The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-07-28
Correspondence Baltimore COUNTY Union.
SOME FACTS ABOUT PORTO RICO.
What American Occupation Has Done
for It-Respect for the Dead Taught
Marriage Laws Enforced--Eradi-
eating Disease, etc, etc.
wAsHINaroN, D. C., July 25. 1901

caLlDB OlSedS6, eLCs, ctC.
WASHINGTON. d. c., July %. 1900.
JfesSTs. EditOTs.-Nr. Charles e. Buell., VINO |
was Secretary of the United States Special Com
mission to Porto Rico, and is familiar with the
various conditions of which he speaks, makes "
plain that our occupation of that DeautlIul
island has been of greatest benefit to the people
Of Porto Rico. Among other things, he ex-
plains that under Spanish rule imprisonment
without hearing, or the preferring OF charges
against the persons arrested, was common. ana
the imprisoned persons frequently passed sew
eral years without being Informed of the ma
ture of the offense for which they mad Deen
thus held Under American rule no more Span
ish methods are permitted in dealing with those
charged with unlawful acts. n,.o
Before the American occupation OF Porto RICO
it was a common custom to rent burial place
in the cemeteries, and to demand renewal OF
the rent from year to year, after the nrst nve
resulted in the disinterment of the body and
the throwing of the skull and bones into a COM
mon bone heap to be thereafter Forever e e1.
action of the elements. This custom was dis
continued upon an order issued by the Military
Governor, making it unlawful to disinter bodies
without special permit from the Governor
General, and then only for the purpose OF REIN
terment.
Under the Spanish rule marriage had been
hedged about with arbitrary rules which had
made it impossible for the poor. especially IN
the rural districts: to enter into marriage; ana
the result was that more than half OF the 1aml-
lies were living in state of concuDlnage, ana
half the children born on the island during latter
wears were llleQlt1mate, ana deprIVeQO1 uaCurdl
right under the laws, due to the fact of their
illegal birth, q circumstance over which they
could have no control. By order of the Military
Governor the contract of marriage could pc
entered into without cost, before magistrate,
or priest or minister, and every barrier TO mar
rage was removed. Those having children
spring of such as had been born out of wedlock
be thereby established.
Under Spanish rule the island was scourged
with disease due to unsanitary conditions and
to lack Of care for the people by those in su-
vaccine farm, and army physicians vaccinated
the population of the island. Every disease is
being conquered by Government agencies, and
every sanitary measure is being carried out to
prevent filth diseases.
Under Spanish rule everything was taxed, and
to all the very exacting taxes on property, real
and personal, were added duties on imports, port
dues and consume tax of no small rate. In
addition there were exactions by the church,
which was backed by the crown and the insular
government, and last, but not least, there was
a governmental lottery; the mayors were in
structed to sell a certain amount of the draw
ings, and they invited the citizens to purchase
drawing. which was understood to be thin
yelled order to contribute the amount asked for
With the occupation by the Americans the
lottery disappeared, and the burden of taxation
dwinded down to ID per cent of the tariff upon
imports, and, what was more important, the
amounts thus collected are handed over to the
island government for paying the expenses of
running that government, so that the 10 per
cent. of the tariff does not burden the people
at all.
When Porto Rico was storm-swept the quick
response of our people to the cry of distress,
and the liberal sending of tens of thousands of
tons of supplies for the stranded victims of the
storm gave evidence of the true feeling which
this country entertained toward the pos
session. A loyal lady of San Juan remarked
that the United States is great because it is
liberal; it is prosperous because it is humane"
Under Spanish rule the weak were robbed
the foreclosure of a mortgage was permitted in
amost unwarranted manner, and always to the
loss of the debtor. A military order checked
Under SOanigh n
the property owners were absentees, conducting
their estates through agencies. and exacting a
most ruinous course against other interests.
The property of the absentee class has been
put under taxable conditions that will make
them bear their portion of the burden of the
government which gives security to their prop
erty.
Under Spanish rule the money of the island
was subject to the most extraordinary fluctua-
tions when the planter needed money to pay
his help. and for supplies, the peso would be
held at GO cents in gold, and as soon as the money
had passed into the hands of the men whom the
planter owed, the value of the same peso de-
clined to AZ cents. This ruinous variation in
money has been made to give place to certainty
and stability by changing the currency of the
island to United States currency.
Under the rule of Spain the mass of the peo-
preston; the bakers of San Juan testified that
their hours of labor were from o'clock p. NJ. to
IL O'Clock noon of the following day. and that
they worked every day in the year; other arti-
sans gave similar testimony. With American
occupation shorter hours were demanded with
place of the ancient wrong.
Aside from the 50,773 property owners of
Porto Rico, made up largely of absentees, priests
and Spanish residents, the people of the is
land are loyal to our methods, and appreciate
our efforts in their behalf, so far as they can
alize the enactments -
Ex-MAYoR LATRoBE. of Baltimore, who was
prominent candidate for Speaker, hit MARYLAND
Democracy a hard blow on Tuesday when he
said: II am Democrat and believe know
as well as any other man what is demanded
from Democrats by their party. did not vote
for Bryan in 1896 nor did vote for Mckinley.
1 have my opinions about this years nomina-
tons, but l do not care to state them. 1t is
my belief, however, that the Republicans will
carry Maryland by about 10000 majority"
Ex-Mayor Davidson, who is also well known
Democrat, referring to the remarks of General
Latrobe, said "If I was registered in every
precinct in the city of Baltimore, and had one
thousand votes in each precinct would cast
every one of them for Mckinley. Iwould not
vote for Bryan on gold platform. Think he
is even more dangerous than the platform be
is on. am against any man now and for all
time who attempts to cheaper the price of the
dollar we have now. Don't talk about Bryan
to me. l get hot in the collar every time l
hear his name mentioned"
AT THE annual meeting of the Maryland
State Bar Association, held this week at Cum
berland, the following were elected officers for
the ensuing year: President-Stevenson \.
Williams, of Belair; Secretary-Conway w.
Sans, of Baltimore, reelected Treasurer
Frank E. Turner, of Baltimore, reelected
Executive Council-Richard Bernard, J. Au-
gustine Mason George NJ. Russum, Charles H.
Stanley Vice-Presidents-Fir circuit, James
E. Elligood; Second, Hope H. Barroll; Third,
Judge N. Charles Burke Fourth, Gilmor S.
Hamill; Fifth, Elihu S. Riley Sixth. Hat
tersly w. Talbot; Seventh, John B. Gray;
Eighth, G. w. Heuisler, Walter l. Dawkins
THE ENGLISH statistician, Mulhall, makes an
estimate of &c, 200, 900 as the population of the
United States this year. The late General
Francis A. Walker estimated it at about 75,-
900 600, and his present successor as president
of the institute of technology, Professor
Prichett, made an estimate in 1891 that the
1900 figures would be 77,472,0O0. The ac-
tuary of the Treasury Department expects
the total to reach 10000 Here is room for
betting, but the wise man does not bet. He
waits till race or count is over and then
knows all about it, besides saving his own
money or not getting his neighbours without
an equivalent.
JOSEPH FLoRY, the Republican candidate for
Governor of Missouri, is conducting most
novel campaign among the railroad men. He
has secured railway velocipede, on which he
has been travelling all about the freight yards
of ST. Louis and other cities in Missouri, get
ting personally acquainted with the workers.
He is in his shirt sleeves most of the time, and
is a most democratic and approachable man,