The evening times., 1898-08-18
The Citizens Of Pence Are Study.
ing English and Politics.
THEY WANT TO HOLD OFFICE
Investors From the states Are Hur-
rying Into PGitO RicO-The Nm
tives Arc InquirinE About the
Public school System of the Great
Northern RepUblic.


stage of political evolution. There was
fighting elsewhere on the island, four
columns, by four different ruotes march
ing on San Juan, but Ponce thinks not OF
these.
Ponce is learning the English language.
Ponce is mas .ering the mysteries of
American money. Ponce is inquiring into
the methods of American politics. Ponce
is preparing to abandon the church
schools and adopt our system Of educa-
tion. Papet, the chambermaid In the
Hotel Francais. has already been taught
to say. ''Vive rAmericano!' Papei $
brother was slot by the Spanish a few
years ago.
"El CAPTAIN" the head waiter at the
Hotel Ingiaterra, has already mastered
100 words of English. and his fortune Is
made. Passing down the street just now
the writer heard a Porto Rican mother
grooming her naked babe to sleep. to the
tune of Marching Through Georgia. :
The Porto Ricans think that Marching
Through Georgia is n national anthem.
The advance guard of the American
prospector to this tropical klondike OF
ours is pouring up the broad highway from
the playa to the town. The adventurous
spirits came on the Sylvia. the first mer-
chant ship to reach Ponce from the
| United States since tl.e town surrendered
to the Gloucester. They seem to have
come literally by hundreds.
There are many familiar faces among
the newcomers. 1t reminded one of an
advance guard -to-a State convention to
see Major Weston, of Newburg and Su-
preme Court Justice Dfckey. getting their
baggage through the custom house.
Nearly all these men have come here on
commercial enterprises.SSPorto Rico is
fruitful field. Her agricultural resources,
taking the American standard. are as lit
tie developed as those of Ohio seventy
| five years ago. The coffee production of
the Island will be doubled in two years.
Much American capital will be put into
| sugar. tobacco and fruits. Many of these
| men are inquiring about estates in the
| interior that can be purchased or leased
| and about facilities for transportation to
| the aboard. This means the building of
railroads. Banks are also to be opened
| in Ponce under our national banking
| law and there will be the liveliest sort
of race between rival capitalists as to
| who shall get the electric railway fran
| chise for the city of Ponce.
The leading citizens of the islands are
| as wideawake to American enterprise as
are THESE eager VI tut ptNhtl-
book who came on the Sylvia. Only this
| afternoon there was conference be-
tween the most prominent Porto Ricans
of this city and Mr.. Hanna. American
consul at San Juan.
| The citizens were anxious that Mr.. Han
| ma should tell them how they could best
facilitate and reorganize the government
of the island. They were all anxious to
play some part in the new order Of things.
They have views which they were anxious
TO have presented to the United States.
They wanted to hold some of the offices
themselves. They We're particularly
anxious to know about the American
school system and how it could be inrto-
duced on the island. They desire that
their children shall learn to speak the
English language.
Mr.. Hanna explained the public school
system of the United States and the
| Porto Ricans were delighted. Then they
! came back to the question of how they
could participate in the reorganization of
| the island.
Gentlemen" said Mr.. Hanna, -'the best
| thing you can do Is to get together and
I find out just what you want. You have.
| of course very good ideas as to what the
American system of government is You
no doubt by this time know whether you
desire to be attached to the United States.
as a territory, with representative in
our Congress-. You may differ on the
point of having Americans or your own
officials here during the time the govern
ment that is to prevail here is being put
into shape. My advice to you is to get
| together. adopt a policy and appoint a
| spokesman to represent you in Washing
! ton.
''If you makea wise selection, you may
safely leave the representations of your
wishes to President Mckinley to this
! man.
Col. Hill. of Gen Wilson's stan. who
| has been appointed collector of the port.
is engaged In preparing. under Gen. Miles
supervision. for President Mckinley a
statement of the commerce of Ponce. the
| prevailing duties and the probable re-
sources of the island. together with rec
| concentrations about what the new tariff
/ should be. Col Hill has gone into this
subject very fully, and he talked about
! it this afternoon '---a2-
| "Most of my Statistics said Col. Hill.
.'are still incomplete. but l can give you
| a few facts. which will unquestionably
| be of great interest to the business men
| of the States In Porto Rico everything
| Is taxed and most articles. are taxed in
| several different ways. There is an i'm
post duty on -four of 81 a barrel. 1 think
| that will be knocked off at once. As you
know. this island paid no direct money to
| the former government of Spain. Every
| thing in the way of salaries, pensions.
| etc. is paid directly out of the custom
house. The commander of the military
| forces on the island Is lieutenant gen.
! eral. sent here from Spain. He gets an
! enormous salary. Many Spanish pen
| sioners of prominence and rank have been
sent to the island. and these pensions are
paid by the island. Dignitaries of the
church. and priests. are sent here in large
| numbers. They are paiu out oi the Gus
| tom house.
"Only Yesterday 1 had an application
| from the widow Of a Spanish general
who is pensioned. for the payment of her
1 usual stipend. I had to take that matter
under advisement. The priests here in
Ponce applied for their usual salary for
! July. This, under the Spanish law, is a
| fixed charge. The matter came before me
| in my capacity of judge advocate or Gen
Wilson's staff I had to report that mas
much as we were operating under the
| Spanish civil law, which paid the sala-
| ries of the padres, proper payment from
| the customs funds. the money was due
| and should be paid or else the Spanish
civil law in that respect should be an
nulled or suspended.
| Gen. Wilson refused to authorize the
payment OF the priests salaries, and the
| matter went to Gen. Miles. who sustained
! Gen. Wilson. Now here is very inter-
| esting and unprecedented question. AS
| a matter of policy 1t might be well to pay
| these salaries for the present. The pa
dres, of course the next time they ad-
dress the congregation will say: Here
is this new American government which
| you welcomed with such pleasure refusing
| to pay your priests. You thought you
| were going to be relieved Of taxation. We
| must ask you to go into your pockets