The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-08-29
PORTO RICO'S COMPLAINTS,
louisville Courier Journal.)

The Diario de Porto Rico, in its issue
OF July q, makes a strong indictment
OF American rule in the island. To
what extent the indictment may be
weH-grounded the COurier-Journal does
not pretend to say, having no oppOr-
tunity to ascertain the truth. There is,
however, strong presumption against
any administration of Porto Rican af-
fairs made by the party responsible for
the Ubiquitous Porto Rican tariff law,
and for the denial of the extension of
the constitution to the island.
The Porto Rico paper admits the
adjustment of the personal identifica-
ton tax, the real estate transfer fees,
the stamped paper, the expectation du-
ties and the impost levied by the di-
putacion provincial But it sets off
against these long list of complaints.
For instance, the Porto Ricans are
denied citizenship of the United States
and the protection of the constitution
Taxes have been levied on matches,
alcohol and firearms, and a direct tax
has been placed on. lands, whereby
wealthy people pay but little and the
poor are made to carry the heaviest
burden
Under Spanish rule, says the Diario,
gambling denS did not flourish publicly
as now; there was not one law for the
rulers and another for the ruled, and
the people were not compelled to emf
crate to escape starvation.
The charge is made that the death
rate on the island is three times as
great as 1t was before American occu-
patton, and that the American tariff
law is more burdenSome than was that
OF Spain 1t is complained that the
United States has destroyed in Porto
Rico the autonomy, which that island
possessed, more ample than enjoyed by
Canada; that instead of three senators
and sixteen representatives in the
Spanish cOrtes, who helped to rule their
own island as well as the mother coun-
try, Porto Rico is given in the Ameri-
can congress one delegate without a
vote; that instead of a council of secre-
tarieS, whose resolutions were always
sanctioned by the governor, there is an
executive council composed mainly of
aliens; and that instead of an insular
chamber, elected by the vote of the
people, with power to legislate concern
ing budgets, public health, postoffices
and telegraph. there is a chamber of
delegates, whose authority is nothing
as the executive council can approve
or reject the laws which it enacts."
Nor is this all. The Diario goes on
to say:
I'VE had a system of education toll
erably we'll organized, with sufficient
room for the Introduction of reforms
tending to its perfection. We today
boast of an educational system through
whose errors the pupils have just lost
one full year and will probably lose
the successive ones, if God does not
come to their rescue.
We had daily mail communication
with all the towns of the island. Now
the communication with quite num-
Der of towns has been reduced to thrice
a week, while the postal and tele-
graph rates have considerably in
creased, and the stations closed at
night and during holidays when for
merly they We're kept open day and
night. q
We had budget always showing
surplus, despite the fact that the war
and navy expenses, as we'll as the pen
sion for the descendants of Christie
pher Columbus, were paid from it. To-
day we have budget with deficit
amounting to $1,000, 000
We had native employees exclusive
ly in all government offices, and the
money coming out from our purses
thus found its way into the purses of
our countrymen. Today all the offices
are nearly exclusively held by CONT
nentals, who have been assigned fat
SaIdIleS' ana why not, II tney Ineni-
selves fix those salaries and they them
selves collect them?
We had a suffrage available by all
male persons over % years of ace.
without regard to their being or not
taxpayers or their ability to read and
write. Today we have a restricted and
incomplete suffrage, which deprives the
masses of that very right which self
government granted them."
Evidently, whatever may be the mer
its of these charges. our plain duty
in Porto Rico. as understood by our
Republican office-holders there, is not
very highly appreciated by at least
some of the Porto RicanS