The record-union., 1899-07-20
People in the West Indian Island
in Dire Straits.
Business Is at a StandstiIl, and Poverty
Menaces Many Iahahlta ants.
The Wife Of General Henry, Mill
tary Governor Of the Island, Ad-
vises That Something Must BE
Done at Once to Relieve the Dis
tress Existing.

NEW YORK, July 19-Mrs. Guy v.
Henry, wife of General Henry, U. S. A.,
who was with her husband in Porto
Rico during the time that he served as
Military Governor of that island ad-
dressed large meeting of downtown
business men last night
Business is at a standstill in that
island" said Mrs Henry, land the peo-
pie are very poor. The sugar mills have
no one in them except half a dozen peo-
pie. The women are poor and idle.
There is no work for them to do There
are many women in Porto Rico who
were supported by pensions from the
Spanish Government That has been
taken away from them, and there is
much poverty in Porto Rico.
THE question now is, What shall we
do with our new colonies?' Send them,
l say, our very best Let us not look
to Great Britain to see what she has
done in India. Let us act as a country
Tor ourselves. Let us send the very best
of everything that we can give the
best OF every profession, the best OF
everything in commercial sense
want to say to you that we must do
this work at once; that it can be done
by putting our shoulders to the wheel.
the same as the Aid Society did in San
Juan.
Il have been told that must not say
they are starving in Porto Rico, but
you may find out that before I get
through When General Henry and I
went to the capital of Porto Rico, San
Juan, We found that there was desper-
ate need for help, and we decided to
start an aid society. We sent our ap-
peals to the army and navy men and
women down there In response to our
appeals, some twenty or thirty women
assembled for the purpose of organiz-
ing a relief or aid society. / suggested
that it would be we'll to start a society
for the poor, a society which would
be non-sectarian and one which would
afford relief to the needy no matter of
what class or condition. I impressed
upon them that we would have to
work very carefully, very patiently and
earnestly; that we, had no funds, ex-
-cept those that we might raise our
sselvesh The response was wonderful
With the money raised we bought
goods which were turned into clothes
for the poor women and children as
fast as the twenty or thirty women in
the society could turn them out. 1t was
absolutely impossible to meet the de-
mand for relief. At this meeting so
pressing was the demand that we had
to close our doors. We had no money
and little strength. During the three
days in which our doors were closed
all the women worked hard, turning
ovT as much as they could. In this
way we supplied as best we could the
urgent demands for relief"
General Henry supplemented his
wife's address by the brief statement
that the great need of the Porto Ricans
was education and the opportunity to
help themselves. They wanted to be-
come Americans, he said but they did
not want to be Americanized. They
were willing to be governed by the laws
of this country, but they did not want
to be overrun by carpet -baggers The
people of Porto Rico could be won by
affection and sympathy, and they were
looking to this country eagerly for the
means of improving their condition.