The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1900-03-15
ashamed to recognize as fellow-citi-
zens of Our grand republic.

aSHalueu W IeCoSlll aS lelloW-Sitl-
zens of Our grand republic.
In other words, free trade be-
tween the United States and Puerto
Rico is moral question. 1t is
practical religion, and our people
can never supply the missing link
in the moral education and religious
training of this people, without
giving them an opportunity to earn
a living and without treating them
as we treat other Americans. I can
see no more justice in compelling
Puerto Ricans to pay for the privil-
ege of landing American bread on
Puerto Rican shores than l do in
compelling the people of Massa-
chusetts to pay for bringing Iowa
wheat or Iowa pork into the State
of Massachusetts. The only differ
ence is that the people of Massa-
chusetts are more capable Of paying
such duties at the present time than
are the poor people of Puerto Rico.
Over SO, 100000 Of people have
complained of the unjust burdens
placed by Spain upon her subjects
in these islands during all the years
OF the past, and now is the oppor-
tunity of Our people to prove that
Americans are better than Span
iards and to give them sort of
kindergarten object lesson by Civ
ing them cheap bread and cheap
clothing to wear, by placing before
them all opportunity to earn liv-
ing and encouraging every enter
prise calculated to MAKE them a
better people.
l find that there is only about
one-tenth of the land of this group
of islands under actual cultivation
at the present time. The heavy
taxes which Spain has placed upon
the people of her colonies have
crushed the once prosperous farmer,
and the heavy additional war taxes
which Spain has placed upon this
island during the past year have
sent into bankruptcy a very large
number of the men of the island.
All through Puerto Rico to-day
stand the ruins of once valuable
sngar estates. The great sugar fac
tories have fallen down, the machin-
cry has been eaten by rust, and the
land has passed into the hands of
those who held the mortgages. If
our people in the United States
would take an unselfsh interest in
dealing with these people in accord
ance with the Golden Rule; and
receive in exchange for our products
which we have to sell to this island
the products of Puerto Rico on the
very same terms that one State re-
ceives the products of another State
without charging duty for admission
this fertile land would again bloom
and blossom and prosper as it never
before prospered, and the whole
civilized world would observe the
success of our glorious American
institutions in lifting up a down
trodden people and bettering their
moral and financial condition.
This island being small, its pro-
ducts which may be shipped to the !
United States will not be of suf- .
ficient amount to materially affect
the rich producers Of our great
country. We should not look upon
the Puerto Rican producers of sugar,
tobacco and coffee as Our competi-
tors. We should regard them as
our newly adopted brothers, who
have been imprisoned for four hun
dred and six years, in whom we all
have a common interest. We should
show to the world that we delight
in their uplifting, in their prosper
ity, in their becoming respectable
Iaborers, and in their becoming
Americans. We should !,
insist upon their enjoying the same
blessings and advantages that the
people in every part of our great