The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-29
PORTO RICAN CHURCHES.
The Island Has IL Protestant COngre-
CATION, of European Founding.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.

Special to the indianapolis Journal.
NEW YORK, May 2S.-Contrary to the
general belief there is a Protestant CON
gregation on the island of Porto Rico. 1t is
a Presbyterian one, and has its place of
worship at Ponce, the chief city on the
south coast. 1t is not allied with American
Presbyterians, but with the English
Scotch establishment. 1t has never been
large or strong congregation and since the
trouble began which separated the Anglo
Saxon and the Latin, its troubles have in
creased. Nevertheless it had not up to
within few weeks at any rate, discontin-
ued services.
Paul Van Syckell for seven years a resi-
dent of Porto Rico, arrived in New York
on the Pretoria last week. There are fifty
eight towns on the island" he said, land
think every one of them has it's Roman
Catholic cathedral. Well, in some cases
they may be churches, and not seats of
bishops but almost everything there Is
called a cathedral you know. l never was
in a village that did not have its cathedral
Generally it is the finest building in the
place. 1t is always of Spanish architecture,
and is built of brick and stone. The cost of
maintaining the churches of Porto Rico is
enormous, but the people are compelled to
pay. All men and women go to church.
They have to.
I'm countries where people are hung up,
sometimes in the churches, as 1 happen to
have seen, in order to make them confess
something concerning suspected persons
whom it is thought they know, people are
pretty apt to go to church when the church
and the government tell them to. You must
know that the Roman Catholic Church is
not in these Latin countries what 1t is in
English-speaking countries. 1 am not refer
ring TO doctrine, but to practices. And
am not talking about sects, nor appealing
to any ones prejudice. 1 am only talking
about facts. Some priests in Porto Rico do
not bear any too good regulations for hon
esty or for morals. Mind, I do not speak
from personal knowledge. L only speak
OF their public regulations.
There is no philanthropic work carried
on. There are no hospitals of any kind. SO
far as L ever saw, save an army hospital,
which private citizens, of course, never go
to- or soldiers either when they can help it,
] fancy, for L have heard it to be pretty
poor hospital Everybody who is allowed to
have anything good on the island came from
Spain, and he will go back to Spain to spend
perhaps that they do not go back to Spain.
There are only a very few schools on the
island-not enough for more than one-half
the children to attend. All schools are UNI
der the priests, and nothing is taught save
Roman Catholic history and service. The
government pays one-half the cost of their
maintenance, and the children, by bringing
their pennies with them each day, pay the
other half. Children must cease going to
school when fourteen. If older children
want to know more they go to France or to
Srain or to Italy, if they can. If they can
not they remain in ignorance. There are no
schools for higher education on the island.
Everything is run by the priests, including
the elections There is a small Presbyterian
congregation at Ponce, so l have heard
never went to service there. Why did 1
leave? Because the people there like John
Bull little, if any, better than they do
than they do-what do you call yourselves
here? Oh, yes than they do Brother Jona-
than or your Uncle Sam.
A new feature of church work during the
social season just ending is the provision by
the hostess of tickets to be given by the
attendants at the door to the cabmen who
bring the guests. These tickets entitle the
holders to warm supper in a first-class
restaurant near by, or to substantial lunch
es in q temperance van specially provided
and stationed in the same street. Vans are
now on hire in Chicago, Boston and one or
two other cities. but where they are not
those who give entertainments are urged to
arrange with restaurateurS for meals. The
movement is backed by church temperance
agencies, which favor this hospitality to
coachmen by hostesses in order to discour-
age the frequenting of saloons during long
waits on cold afternoons or colder evenings.
The societies provide the vans and stock
them. They have been very generally used
he