far as may be necessary to protect the army of the United States and
maintain peace and good order among the people of the island. It looks
to the local courts to do justice as between man and man, and to the
moderation and good sense of the people themselves for the maintenance
of public tranquility, and for the cultivation of that perfect respect
for the rights of persons and property which constitutes the foundation
of the American system of government.
"It has been wisely said by one of the fathers of the republic that
'That government is best which governs least,' and this is the principle
which Porto Rico should keep constantly in view. Government interference
is necessary only when the people, instead of confining themselves
exclusively to their own particular affairs, presume to interfere with
the affairs of their neighbors.
"If every one, high and low, rich and poor, Porto Rican and Spaniard,
devotes himself strictly and exclusively to his own private or official
business, eschewing politics and public affairs, for the next year,
everybody will find at the end of that time that the island has been
well governed and prosperous, and your American fellow citizens will
proclaim you worthy of the good fortune which has united your destinies
to those of the great Republic.
"Permit me to add that as soon as the Spaniards have evacuated the
island, and the sovereignty of the United States is fully established, a
military governor will be appointed by the President, and he will govern
in the main in accordance with the principles I have indicated. How
long this military government will last must depend largely upon the
people of Porto Rico themselves.
"In the natural and regular course of events the military government
should be followed by a territorial government established by act of
Congress, and this in time should be followed in a few years by a
government which shall make Porto Rico a sovereign State of the great
Republic, and give it all the rights guaranteed by the constitution of
the United States.
"Permit me to add, before concluding, that you are likely to meet with
delay in the realization of your hopes from two principal causes.
"It is well known in the United States that Porto Rico is a Roman
Catholic country, and there is grave objection on the part of many good
people against the admission of a purely Roman Catholic State into the
Union. This is based not so much on opposition to that particular
religion as on the feeling that the domination of any sect would be
prejudicial to our principles of government. We have, perhaps, ten
millions of Roman Catholics in the United States, but they are scattered
throughout the various States, and intermingled everywhere with the
Protestant sects, so that no one has a majority. We have no established
Church, and under our policy Congress can pass no act concerning
religion or limiting the right of any citizen to worship God as he
pleases.
"The result is that all the churches are absolutely free, and none
concerns itself with politics. Each watches to see that the other does
not get control of the State.
"Now that the Spanish government has been expelled, it can no longer
support the Church in this island, hence the Church will necessarily
have a hard struggle till it can establish itself on the basis of
voluntary parochial support. Meanwhile the Protestant denominations in
the United States will have the right to send their missionaries into
this inviting field, where they will doubtless receive a hearty welcome,
but still the advantage will remain with the Roman Catholic Church, in
which the people have been born, married and buried for the last four
hundred years.
"Besides, it must not be forgotten that the Church, like every other
institution of the island, will surely realize its full share of the
benefits arising from the union of the island with the great Republic.
It will, therefore, become more liberal and independent, as well as more
powerful than it has ever been.
"Fortunately for you, however, every other Christian denomination will
from this time forth be free to make converts, establish churches, open
schools and circulate religious books and newspapers, and generally to
show that it is a worthy teacher and guide to a higher and better
civilization than ever prevails where one Church holds undisputed sway.
"The second great menace to the future of the Porto Rican people is the
danger of an outbreak of violence and intolerance on the part of one
section of your people against another; the danger of insular turning
against peninsular; of Porto Rican turning against Spaniard, with the
torch and dagger, to avenge himself for the wrongs and oppressions, real
or imaginary, which have so long characterized the Spanish domination in
this beautiful island.
"It needs no argument to show that such an outbreak if it becomes
general, cannot fail to bring discredit on your countrymen as a
turbulent and law-breaking people who cannot be intrusted with the
precious privilege of self-government, and must therefore be ruled by a
military commander.
"I firmly believe that the Porto Ricans are a docile, orderly and kindly
people, well prepared for a better government than they have ever
enjoyed, but you must lose no opportunity to impress upon the United
States that you are tolerant and magnanimous as well.
