The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-04
RICHEST OF THE ANTILLES
PORTO RICO MORE PROSPEROUS
THAN NEIGHBpRING ISLANDS

Present Threat of the United States
to Seize the Territory Not the
| First Fright Spain Has Had as to
the Possible Loss of the Rich Pos
| sesstOn-Geographlc Position
| AdvantageOus.l
Washington Bureau, st. Paul Globe, !
Corcoran Building.
Special to The st. Paul Globe.
| WASHINGTON, June 1.-The threat
Of the seizure of Porto Rico by the
| United States Is not the first fright
which Spain has had in recent years as
to the possible loss Of the island. Near
iy quarter of century ago. about
| the time of the. retirement of Admiral
Folio, the father of the late Spanish
minister, from the Spanish legation
here, report obtained circulation in
diplomatic circles that Germany was
about to seize Porto Rico. under the
| g1lse OF purchase, buI actually in the
rather domineering fashion in which
she has been accustomed to treat with
lesser powers since the war Of 1870
| 1t was then assumed that Germany'S
|
of her scheme for naval expansion, as
with larger navy she would be prac-
tically obliged to have foothold some
where ON this hemisphere, if only for
coaling and supply station.
Spain indicated then that she had no
desire to give up Porto Rico, even for
a good purchase price; but her pride
| had been considerably piqued by the
result of the Virginius affair, and her
| desire to make the United States gov
eminent smart promised to overcome
some Of her scruples against parting
with her territory, for she trusted to
Our assertion Of the Monroe doctrine as
Soon as GERMANY should attempt to
take possession of Porto Rico, and our
| embodiment with a great European
military power in consequence.
The matter blew over at the time, as
many believed, as the result of an init
nation conveyed informally by our
government to that of Germany that
we should regard the proposed pur-
| chase as anAunfriendly intrusion. At
any rate, Secretary Fish was able to
give the many stories in circulation
| their quietuS in due season, and the
Spanish government did the same thing
on its own side of the water and con-
centrated it's attention once more upon
the suppression of the Carlist revolt
RICH REGION.
Although only about one-twelfth the
size of Cuba, Porto Rico has, compare
lively speaking, always been more
| prosperous than her sister colony. Their
staple commercial products are the
same, though Porto Rico adds a fine
quality of coffee to her other output.
The commerce of Porto Rico has al
ways borne a proportion to the total
| commerce of#the Antilles quite out Of
| n ciz T rIxa o1a
prosperity has been due not only to her
excellent climate and soil, but to a
great extent also to her indisposition to
| political upheaval. The revolutionists
in Cuba have vainly struggled to raise
a similar party of some strength in
Porto Rico. The reason for their in
different success Is partly historical, as
may be seen by glance backward.
Porto Rico began to develop her nat
ural resources only about seventy-fve
years ago. At that time Spain was
paying but little attention to her West
Indian colonies, except as watering
| stations"-freSh water being then, in
! the days of sailing ships, much the
same desideratum which coal is now.
1 The port of Aguadi1la, among others, is
| memorable for having supplied fresh
| water to- Columbus when he discovered
| the island in 1893. The Spanish gov
eminent was occupied chiefly with the
rich mines of +, Mexico and Peru, and
! Porto Rico served for long time mere
| ly as a place Of Punishment for con-
! victs. g.
1t is thus only since the great COM
motion of 1920 that the Antilles began
| to rise in Importance. Being less out
wardly valuable, and hence less mis-
ruled because attracting less attention,
they all remained loyal to the mother
I country up to that time in spite of at
tempts to induce them to follow the
colonies on the mainland into rebellion.
SPANISH GREED.
From that time forward, however,
the Antilles became more and more
conspicuous, and as their resources
came gradually to light, hosts Of greedy
| Spanish Adventures and officeholders
| f1ocked thither in search of quick for
! tunes.
Cuba, being the. larger Of the two
notable islands, attracted the greater
multitude Of these parasites, and Porto
| Rico enjoyed the advantage of her COM
| parative obscurity in developing her
resources in a slower but surer way.
From 1920 to 1928 political tumult was
the rule there, as everywhere else in the
| Spanish dominion; but Don Miguel de
la Tore, being sent there as captain
general, succeeded in establishing
order, and during the next ten years
the island laid the foundation of her
later prosperity.
All the considerable capitalists who
had formerly traded in the Spanish
possessions on the mainland and had
remained loyal to Spain, and many of
the better class of Spaniards who had
settled in the newly enfranchised re-
publics of Spanish America but had
been expelled by local DEGREES, took
refuge in the islands of Cuba and
Porto Rico, thus greatly increasing
the population and wealth Of both
The Spanish blood which flows in the
veins Of so large q proportion Of the
! people of Porto Rico has not succeeded
in spelling her career, as already
shown, and this fact speaks volumes
! for the natural capacity Of the island,
and for the possibility Of her industrial
and commercial eminence if she should
| ever pass under the domination of an
| enterprfSing nation.
By her geographical position 1t is pc
culiarly adapted to become the center
of Furnishing commerce. She lies
| close to Cuba, Hayti and Jamaica, as
we'll as to the Gulf of Mexico and the
Bay of Honduras. She is contiguous
| to the possessions Of France and Den
mark, and in the right hands might
| easily undersell these nations in their
| own colonies.
| Apart from the natural wealth Of her
soil, Porto Rico has the advantage Of
| being we'll supplied with wood and wa
ter, which are geierally scarce in the
islands Of theJsameE archipelago. Many
| of these, being, destitute Of springs, de-
pend almost altogether on the water
collected after the periodical rains,
while for wood they have to resort to
| distant colonies ca