Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-01-05
AMERICANS o PORTO RICANS
HAD PAINTED THEM.
WE WERE FAR 0vEREsTIMATED
PORTO RICAN OPINION NOW GOING
TO THE OTHER EXTREME.
Rowdyism of American Troops Start
ed the Mischief and the ..PiO-
neers of American Conn
merce" Are Not Help-
; ing to Correct It..
Correspondence @, the Associated Press,

SAN JUAN, PORTO RICO. Dec. 1.-THE
Porto Rican business man is of keen in
telligence and of quick perceptions. His
relations in the past have been largely with
old established and reliable European con-
Germs, and to-day he is making ompari
sons between the pioneers of American
commerce. who. with baggage and sample
trunk, are daily landing upon the shores
of his island home. and the business men
of the Continent. whom ne has known III
the past. The result of this keen scrutiny
and comparison is not overwhelmingly IA
vorable TO the American pioneers. 1t has.
sn fact. brought into life the old Spanish
word buscoues. Buscar-to hunt, to seek:
buscones-hunters, seekers. adventures
and some even say the term means cheats
and pilferers.
The Porto Rican is hard to fool. Because
his island is in a far away corner OF the
West Indies, the Location of which has
only lately become known to the majority
of Americans not in schools, and because
he has lived quietly at home and attend
ed to the business and pleasures of n COM
munity of some 100000 people, he Is none
the less a pretty good judge of men and
manners. The Americans who are to-day
in evidence upon this island have been
weighed and found wanting.
Commercially, We are making the same
mistake here that we have already made in
another Latin-American country and that
has been to underestimate the intelligence,
the perception and the culture of the bust
ness men thereof.
As the Porto Rican is quick TO detect the
roughness, the bad Manners, the lack OF
courtesy. the deceptions and the guile of
some of his recent visitors, so is he equally
quick to perceive contrary qualities IN
others among them. On the first points
he is perhaps oversensitive and may be
said to fail in appreciation OF the roush
diamond On the other hand there are
qualities present in the Angio-SaXon gen.
tleman of breeding that are as incompre-
hensible to the men of this capital as Is the
idea of cold and snow to the ignorant Id
borer of this tropical island.
In the beginning. the Porto Rican over
estimated us. and part of the awakening
he is now experiencing is a natural re-
action. In the beginning the word Amer
lean stood for all that was best IN the
way of government, civilization, advance
ment, education. manners and commerce.
Our country and its institutions was look
ed up to by the masses in a way that Is
difficult to understand to-day Americans
fresh from the States We're regarded as
almost superior beings; when We landed
here before the war, the islanders in
vested US with a glamour of the wonders
IN WdSuiuSl " d1u ivan
but recently gazed upon. Anything and
everything American was considered to be
pre-eminently the best of its kind. In the
beginning our welcome was based upon
these conceptions. 1t was thought that
the passing of Spain and the acceptance
of the stars and stripes would carry with
It some magical influence from the great
country up north. sufficient in itself to put
an end to all that was unjust and wrong
and to %straighten out the affairs of this
unhappy island as with a fairy's wand.
From this unreal mental attitude there
has come the consequential awakening.
which has been furthered and forced to
the other extreme by the representatives
of the United States who are now in evil
dence in Porto Rico.
The misbehavior of the American troops
came first. 1t was disappointing to dis
cover that the SayiorS of the country be-
haved with un~mistakable rowdyism; this
was hardly in accordance with precon-
ceiyed ideas. But the misdemeanors SEEM
ed to continue. and although we found
many stanch defenders, men and women,
TOO. who said that it was unfair to judge
an army by the actions of some few of
its soldiers recruited from the lower and
worst classes; that soldiers on a cam
paign were never known for their gentle
manners; that things would soon be bet
ter, etc, talk of our undisciplined troops
prevailed in the local papers and exam
pies of their misdoings were printed and
repeated by word of mouth.
Some men reasoned that these actions
We're III truth no fair criterion of a peo-
pie; such men could perceive the %self-re-
specting men in the army. In a way that
was pathetic because of its illconcealed dis
appointment 4 well known local paper
n,1,,.J fnr @ag, ,jn,,a, md thu asr.in
ing from hasty and unjust general criti-
cism. Some natives saw the matter in this
light, but the majority did not; the ma
jority judged the army and the country Ly
the acts of the few, and the mal-reputa-
ton of our soldiers grew apace. The pend
ulum swung back too far in the other ci-
Tection-this is a country and 4 language
of exaggerated words-and the army got
worse than it deserved. Still there was
much truth in the many assertions. a
gentleman of the writer's acquaintance, a
thirty years resident of Porto Rico, and IL
man of culture, education and much
knowledge of our country and Europe, said
that he had lived in Porto Rico during
many troubled years, and under many
modes of administration: that he had al
ways avoided politics and attended quietly
10 his profession OF doctor. and that during
all his residence here, life had not seemed
impossible. But that now il did. In the
past his family had always been able TO
attend mass. 10 walk on the plaza of Il
Sunday evening. and to sit out on their
porch, which Is on the second floor, without
molestation of any kind from any one.
But that now his daughters could not even
sit al their own window without being sub
1e"ted 10 insult. much less go on the streets.
consequently his family We're as prisoners
within the wallis of their own home, and it
was ms frm Intention TO remove himself
and them to a country where such things
did not prevail. Ponce has been particular
ly unfortunate in this respect.
The Porto Rican is no saint. far from il,
indeed. He has his fun share of faults and
vices, but the rowdyism of uncontrolled
troops lie particularly distasteful and Of
!enslre to Il people who are at least gentle.
People here looked forward to a CONNER
cal revival and an influx of American
capital TO follow the army; there We're rose
ness would do for the island. For these
Dreams We are not responsible. They wefe
unreaSonably exaggerated by the islanders
themselves, and it is not our fault ii We
nave not fulfilled their expectations.
The caDital will doubtless come by means
ness revival is retarded by the existing
tarlffs. But the islander expected SO much
ans to-day sees so little that his heart
fails him and he cries. My unhappy coun-
Try. what IS thy future" He has seen Il
number OF Americans. all anxious to ex-
plot him for what he is worth, and this
instead of his dreams. He has been offered
a varied assortment of cheap goods by
loud-speakins drummers. who have come
down declaring they would show Ihe
ing tariffs and uncertainty concerning the
money question. the Porto Rican has
bought sparinSiv. and the rummc has
zone nome. declaring the island is no good.
uhe most fortunate: some orders for these
goods have been placed. and indefinite ru-