"Your wrongs, whatever they were, have been avenged by the expulsion of
the Spanish flag and the Spanish dominion, without exertion or cost on
your part, and the least you can do in return is to repress the spirit
of revenge and resolve to live in peace and quietude with your Spanish
neighbors, respecting their rights of persons and property, as you
desire to have your own respected.
"In this way, and in this way only, can you show yourselves to be worthy
of the great destiny which has overtaken you, and which, let us hope, is
to speedily clothe your island with sovereignty as a member of the great
continental Republic.
"Thus, and thus only, can we become fellow citizens indeed in perpetual
enjoyment of our common and inestimable heritage as citizens of the
freest, richest and most powerful nation in the world." The Hon. A. H.
Green speaks as follows of the present condition of Porto Rico:
"The problems that force themselves upon the attention at the outset are
those of government and of finance. The first question that naturally
arises is, what shall be done with these possessions? How shall they,
with their unassimilated populations, be cared for? The presence of a
military force will doubtless be an immediate necessity. It should be
administered in the mildest form, unless riot and disorder otherwise
require, and be controlled by officers humane and intelligent, inclined
to encourage at the earliest practical time the inauguration of a civil
rule which shall gradually and as rapidly as may be found wise invite an
official participation of representatives of the indigenous populations.
Can this be done? Let the doubting and the timid recall what has been
done, and is now doing toward improving the conditions of the peoples of
the East and ask themselves whether America is not likely to be equally
successful in caring for those whose destinies she has assumed to
direct; whether it is not her duty to enforce order and to keep the
peace among peoples who by her acts have been left disorganized and
defenseless, a prey to the internecine strifes of barbarous chiefs and
to the intrigues of roaming banditti? And have not experiences in
assimilating Spanish territories hitherto successfully annexed or
conquered proved abundantly our ability to do all this?
"It is natural enough that conservative minds should adhere to the
traditions of the past, but times are changed, and the wisest of our
forefathers were not able to foresee what the workings of centuries
might effect. The atrocities to which the inhabitants of Cuba have been
subjected in the past two or more years aroused the indignation of the
civilized world.
"'Their moans, the vales redoubled to the hills,
And they to Heav'n.'
"The financial problem, which is already commanding the serious
attention of the Government, is next in order. How are the great
expenditures of the war to be recouped? Shall we, in addition to
territory acquired, demand cash indemnity? If the care of these
acquisitions is to be as costly as some suppose, it would not be an
unreasonable requirement. While we shall lose the revenues derived from
imposts upon importations into the United States from these possessions,
which were not large, this will be more than compensated by the duties
which we can impose upon importations from other nations into them. In
making up the estimates of the whole financial situation it will be safe
to assume that at first our Government outlays will exceed income; our
people, however, will have the profit of furnishing products of the
United States to an added population of 10,000,000 to 12,000,000, freed
from the duty that we can impose upon the imports of other nations. Of
the $10,000,000 in value of imports into the Philippines from all
countries, we supplied less than $200,000, while we took from them
nearly $5,000,000.
"The interests of the people who gain their living and manual labor are
among the first to be considered and jealously guarded. Fortunately the
far greater part of these in America are engaged in employments which
will be benefited by annexation. A fresh and unrestrained market is to
be opened for our products, and the indigenous products of these regions
are to be brought here free of duty to give added employment to our
factories. No competitions of labor are to arise."
As to our new acquisition of new colonies by the United States, Theodore
S. Wolsey, Professor of International Law at Yale University, has this
to say, and every word he utters is pregnant with meaning, for no one
could be a more capable judge:
"It has already been said that England learned the lesson of the
American Revolution, while Spain has never heeded it nor the loss of her
own colonies. Yet it really was not until fifty years ago that their
methods sharply diverged. As early as 1778 Spain had begun to open her
dependencies to Foreign trade, and early in this century they were
allowed to trade with one another. So, likewise, although great changes
had been earlier made in the English colonies, the spirit of monopoly
and of a restrictive policy was in force until about 1815. So far as
relates to the evils of the colonial system, then, the two were not very
unlike. But into the field of administrative reform and the grant of
autonomous powers to her colonies, Spain never has entered. The abuses
of the early part of the century characterize also its later years.
