Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-08-19

a meal. They are probably the ghouls
/ u San Juan.
a CURIOUS FUNERAL CUSTOM
one VI the old funcrel customs here
u the rejoicing over the death Of little
children. When baby dies IL Is laid
out In state upon u table. A line white
cloth is placed over 1t and is little body
fully dressed Is covered with iiOwers.
Then all the friends are Invited In and
there Is music, dancing and fcastlng
| That Is to show thcir rejoicing that the
little one has escaped all the troubles
OF this life and gone TO heaven.
a Porto kluuu artist, the head Of The
Free ART school at San Juan, has paint
cd such a wake. 10 shows the inside Of
cabin. where the little one lies upon
table, and the family aud ull the friends
are carousing. A hog has been roasted
whole upon spit and all are drinking.
RELIGION IN PORTO RICO.
Speaking Of funerals makes one think
Of churches. The religion OF Porto Hic0
~ the Catholic religion u the sixteenth
century. 10 is largely confined to the
rich, the priests have not The hold upon
tue poor mat they have lu other Cutnu-
Tic countries. This u especially 80 Of
the male element Of the population,
many ot whom have nothing 10 DO with
the church, excepting at three times la
lheli lNtat Mntu lNtg are uuiut WNeu
they are married and when they are
buried.
Tho women are more religious. and
those Of the better classes OF the cities
are us devoted to their church uH We
are. lu the cathedral here I saw thirty
Porto lucan girls taking their met COM
muulUu. They were dressed iu white /
with long white wells hanging down
their backs. Thvy ranged iu ages from
ton 10 thirteen, ana looked very pretty |
and Innocent as they stood before the
altar.
some Of the churches here are very
tine. In the villages they are By Tar the |
largest OF the buildings and la the
smaller places they Outshinc everything |
else. one VI the most beautiful Ia Ia |
tue city uf Guyana, uu the south side OF /
the island. There aru several large |
churches In Ponce. and some very old /
ones at AruClbO and Agundilln. The |
the time OF our occupation OF 10 was at
tuuyr. ~ Dr. a. little Cuttage-likc atruc- /
tufe belonging 10 the church OF Eng
land.
UNCLE SAM AND THE CHURCHES.
The church property IL quite yalu.
able. and BY our treaty with spain 1 |
understand that AN Of the Catholic
churches OF Porto Rico belong 10 Uncle
Sam u he cares 10 take them. About
sixty years ago the government OF pOr.
TO hlco made an agreement with the
church TO pay the salaries OF the prists.
With the understanding that IL was TO
have possession Of the churches. Tho
government was. I believe. to collect
tho church taxes and 10 pay all the
bills. Under this arrangement a reg
llar priesty salary list was formed,
the fathers receiving from so upward |
for their services. These salaries were
cut on BY the war and many OF the
priests wont back to Spain.
The arrangement all told was a bad
one Tor Porto Rico. Inc collections
for church funds which the government
received amounted 10 $1,000 year,
but the priests chosen were not among
the best. the island being sort VI
dumping ground FOR the poorest OF
the spanish clcrgy
The Catholic church here is In fact
nothing like our catholic church. Amer
lean Catholicism lH real and uu. to-
date religion, which does u vast deal |
OF good IN ull branches OF religious life
The Porto lucan priests seem to pay /
but little attention to the conversion Of /
souls. Many Of them are immoral. and |
not "a few are cock lighters and gam
blers. / have spoken OF the parsou at |
AibOnito, who owns the best lighting |
cocks on the island. There are many |
olhtfH IKE MN,
One Tor Instance was friendly with |
an American ualooulHt lu one OF the In |
terror towns. The chief saloon OF this |
town was owned by the mayor whose |
trade was In lager beer and whose |
chief customers were our soldiers, Tho |
American opened his saloon Just oppo- |
site the saloon Of the mayor and as he |
Imported Ice 10 keep his beer cool he |
soon got the bulk Of the custom. This |
angcrod the mayor and he warned the |
HalooniHt that he must move, Herc-upon |
the priest stepped In and Hnid
Bring your saloon up 10 house I |
own Ia another part OF the town. | |
win ia 10 up for you and let you have |
II Tor the same rent, I will SEQ that |
you get the custom, too, and We viii |
sec who ~ the biggest man IN this |
town, the mayor or the priest"
4 GOOD FIELD For MISSIONS.
doubt whether there o. better nold |
for mission work anywhere Just now
than down here In Porto Rico. The |
field b. open Goo modern Catholicism aud |
10 prOirstautlsm, The people ARE aIm- |
pie and auurrstiuUus. hut the priests |
have looked upon thcmHolyvH nH pUiltl- |
clans and office holders rather than ls j