The San Francisco call., 1899-09-04
THE PORTO RICO CODE.
HE Presidential commission appointed to pre-
pare a code and government for Porto Rico has
L made its reDort The system proposed permits

| pare code ana government Tor fOrtO FNlCO has
made its report The system proposed permits
no elections and prohibits to the people the right of
voting or selection OF any of the officers set over
them and gives them voice whatever in the gov
crnment set up to rule them. They denied the
right OF trial by jury except in feonies and civil cases
involving more than $500. The President OF the
United States is to appoint Governor General In
the county township and city government provided
the higher officers to be appointed by the Presi-
dent and the others by the Governor General, and
these in their appoint the lesser officers Eng
sh only is to be taught in the schools, for which 1t
is provided that only American teachers shall be EN-
ployed, and is to be the official language.
The commission recommends that the system be
installed at once by presidential decree in order to
foresall Congressional action. The reason given for
this extraordinary recommendation is that if Congress
enact laws for Porto Rico the status OF the island
would be changed and it would become "a part Of the
constitutional territory OF the United States"
It is recommended that Congress empower the
President to make tariffs between this country and
Porto Rico and vote to him fund to be used in con-
verting the island currency into its equivalent in our
money which is to be substituted for it.
The report will be surprise to Americans. Here
toore it has been argued that Congress can govern
territory OF the United States without regard to the
goes long leap beyond that and proposes to fix the
status OF Porto Rico as no part OF United States ter
ritorv at all in order to bar Congress from legisa
ton concerning it. Its government is to be by de
cree" OF the President, who is the source of all
patronage and controls the appointment originally,
through his appontees, OF every officer and school
teacher in an amorphous and anonymous political
community whose people have not even whisper IN
the direction OF their affairs.
This authority of the President is not to be under
the control of Congress at ALL is it found in the
constitution under which he is elected to his Office.
His decree" is the equivalent OF the ukase OF the
Gar and the frman OF the Sultan For the exer-
else OF this power he is not responsible to any body
For its abuse he cannot be mpeached. Congress can
not call upon him to account for any act in Porto
Rico. There he is absolute monarch an autocrat,
less accountable than the Gar.
The proposed plan is than surprise. The
country has been educated in the belief that Con-
gress would govern newly acquired territory. The
accompanying qualification that it would not look to
the constitution for its power to do was at first
disquietng, but this feeling passed away in the re-
Election that Congress would be accountable to the
people To snub Congress utterly is proposition
so novel as to be monstrous The commission was
appointed by the President, and doubt has re-
ected his will and obeyed his Instructions The re-
port means that the same system will be applied to
the Philippines and that the constitutional President
Of the republic will be the irresponsible ruler OF twelve
OF fifteen millions of people, voceess and voteess in
their own affairs, with their government carried on
and Justice administered in language with which they
are not familiar, and with appeal to any power on
earth beyond their irresponsible ruler.
1t has been often announced during the last year
that our authorities at Washington studying the
British colonial system and being utored therein
at the British legation Perhaps it would have been
better to study system of constitutional and
responsible government.