Discrimination against the native-born, even of the purest Spanish
stock; officials who regard the colony as a mine to be worked, not a
trust to be administered; forced dependence upon the mother country for
manufactures, even for produce, so far as duties can effect it;
self-government stifled; representation in the Cortes denied or a
nullity; a civil service unprogressive, ignorant, sometimes
corrupt--compare these handicaps with the growth, the prosperity, the
independence, above all, the decent and orderly administration, of the
colonies of England. One of the wonderful things in this half century is
that army of British youth, with but little special training or genius,
or even, perhaps, conscious sympathy for the work, learning to
administer the great and growing Indian and colonial empire honestly and
wisely and well, with courage and judgment equal to emergencies,
animated by an every-day working sense of duty and honor, but not very
often making any fuss or phrases about it. It is not that Spanish
colonial government is worse than formerly, which is costing it now so
dear, but that it is no better, while the world's standard has advanced
and condemns it. Never yet has Spain looked at her colonies with their
own welfare uppermost in her mind. She has never outgrown the old
mistaken theories. Her fault is medievalism, alias ignorance.
"It is not a cause for wonder, therefore, quite apart from special
sources of discontent, that Cuba, which, by position is thrown into
contact with progressive peoples, should chafe at her leading strings.
Without reference to the corruption and cruelty, arrogance, injustice
and repression which are alleged against the mother country, without
rhetoric and without animosity, we may fairly say that Spain is losing
Cuba, perhaps all her colonies, simply because she has not conformed to
the standard of the time in the matter of colonial government. If
England had not altered her own methods, her colonies would long since
have abandoned her as opportunity offered. The wonder really is that
Spain has held hers so long; for Cuba, at least, owing to its
exceptional fertility and position, has relatively outstripped its
declining mother.
"There remains the moral of the story.
"If we are not mistaken as to the fundamental causes of Spain's colonial
weakness, other colonial powers must take warning also, and the United
States in particular, if it yields to the temptations, or, as many say,
assumes the divinely-ordered responsibilities, of the situation. For its
protective system is a derivative of the mercantile system, as the
colonial system was. If it becomes a colonial power, but attempts by
heavy duties to limit the foreign trade of its colonies, if it
administers those colonies through officials of the spoils type, if it
fails to enlarge the local liberties and privileges of its dependencies
up to the limit of their receptive powers--if, in short, it holds
colonies for its own aggrandizement, instead of their well-being--it
will be but repeating the blunders of Spain, and the end will be
disaster."
Colonel Hill has declared that the heavy burdens under which the
business world of Porto Rico has been staggering in the past have been
almost inconceivable. Something of this has already been said, but it
may be well to give Colonel Hill's views, as he is certainly a most
competent judge. The colonel says that in the first place there has been
a tax on every ship that comes in and goes out. There has been a heavy
tax on all articles of impost and a special tax on all articles not
enumerated in the tariff. In addition to that, an additional tax of ten
per cent. on the bill was added. Each hackman who plied between the port
and the town of Ponce had to pay a tax of eight dollars a month. No
person could write a letter to an official without first going to the
collector and purchasing a certain kind of official paper, for which he
must pay fifty cents to one dollar a sheet. The price was regulated by
the rank of the official who had to be written to.
The effect of all this was rather to increase the number of complaints
from citizens than to increase the revenues of the island.
To General Ernst, who was the officer in command of the territory of
Coamo, a large number of protests were made. In especial, a delegation
of twelve to fifteen citizens called upon the general to request the
removal of the alcalde, on the ground that he had been an officer in the
Spanish volunteer army, and was unsatisfactory because of his former
connections. The gentleman, however, had gracefully accepted the new
condition of affairs and was performing the duties of his office
earnestly and faithfully. These facts General Ernst was in possession of
and he was forced in consequence to deny the request of the delegation.
