The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-01-23
REFORMS IN PORTO RICO
Earnest Men Needed TO Solve
the Problems.
CAPTAIN GARDENERS VIEWS
Lax Methods of Education in the
IsIaEd-The Actual SituItion-Con-
ditions Demand Compulsory
school LAW The Religious Cues
tIon-The Results of an Election.

IF Porto Rico is to become a credit to
the United States says Capt. Augustus
P. Gardner. assistant adjutant general Of
volunteers. in the concluding portion OF
his instructive and interesting report to
Assistant Secretary of War MeiklejohE
upon the educational, religious, and other
affairs of the Island of Porto Rico, and
not q continual thorn in her side, it is
as certain as the rising of the sun that the
work Of reconstruction must be done 10y
men of disinterested motives.
In considering. says Captain Gardner
"the various elements which go to make
up the social system of POrfo go the
most worthy of detailed examination is
the method of education. II is on this
branch that the fruits which it is hoped
may be gathered in the future must all
ripen. Laws and schedules OF taxation
may be changed AT Will. but a long and
tedious journey lies ahead of the United
States before the island can be emancipat-
ed from the chains of ignorance and the
customs and habits of the people changed
TO enlightenment The first difficulty
which is met with by the investigator of
the school system, or of anything else OF
an official nature. in the island. is the i'm
possibility CT obtaining exact information
One must proceed very warily in accepting
facts as he receives them. always bearing
in mind that there is the widest difference
in the world between what theoretically
exists and what can practically be found
Investigation carried on by the exam
ination Of official reports, statistics. and
records is one thing; investigation by
questioning mayors. school teachers and
public officials, and by personal obserya-
ton is quite another.
GuessuorI, Statistics.
What purports TO be a census of the
island has been taken every ten years.
But the only one ever published appar-
emily, was that Of 1887 In this the popu-
lation Was given at SOC, 7OS, Of whom Ill
$50, or &c per cent, could neither read noI
write A comparison OF these figures with
those of q so-caIled rectifcation of the
census for 1883, reveals a gross b,under
somewhere as, according to the returns
for that year, 23S, 294 or over twice as
many people as four years later, could
neither read nor write 1t is scarcely con.
ceiyable that 1000 could In four years
b. have lost that faculty.
For the city Of Ponce there is an cx.
cellent census for the year 1897. well com
piled and to all appearances accurate
According TO this census the city ju. is
diction covers a population of IS 1909.
Don Manuel Rosy, secretary of pubIi
instruction for the island, stated in hi
opinion that nearly 80 per cent of III
population could read or write. On quss
tioning him, Captain Gardner says that h
could not see that the gentleman name,
had any reasonable ground for his opin
ion.
with respect to the system itself, diff
Ierent official authorities give different fig
in, haf NJ prt
il is safe to average the number in TIT
island at 600 at the outside, of which les
than 40 are private or religious schoo Is
The comman schools are divided into su
perior elementary, auxiliary, and ri al
with one teacher 10 each school, whos'
salary ranges from l,2G0 pesos, or say $500
per year in superior school of the first
class TO 800 pesos per year IN a rura
school. The superior schools exist only il
the seven departmental cities in each o
which there are supposed TO be two su
periCr schools, one for each sex. As
matter of fact, there are but nine
schools on the island altogether, with
total enrolment of go pupils, la 9
proportion Of whom do not attend.
Politicians as schooimasters.
THE superior schools are supposed L
prepare for the Institute of San Juan. Blu
q large NUMBER oil the students entering
that establishment come from privat
schools where the education obtainabl
has been better than in the public school
ever since 1886, the year in which Capt
Eulogio Despujols was recalled TO Spain
This disinterested governor had kept III
the standard Of the schools, but since hi
time misunderstanding have become polit
ical footballs and were awarded TO bench
men for services rendered. In view of tn
fact that graduate of the Institute OF Sal
Juan is not sufficiently advanced to be
candidate for our American colleges, il /
surmised that the amount of learning ac
CURED at a superior school is limited
Some Of the studies have high sounding
names. But reading, writing, and arith
meiic are the staples. In the elementar
schools the course is still more juvenile
and when the grade OF rural school !
reached the pretence OF teaching is aImos
abandoned, the teacher being apt to devot
himself almost entirely to the enjoymen
OF his salary.
In the larger townships there is on
school TO about every 1000 inhabitants
But education is laid on a great deal thin
ner In great many parts of the island
large country districts being withou
schools entirely. Notwithstanding a com
pulsory school attendance law. This Law
which is not enforced. requires a regula
attendance, often an impossibility in III
country during the rainy season. TIL
schools are open for six hours daily fo
nine months in the year, and for two hour