Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-02

sessions, and that Congress can legislate
for them as 1t deems wise, subject only to
the prohibitions upon Congress in the Con-
stitution. The democratic party accepted
the other view. that the Constitution does
extend by it's own force into the territories
from the moment that it was invented by
John G. Calhoun for the purpose of carrying
slavery into the new territories, when it
was impossible against the aroused con-
science of the country to secure legislation
to that effect. 1t is but fair to say that
while the action of the country by the
unanimous consent of all statesmen and OF
all parties for fifty years. and the trend of
the decisions of the Supreme Court suS-
tain the power of Congress to take the
whole or any part of the Constitution and
the laws of the United States into new ter
ritories and to establish governments for
them. yet the questions raised by the ac-
QUESTIONS of Cuba, Hawaii and the Philip
pines, when presented to the Supreme
Court, must result In such broad and
comprehensive Interpretation as viii make
clear for all time the position of the United
States upon the government of territories
which come to US.
Porto Rico and It's People.
Porto Rico is more thickly populated
than any country in Europe. 1t is one of
the most fertile territories on earth. From
scashore to mountain top 1t can be cult
waited. With capital. enterprise and modern
machinery the possibilities of increase in
its productiveness cannot be calculated. 1t
is little over two-thirds the size of Con-
necticut, but has much larger population.
Its industries are purely agricultural. As
in all countries where there are no varied
industries. the young men and the young
women have no opportunities to engage in
different pursuits. Where agriculture is the
only occupation of thicky settled commune
ties, the conditions of India are repeated,
and so there prevails in Porto Rico Il wide
spread and grinding poverty unknown in
Europe or in America. There are. In round
numbers, million people upon the island.
Seventy thousand are negroes, 100000 of
mixed negro and white blood and about
100000 are the result of the settlement by
the wild adventure RS, of all races and IA
lions. who. in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, sailed and fought on the Spanish
Main. One hundred thousand of these pee
pie can read or write: about 10000 can do
both Nine hundred thousand are in abso-
lutte ignorance.
''Of this million. 800, 900 derive their living
from agricultural pursuits. They live in
huts, consisting of one room; they have
work only during the season for coffee, for
sugar and tobacco. The children from ten
to sixteen years of age earn about ten
cents a day; vigorous manhood receives
thirty cents, and old age. again, from ten to
fifteen cents. They live on sugar cane and
the fruits that grow, and are cheap, in
the tropics, and 1t is estimated sustain
life on five cents a day per individual. Most
of them have never known bread or meat
as 1t is familiar to our people. They are
hired by the day, the contract closing with
the sun. By this means the owners of the
large estates are free from responsibility
for their care or maintenance, q response
bility which would come IL the contracts
were by the month or by the year. There
are no school houses in the island Thus
elght-tenths of this population are ignorant
of politics., of government, of Spanish or
American rule. and intent only upon the
always immediate and eXigent necessity of
subsistence a if,.I Of
the families the heads are unmarried he
cause they had not the money under Span
ish rule to pay the expenses Of the mar
rage ceremony, civil or religious. The POO
600 remaining consist of the landhollers,
merchants and factors. and of The carriers
and skilled artisans in the towns and the
small StorekeeperS in the country
THE island itself consists of two millions
of acres There are 200, 900 acres In pas
ture. 1s1 600 In coffee. 10000 in sugar IA, coo
in tobacco and the rest is in forests,
orchards, gardens and underbrush. The
land of the island is owned In IL, 900 estates
large proportion of these owners are
Spaniards English and other foreigners
The coffee, sugar and tobacco estates are
mortgaged for about One-Quarter of their
value at rates of interest varying from 10
to p per cent. The profits of production
are so great. even with the antiquated ma
chinery in use. that with normal crops and
with the Dingley tariff in full force, as 1t
has been. against them for the past four
years, they were enabled to meet this in
tereSt ana ENJOY as much prosperity as is
possible under Spanish rule.
The Pending Legislation.
I'VE come naturally now to the question
of hardships upon the Porto Rican people
and of cruelty to the Inhabitants of our
new possessions by the proposed legislation
We were told with wonderful eloquence and
passionate rhetoric that it was our plain
duty to return to the people who have paid
the duties under the Dingley tariff act since
our occupation the money which had been
collected The whole policy of the republic
can party. from the President to Congress,
has been to give back to Porto Rico all the
taxes levied and collected upon her pro-
ducts-to give them back to her for the pur-
poses of her government and for the pur-
poses of her improvement and her progress
These duties had been paid by the sugar
trust. which controls the sugar products Of
the island, and the tobacco trust which
controls the tobacco product of the island
two of the richest and greatest moIey-
NAL King In he