For his own protection and to remove any false impression there might be
in the public mind, General Ernst issued the following proclamation,
which was printed in both English and Spanish:
"Headquarters 1st Brigade, 1st Div.,
1st Army Corps, Camp Near Coamo,
Porto Rico, September 3, 1898.
To the People of Coamo and Neighboring Districts:
"To prevent misunderstanding as to the rights and duties of the various
members of this community, you are respectfully informed:
"1. That no change has been made in the civil laws of Porto Rico, and
that none can be made except by the Congress of the United States. The
present civil authorities are to be obeyed and respected.
"2. That no prejudice rests against any citizen, whether in office or
not, for having served as a volunteer, if he now frankly accepts the
authority of the United States.
"3. That the persecution of persons simply because they are Spaniards,
or Spanish sympathizers, will not be tolerated. They, as well as the
Porto Ricans, are all expected to become good American citizens, and, in
any event, they are entitled to the protection of the law until they
violate it.
O. H. Ernst,
"Brigadier-General Commanding."
About this time President McKinley promulgated through the War
Department the revised customs tariff and regulations to be enforced by
the military authorities in the ports of Porto Rico.
In general, the regulations for Porto Rico were practically the same as
those promulgated for Cuba and the Philippines. The one important
difference was that trade between ports in the United States and ports
and places in the possession of the United States in Porto Rico be
restricted to registered vessels of the United States and prohibited to
all others. It was provided that any merchandise transported in
violation of this regulation should be subject to forfeiture, and that
for every passenger transported and landed in violation of this
regulation the transporting vessel should be subject to a penalty of
$200.
This regulation should not be construed to forbid the sailing of other
than registered vessels of the United States with cargo and passengers
between the United States and Porto Rico, provided that they were not
landed, but were destined for some foreign port or place.
It was further provided that this regulation should not be construed to
authorize lower tonnage taxes or other navigation charges on American
vessels entering the ports of Porto Rico from the United States than
were paid by foreign vessels from foreign countries, nor to authorize
any lower customs charges or tariff charges on the cargoes of American
vessels entering from the United States than were paid on the cargoes of
foreign vessels entering from foreign ports.
The regulations as to entering and clearing vessels and the penalties
for the violation were the same as those fixed for Cuban ports in the
possession of the United States. The tonnage dues were reduced, as in
Cuba, to twenty cents per ton on vessels entering from ports other than
Porto Rican ports in the possession of the United States, and two cents
a ton on vessels from other ports in Porto Rico. The landing charge of
$1 per ton was abolished, and the special tax of fifty cents on each ton
of merchandise landed at San Juan and Mayaguez for harbor improvement
was continued.
As in Cuba, the Spanish minimum tariff was to be collected. On most
articles, however, this was much higher than the minimum tariff which
was imposed by Spain in Cuba. The differential in Porto Rico imposed on
goods imported from countries other than Spain was much smaller than in
Cuba, so that under Spanish rule there was not a wide difference between
duties on goods from countries other than Spain imported into the two
islands. Under the operation of the President's orders imposing the
minimum tariffs in both islands the effect would be to tax most articles
much higher in Porto Rico than in Cuba. As in Cuba, a tariff was imposed
on tobacco, manufactured tobacco, cigars and cigarettes equivalent to
the internal revenue taxes imposed in the United States.
Richard Harding Davis says that there will be no such complications in
Porto Rico as those which exist in Cuba for the United States troops
there were not allies. They were men who came, were seen and conquered.
The revolutionary leaders had no share or credit in their triumphal
progress.
Now to examine into what Porto Rico offers for American enterprise and
capital.
In the first place, United States Consul Hanna has been flooded with
letters from fortune hunters. He strongly advised all of them to remain
at home until the Americans were in complete control. Now, let us
examine what one or two competent authorities have to say of Porto Rico,
so far as American enterprise is concerned.
