The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-05-18
THE FUTURE OF PORTO RICO
GEN. HENRY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT
ITS POSSIBILITIES

Enys 1t Is Wonderful lCountry-CapitnI
! Invested VIII Bring Large Returns
The Place for tho Capitalist Rather
| than the Poor Man--Lovliest Climate
in the World.
New York, May 17-Major General
Henry, U. S. ", until recently military
governor of Porto Rico, arxived on the
transport Mcpherson from San Juan
to-day. He was accompanied by Mrs.
Henry and his daughter, Mrs. Benton.
The general will remain here until Nom
day, when he will leave for Washing
ton. General Henry is enthusiastic
about Porto Rico, it's people and its pos
sibilit1es. 1T is a wonderful country,'s
he said to-day, "but we will have to 60
slow in bringing about reforms Capt.
tai invested will bring large returns.
More than so per cent. Of the value OF
the sugar cane is lost in the process OF
grinding. The children are thristing for
knowledge and the great need is good
schools General Eaton Is doing good
work in this respect. There Is an Eng
lish teacher in each Of the ten districts
and English is taught in all Of the
schools of San Juan. When left San
Juan was given a reception in the the
ater in San Juan, in which 200 school
children took part. They sang Ameri-
can patriotic songs and several deliv-
cred addresses in English. The same
thing took place at Ponce, where thereg 3
are five English teachers.
"The general conditions are very en-
couraging. Over $4,000 men are at work
on public Improvements and we are
spending over 100000 per month In this
way. This is more money than they re-
ceived from Spain all their lives. The
road from Ponce to San Juan, the Mill
tary road, is well built, but the other
roads are wretched. When we have im~
proved them all, the natives in the in- III
terror can get their produce to the
coast at slight cost The Porto Ricana
are anxious for territorial form Of n
government, but the question is how are
they going to get money if the customs
duties are wiped out. We are spending
large sums and I introduced water
supply in San Juan five weeks after Il
took hold. The Spanish had been at
work on the same thing for fifty years.
San Juan is as clean now as any city
of the South American republics. The
people look forward to being AmericanSss
1.-THE demonstration they made upon
my departure was affecting. With the
exception of the few disgruntled poll
ticians the island is free from i'll Will
towards the United States. One of these
men, who is now in the United States,
has boasted that he was the cause Of
my leaving my command. His paper 4
was suppressed, l believe At any rate.
If such an outrageous falsehood had
been told about any predecessor of mine
should have taken such measures OF
course there is talk about an uprising.
out there is really no danger of such
hing happening. The Porto Ricana
lived for 400 years under Spanish rule
and never caused much trouble. I
travelled all over the island with my
orderly when there was talk of a mas
,acre To one man who came from Ad-
untas to tell me of an uprising said:
Go to Adjuntas and dig many graves.
Rise tomorrow and I shall order out
he American soldiers to shoot the Porto
3icans down and fill those graves He
vent homo and telegraphed me later
hat there would be no massacre"
General Henry maintained that Porto
Rico has the loveliest winter climate In
he world and great hotel there would
Jay. Porto Rico" he said lis the
,lace for the capitalist, rather than for
he poor man. At the present time there
re thousands of the poor class without
When I left there were
1000 laborers employed on the roads at
hirty cents American money per day
nder my direction. The average wages
or unskilled labor on plantations ig
hrty-six cents American money per
ay. The fertility of the land and the
warmth of the climate make the demand
or labor very small. I consider that
Turing my administration Of over five
nonths the road to prosperity in Porto
.ico was surveyed, a broad guage road
eing made, the rails, the rolling stock
and the locomotives started.
now remains, I believe, for capital to
AXE and operate the road, benef1tting
he Porto Ricans as we'll as increasing
self" General Henry has orders to
aport to Washington. He holds COM
lission Of brigadier general in the regu-
n army eS9 40