Arizona republican., 1899-07-02
TRUSTS
Given a Place in inc Report
 of inSuIdr Commission.
The Prison Conditions of the Island
 Recommendations for Reform in inc JudICiary-The Subject of Tariff Discrimination Discussed.

Washington, July 1.-The insular commission has begun the distribution of its full report, a part of which has already been made public. The com mission makes the following brief but interesting reference to the subject of trusts and combinations in the island
 By the recommendations already suggested, the national law forbtddsng certain trusts and combinations in mntters of interstate trade will be in force in the island as elsewhere; but in addition we shall suggest a law forbidSing and punishing the forma- ton and operation of such concerns in the islands in accordance with the laws the states. With perhaps some ad- diit;ona1 features not yet embodied in any statute, in our endeayors to keep these evils from lettering the business of the island of Porto Rico in it's in fancy"
 One of the most remarkable. chap ters of the report deals with the priscn conditions in the island. The record of prisoners confined on charges Of larceny for months and even years. without trial, when the whole value of property involved amounts to only a few cents, is almost unbelievabIa.
 A report is quoted from Major A. c. Sharpe on the inspection of the San Juan prison. He found eix:y-four prisoners in the institution whose de- teCrtion he characterized as an out rage. They had been imprisoned fer from four months to six years, some of them charged with thefts of from 2 cents to $4 or s5 in silver. In twenty of these cases the inspector reeom- manded the immediate release of the suspects. In the more serious cases he urged a speedy trial
 In the jail at Ponce there were PIP men, of whom only fifty-one had been tried. One man had been imprisoned six years and ninhs months awaiting triaf. In the prison at xayaguez fIie commission found 1S3 prisoners. of whom 146 were still awaiting trial.
 General Henry, at the instance of NAC NOA4AAA-oS4OA, IOOh up Iu6 IndlIST during his term as military governor. and out of 222 prisoners in the jaiI at Agundilla 200 were released at once.
 At Humacao sixty out of eighty were at once released, the reason in, all cases being that either there had never bean any specific charge made against the prisoners or that their period of Incarceration was already far in ex- cess of any legitimate sendenca that could have been imrOsad on them had they been tried. The frauds and abuses in the prisons under the old reg were found to be as fragrant as was the injustice of imprison:ng a man for a year without trial on charge of stealing half a bunch of bananas.
 Recommehda'tion as to the reform of the whole system Of courts and ju- dicial procedure are now being form uladed by the commission for pressn- tation to the secretary of war, and will be in shape in the course of a month.
 On the very important question Of tariff reform to relieve Porto Rico from the burden of tariff discrimina- tion the commission takes the ground that since the cess;on of tfla island to this country has been recognized there is no longer amy excuse for regarding it as foreign territory, and that the president, as the comman1er-in-ehief Of the army, is at liberty to formulate special customs legislation pending the final action of congress-