Here is the opinion of a man who has lived in Porto Rico for several
years and who knows of what he is speaking:
"We take Porto Rico, too, at a time when everything favors increased
prosperity. It has not been ravaged and wrecked, like Cuba, by war. Its
foreign trade in 1896, amounting to $36,624,120, was the largest in its
history, the value of the exports then, for the first time in over ten
years, exceeding that of the imports. Of course the main trade has
always been with Spain, but the trade with us stands next, and during
the year in question was over two-thirds of that with Spain. Of late, it
is true, our trade with Porto Rico has been relatively declining, being
far less than it was a quarter of a century ago. During the reciprocity
period of a few years since it increased somewhat, but after that it
fell off again. It is important to note, however, that our exports to
Porto Rico have kept well up of late years, the falling off in total
trade being due to the decline of our imports, so that now the exports
are not far from equal to the imports, instead of being much inferior as
formerly. It is a noteworthy fact that the exchange from both countries
is mostly of products of the soil. That is the case with ninety-nine
hundredths of Porto Rico's exports to us, sugar and molasses comprising
85 per cent., with coffee coming next, and it is also true of over
three-fifths of our exports to Porto Rico, among which breadstuffs and
meat foods are prominent.
"But with Porto Rico fully ours, and the discriminations enforced by
past laws in favor of Spanish trade wiped out, there must be a change in
the currents of her commerce. We shall expect to furnish the chief
markets for her products, and on the other hand to send to the island
more food products than ever, more machinery, textile fabrics, iron and
steel. Her capabilities will be developed, perhaps notably in coffee
cultivation. Her peaceful and industrious people will welcome American
enterprise and capital, American progressive methods, and free
institutions. Indeed one of the most striking events of this year was
the extraordinary enthusiasm with which American troops were greeted all
along the southern shores of the island. It was as if the people could
already forecast the great future in store for them, under American laws
and the American flag."
A correspondent of the New York Evening Post, who signs himself by the
initials A. G. R., speaks with authority as follows:
"The prominence given to the island by the events of recent months has
led many of our people to think it of vastly greater importance,
commercially, than it really is. Consul Hanna, who is back in his old
quarters in San Juan, has a small wheelbarrow load of letters from all
parts of the United States, asking detailed information upon all
conceivable lines of trade, manufacture and profession. To answer them
according to the terms of their requests would be the work of a short
lifetime. But they indicate the widespread interest of American business
men in Porto Rican mercantile affairs. Every steamer arriving here
brings its group of American passengers. Some are visitors who make the
trip only through curiosity. The majority come with an idea of some form
of business, either in the shape of a speculative flyer, permanent
investment, or a commercial or industrial establishment.
"A large percentage of those who come are young men, who have just about
enough money to get them here, to keep them here for a week or two, and
then get them home again. These come in the hope of finding immediate
employment, of catching on to something which will maintain them. They
invariably go home again. The island is no place for such. None but the
capitalist, the investor, or the business man with money for his
business, should come to Porto Rico with anything more in view than an
outing or a vacation. As things are at present, there is little enough
to interest the capitalist or the investor. The man who is looking for a
job should look for it at home; his chances are infinitely better than
they are here. There is absolutely nothing for the position hunter, for
the clerk, or for the workman. In time there may be something, but it
will be, at the least, many months before such opportunities are open,
and even then they will be few. Until then the case is hopeless, and
those who come will but do as their predecessors have done--go home
again, poorer and wiser men. If a young man can afford to spend a couple
of hundred dollars in the purchase of that particular form of wisdom,
the opportunity is open to him here on this island. If he cannot afford
it, he will do better not to risk it.
