The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-20
7 Of THE
PORTO RICANS
Now Want to Run Their
Own Island.
Special Dispatch to The Call.
Call Headquarters, Wellington Hotel,


Call Headquarters, Wellington Hotel,
Washington. April 49,
Or. Julio Herna and NJ Zeno Caudia
to-day presented TO the President a
memorial drawn up by them as Commits
sioners of the people of Porto Rico asking
that exclusive military control over the
island be withdrawn and that matters
relating TO the various branches of the
civil government of the island be turned
over to the control of the departments in
Washington having jurisdiction over SINH
lar matters in the United States; that the
troops in the island be reduced to the
number necessary TO garrison the forts
and military posts; that the people of the
islands be granted all the privileges and
immunities of citizens OF the United
States; that the people Of the island be
granted territorial form Of government
temporarily or executive authority be
vested in a council consisting of two
members from each of the departments
of the island; that census be taken so
that Congress can intelllgenty decide
upOn a permanent government OF the
island. whether Porto Rico is to be or
ganized as Territory, admitted as
State or disposed OF in any other way
and, lastly, that in compliance with the
provisions of the United States constltu-
lion trade between the United States and
Porto Rico shall be absolute.
The memorial says in part:
Under the provisions of the treaty Of peace
which you have just proclaimed and which has
become the supreme law of the land the Island
of Porto Rico which has an area Of about
$500 square miles and population Of nearly
1000 600 inhabitants, has been added to II the
national domain Of the United States. rms
addition has been made as If 1t were mere
conveyance of real estate, without consulting
in the least the wishes of the people OF the
island and contrary TO all precedents, without
providing for either the political status OF
the same inhabitants, the determination OF
which fs left TO the good will of the Congress
of the tinted States, and the cession by Spain
10 the United States Of her sovereign rights,
whether forfeited or not, over the land ana the
people Of Porto Rico is for the moment at least
practically contaminated.
Under such circumstances neither the Presi-
dent Of the United States nor the American
people may ever object to the Porto Rlcan
people, a manly, highly educated people OF the
Caucasian race, feeling apprehensiVe ABOUT the
situation in which they have been left by the
treaty and hasten to come before you in search
Of that relief to which under all considerations
of Justice they are certainly entitled.
Prior to the proclamation Of the treaty OF
States OF the conveyance made to them by
Spain no action, however just in principle or
intrinsically meritorious. could have properly
escaped from being premature ne hiltary
occupation of Porto Rico by the United states
was an act Of war and such II belongs to a
sphere where considerations OF law or reason
are left in the background. But now that the
condition of war has ceased and that a perfect
state of peace exists in Porto Rico de jure as
we'll as de facto, the moment has arrived Tor
the Porto Rican people TO give expression TO
their wishes.
If there was any reason no matter how
strange or unaccountable not to embrace Porto
Rico in the declaration made by congress IN
section ! Of the act approved by you on april
% 1898 that the people OF Cuba are and of right
o,ight to be free and independent. that reason
could not 20 so far as to declare that the
Porto Rican people are and ought of right TO
be deprived Of the inalienable rights, includ-
ing liberty, life and pursuit of happiness with
which the creator endowed all men