The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-10-01
UNCLE SAM in R RICO
FEATURES oF GOVERNMENT IN OUR
NEW WEST INDIAN ISLAND.
Our Governor General and His Pal
aces-We Have $s,OOO,OO in Build
ings and 80, Acres of Land.


to tell you what Uncle Sam is doing in
Porto Rico. When the Spaniards gave us
the island they gave us the biggest job
of reorganization we have ever had. Every
thing here is honeycombed with Spanish
corruption. The taxes have been collected
to support the officials and the island has
been run for them rather for the people.
1t is safe to say that there was hardly an
honest official on the island at the time we
conquered it, and 1 very much doubt
whether a class of honest native Porto
Rican officials could be secured to-day.
Every man who has an Office here expects
to make something out Of it. and for the
present generation, at least. it will be hard
to teach the Porto Rican anything to the
contrary. The insular commission which
was sent down by the President last spring
finds that IL is now costing more than
$500. 900 in salaries to run Porto Rico. This
is so Notwithstanding the island is not
larger than Connecticut, and that it has
500, 900 people. as peaceable as any citizens
of the United States. L don't believe there
is any more crime here than in the United
States. and there is no reason why the gov
eminent should be expensive.
The officials nave been feeding off of
Porto Rico for years. 1t is wonderful that
the natives have stood such oppression and
such steals. Every officer worked his posi-
ton for all it was worth. If he was a jail
err he made money off of feeding the pris-
oners. If a judge in many cases he sold
out to the highest bidder, and If a sheriff
or tax gatherer he was subject to brides.
1 have before me an estimate which the
reorganized officials of San Juan made for
the city expenses for the year ending June
80, 1859. San Juan is a town of 1000 people,
and the estimates provide for an eXpendi-
ture of more than 1886 900. Among the
queer items are those for writing materials
for certain officials. The city clerk, for in
stance, gets a salary of S1,2S3, and he asked
for $3.50 for writing materials. One of the
bookkeepers wanted $50 for writing ma
~terials, and the secretary of the alcalde, or
mayor, asked $500 for the same reason.
When you remember that pens cost / cent
each and lead pencils can be bought for 10
cents a dozen, you will! see that these Off
Gals expect to spend considerable on blank
paper. In the city hall expenses l see that
it costs $50 a year to wind the clock, and
that $50 is set aside for tools to clean the
building. Anyone who has noticed the ex-
traordinary cleanliness of the average Por-
to Rican public building will appreciate the
sarcasm Of this item.
In the fire department $500 is set aside for
volunteer firemen in payment for the time
lost from work while at fires. The salaries
Of the common school teachers is set down
as SI2 900, while cleaning the schools cost
$500, almost half as much as the teachers
salaries. Two thousand dollars is set down
for pensions to the widows and orphans of
government officials, and there are other
expenses equally strange.
Such items make up a large part Of the
government accounts all over Porto Rico.
Every town of any size has its ~clock-wind-
er. and this notwithstanding that in many
of the towns it is difficult to find the clock.
l venture that more money has been spent
from time to time for writing materials for
government clerks than has been laid out
upon the roads.
PORTO RICAN COURTS.
President Mckinley expects to reorganize
the courts. There is no doubt but that this
should be done at once. Until it is done no
foreigners life or property will be safe in
Porto Rico. AT present any man can be ar
rested upon the mere statement of another
without warning. He can be thrown into
prison and kept there while his case is be-
ing investigated by the judge. He may not
hIIOW " VIA UC ID lIlDI OIt diQ lu6
judge will carry on his investigation with
out giving either the criminal or his attor-
ney a chance to aid in or offset them. There
is no cross-examination of witnesses, and
statements do not require an oath to be
credited. Trials are at the option of the
judge, and a man may remain in Jail for
months without knowing why he is kept
there.
o. 20 H. &c A. ;1,,+ ~ A.
who have come down here i'm the employ Of
the government is Maj. A. c.. Sharpe, the
judge advocate of the Governor Generals
staff. He has been investigating the prisons
and the courts. much to the disgust of the
Porto Rican judges. He has already sue
ceeded in reforming many OF. the jails. He
found that there were wo thousand pris-
oners in Jail awaiting trial. This was at the
time he began his Investigations.
Many of these prisoners do not know why
they have been imprisoned. and som had
been arrested for the most trivial ofenses.
One man. for instance, who was charged
with stealing an empty bag. had been kept
in prison for five months without a hearing.
Another, who stole a chicken, had been SEN
fenced for a year and a day. and a third,
who was charged with stealing a hog, had
been in jail a year, waiting trial.
One Of the q~ueerest cases was that of a
young man named Vegas, who was arrested
in December, 1897, for having used in a cock
fight a cock which did not belong to him.
The facts of the case were that Vegas had
loaned the owner Of the cock a dollar and
q half and had taken the cock as security.
While holding it as such he had put the
cock in the ring to fight a neighbours cock,
and IN the fight it was killed. The owner
of the Geek then made charges against
Vegas and succeeded in having him arrest
ed. He has already been in Jail fifteen
months. asking the judges that he be tried.
Whether the owner of the cock had bribed
the judges or not / do not know, but Vegas
at last accounts was still in prison.
PORTO RICAN JUDGES.
AT present there are four classes of Judges
In Porto Rico. The first is a sort of police
Judge. who is paid by fee. He has jurisdic-
ton over cases in which the amount does
not exceed $500, and he can hear such
things as infringements of police regula.
tons, in blocking the streets, picking flow.
ers in the parks, etc. The next judge is a
sort of q notary and grand jury combined.
He can issue orders for arrest, examine
witnesses and state that offenders must be
tried by the court. He can settle also
minor civil matters. Above this is a third
court, called the audiencia, the judges of