"Merchants will find nothing to do here, except to glean a certain
amount of information of rather doubtful accuracy, until the question of
tariff rates shall have been definitely settled. There is now nothing on
which to base any plans or calculations for business operations. The
native merchants are complaining seriously. They are waiting to place
orders for hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of goods to replenish
stocks which have been depleted through many mouths of uncertain trade
conditions, and are losing business which they have been led to expect
would be open to them almost immediately after the American occupation
of the different cities in which they are located. Nor is it at all easy
for an American to obtain any definite information or accurate details
regarding any particular line of business and its possibilities. Local
commercial methods are not reduced to the system which prevails among
American business men. The Porto Rican merchant buys and sells, but I
fail to find evidence of that close study of business and business
methods by which the American merchant increases his trade and his
profits.
"The entire trade of the island is of no very great magnitude. The
local trade in local products is chiefly confined to the morning market
for table supplies, which is held in all the cities and larger towns.
The total imports and exports hardly reach a gross amount of thirty
millions of dollars a year, and the imports exceed the exports by a
couple of millions. I have been unable to find any statistics which I
was willing to accept as wholly reliable. So far as I can learn, no
complete report has been submitted by the United States Consul, and
there are discrepancies which I cannot reconcile in the published
reports of the English Consul and those of the Dutch Consul. I can,
therefore, only give figures which are approximate, though they are
sufficiently close for general purposes.
"Cotton goods appear to be the largest item among the imports, and they
represent a trade of two or three millions of dollars, varying from year
to year, according to the prices and the success or failure of the crop
products of the island. Rice is imported to the value of one and a half
to two millions of dollars. Flour, chiefly from the United States,
approximates three-quarters of a million dollars. Dried, salt and
pickled fish, of which Canada seems to obtain the lion's share of the
trade, represents a million to a million and a quarter. The United
States has the major portion of a trade in pork and pork products which
about equals the fish business.
"Woollen goods are, naturally, of but limited consumption in so warm a
climate, and the trade is probably less than $150,000 in amount.
Agricultural implements represent a business of three to four hundred
thousand dollars. Boots and shoes, almost exclusively from Spain,
represent some five or six hundred thousand. Chinaware, glassware,
lumber, coal, soap, furniture and other articles of general use and
consumption represent amounts varying from one to three or four hundred
thousand dollars.
"The most astonishing thing in the whole list of importations is the
item of vegetable and garden products. These are imported into this
country, which is in itself but a natural garden in which can and should
be raised every form of vegetable necessary or desirable for
consumption, and the annual value of the imports approximates $400,000
and the weight 7,000 tons. The island uses $150,000 worth of imported
candles and $50,000 worth of imported butter yearly. It uses two to
three hundred thousand dollars' worth of cheese, of which the
Netherlands have, for the last few years, furnished much the greater
part. Uruguay and the Argentine supply it with one to three thousand
tons of jerked beef annually. Wines, beers, and liquors take something
more than a half a million a year out of the country.
"Among Porto Rican exports coffee is the heaviest item. This reaches an
average valuation of some $10,000,000 a year. Sugar ranks next, and
approximates three to four million dollars. Tobacco goes to the extent
of some half a million, and molasses touches about the same figure.
Hides, cattle, timber and fruit are represented in the list, but their
value is comparatively inconsiderable. Guano to the extent of half a
million a year appears in the reports for some years, but I am unable
to account for either the article or the amount. Some corn has been sent
to Cuba, some native rum to Spain, and some bay rum to France and to the
United States.
"It will thus be seen that, as yet, the island offers but a
comparatively limited amount of business, either in buying or selling.
Under wise laws, and a just and equitable system of taxation, with a
suitable railway system and improved highways, and with the ports of the
United States and of the islands open to the exchange of commodities,
free of duty, a very material increase of the business of the island
will inevitably follow. It is quite possible to double the trade within
the next ten or fifteen years. There will be some wildcat speculation,
some unwise investment and some loss to investors. The schemer and the
promoter will find victims who will put their money into companies whose
future is wholly hopeless. But along with that there may reasonably be
expected a steady growth and improvement. But it will come by gradual
increase and development, and not by a sudden bound."
According to Mr. William J. Morrisey, a prominent real estate dealer of
Brooklyn, who spent some time in Porto Rico, the island is no place for
an American to invest any money at present. He says that the place can
be made to pay, provided the United States Government clears the entire
island of Spaniards and fills the towns and cities with the American
people.
Mr. Morrisey also states that the natives of the cities are desirous of
becoming American citizens, but that out in the country, it is far
different. These people are constantly in fear of the Americans, and
their sole desire is to dispose of their property as soon as possible
and return to Spain. The more enlightened of them are of the opinion
that the United States Government will banish all the Spaniards from the
island and thereby make it more agreeable for the residents.
A dispatch of the Evening Post says that in view of representations made
to the War Department that the municipal councils in Porto Rico were
making hay while the sun shines, and granting business franchises right
and left under the Spanish law empowering them to do so, orders were
recently issued to General Brooke to put a stop to the practice
forthwith, and the announcement was given out that on the evacuation by
the Spaniards, and our assumption of military authority in the island,
no more of these loose grants would be made. Meanwhile American shippers
were in a state of mind over a lack of ships with which to conduct the
normal commerce of this country with Porto Rico. The change of status
for the island, from being a foreign possession to a port of the United
States coast, had made the rigid regulations of our coasting trade
applicable to it, and the purchase of so many of our coasting vessels by
the government for use as transports, coalers, and the like, had
embarrassed the progress of coast commerce not a little. The regulations
had to be suspended on two or three occasions to let in ships which
seemed absolutely necessary, and now the question came up whether it
would be best to suspend the regulations altogether or to have each
separate vessel which needed American papers apply to Congress for
special legislation.
There was another question, and a very important one, which came up, and
that was how far Louisiana and other sugar-producing States would be
affected by the annexation of Porto Rico.
In no State in the Union does a single interest play so important and so
peculiar a part as the sugar industry in Louisiana. Fully two-fifths of
the inhabitants of the State are more or less interested in sugar, and
any great disaster to the crop would injure ninety per cent. of the
population in southern Louisiana.
So far as Porto Rico goes, it is very doubtful if it will injure
Louisiana in any way. As has been said before, the island is densely
populated, small in area, and with little additional land available for
sugar. It is by no means probable that it will increase materially in
its sugar production. American laws will militate against the
importation of contract labor, and will therefore prevent any undue
competition. As the New York Sun very justly observes, the bugbear of
the Louisiana sugar planter is not territorial expansion, but the war
taxes and the possibility of their permanent adoption, bringing with it
the reopening of the old tariff agitation, which they supposed was
permanently closed.
Taking it all in all, territorial expansion has certainly no terrors for
the Louisiana planters.
With the evidence we have given, it is easy to see what Porto Rico has
to offer, or not to offer, to Americans.
With their usual manana, the Spaniards have been slow to evacuate the
island, but a decisive stand has been taken by the President.
The chief intent of the administration is to clear the island of
Spaniards, put at work American methods in sanitary, civic and economic
administration, and, for the purpose of doing this without annoyance, to
have forces enough for police duty.
The day fixed for the hoisting of the American flag over San Juan and
the complete and permanent occupation of Porto Rico by the military
forces of the United States was October 18.
It was possible for the Administration of the United States to take this
step by virtue of war powers and of the establishment of the fact that
Porto Rico is to be wholly and permanently American.
At the present time of writing Porto Rico is still a foreign country, so
far as the laws of the United States are concerned, and until changed by
Congress, customs duties will be collected on imports from the island.
So, too, with the navigation laws, and American ship-owners are warned
to secure registers for foreign commerce before entering the Porto Rico
trade, as vessels with only coasting enrollments and licenses will be
subject to penalty on their return to the United States.
On the 18th of October, promptly at noon, the flag was raised over San
Juan.
An excellent description of the proceedings has been given in the Boston
Herald, and reads as follows:
"The ceremony was quiet and dignified, unmarred by disorder of any kind.
"The 11th regular infantry, with two batteries of the 5th artillery,
landed. The latter proceeded to the fort, while the infantry lined up on
the docks. It was a holiday for San Juan, and there were many people in
the streets.
"Rear Admiral Schley and General Gordon, accompanied by their staffs,
proceeded to the palace in carriages. The 11th infantry regiment and
band, with troop H of the 6th U. S. cavalry, then marched through the
streets, and formed in the square opposite the palace. At 11.40 A. M.
General Brooke, Admiral Schley and General Gordon, the United States
evacuation commissioners, came out of the palace with many naval
officers, and formed on the right side of the square. The street behind
the soldiers was thronged with townspeople, who stood waiting in dead
silence.
"At last the city clock struck the hour of 12, and the crowds, almost
breathless, and with eyes fixed upon the flag pole, watched for
developments. At the sound of the first gun from Fort Morro, Major Dean
and Lieutenant Castle of General Brooke's staff hoisted the stars and
stripes, while the band played the 'Star Spangled Banner.'
"All heads were bared, and the crowds cheered. Fort Morro, Fort San
Cristobal and the United States revenue cutter Manning, lying in the
harbor, fired 21 guns each.
"Senor Munoz Rivera, who was president of the recent autonomist council
of secretaries, and other officials of the late insular government were
present at the proceedings.
"Congratulations and handshaking among the American officers followed.
Ensign King hoisted the stars and stripes on the Intendencia, but all
other flags on the various public buildings were hoisted by military
officers. Simultaneously with the raising of the flag over the
captain-general's palace many others were hoisted in different parts of
the city.
"The work of the United States' evacuation commission was now over. The
labors of both parties terminated with honor for all concerned."
After the parade the bands and various trade organizations went to
General Henry's headquarters. General Henry in a speech said:
"Alcalde and Citizens: To-day the flag of the United States floats as an
emblem of undisputed authority over the island of Porto Rico, giving
promise of protection to life, of liberty, prosperity and the right to
worship God in accordance with the dictates of conscience. The forty
five States represented by the stars emblazoned on the blue field of
that flag unite in vouchsafing to you prosperity and protection as
citizens of the American Union.
"Your future destiny rests largely with yourselves. Respect the rights
of each other. Do not abuse the government which accords opportunities
to the individual for advancement. Political animosities must be
forgotten in unity and in the recognition of common interests. I
congratulate you all on beginning your public life under new auspices,
free from governmental oppression, and with liberty to advance your own
country's interests by your united efforts."
General Henry then introduced Colonel John B. Castleman, who spoke with
great effect as an old Confederate.
The alcalde replied in part:
"We hope soon to see another star symbolic of our prosperity and of our
membership in the great republic of States. Porto Rico has not accepted
American domination on account of force. She suffered for many years the
evils of error, neglect and persecution, but she had men who studied the
question of government, and who saw in America her redemption and a
guarantee of life, liberty and justice.
"Then we came willingly and freely, hoping, hand in hand with the
greatest of all republics, to advance in civilization and progress, and
to become part of the republic to which we pledge our faith forever."
When the Spanish flag was hauled down all over the island and the Stars
and Stripes raised in its place, General Brooke became the chief
executive of Porto Rico. Actually, but not in name, he was the military
governor of the island. The plan of a military governor for Porto Rico,
to hold until the Washington authorities deem it wise to substitute a
purely civil administration, has not been fully arranged. From October
18 until the plan of the Government has been put into effect, General
Brooke, or the military officer who will succeed him if he asks for
detachment, will be in supreme control of civil and military affairs. It
is the intention, however, of the Government here to have as little of
the military element as possible in the administration of affairs, and
so to all intents and purposes a civil administration will be in
operation from the time the Spaniards surrendered authority.
Still, when all has been said, it is perfectly sure that in the end
Porto Rico will become one of the most important of our possessions.
Superstition and tyranny will be driven from this most fertile island,
and hope and peace, under the Stars and Stripes, will be brought to the
thousands so long under foot.
Hail, therefore to Porto Rico! And some day may it become a bright star
in the flag that brings protection and freedom to all!
(THE END.)