Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-08-11

Mr.. Charles E. Buell.. who was sec
rotary Of the United States special
commission to Porto Rico and is ia
miliar with the various conditions Of
which he speaks. makes it plain that
our occupation Of that beautiful island
has been of greatest benefit to the
people Of Porto Rico. Among other
things, he explains that under Spanish
rule Imprisonment without a hearing
or the preferring Of charges against
the persons arrested was common, and
the Imprisoned persons frequently
passed several years without being
informed Of the nature of the offense
for which they had been thus held.
Under American rule no more Spanish
methods are permitted in dealing with
those charged with unlawful acts.
Before the American occupation Of
Porto Rico it was a common custom
to rent n burial place in the Gene
teries and to demand n renewal of the
rent from year to year after the first
five years. 4 failure TO promptly pay
the renewal resulted in the disinter
meut of the body and the throwing
Of the skull and bones promiscuously
into common bone heap TO be there
after forever exposed to the gaze Of
the curious and to the ACTION of the
elements. This custom was discontin-
ued upon an order issued by the mill
tary governor, making it unlawful to
disinter bodies without special per
NIT from the governor general and
then only for the purpose Of renter
ment
Under Spanish rule the island was
scourged with disease, due TO insani-
tary conditions and to lack of care
for the people by those in authority.
The military governor established
vaccine farm, and army physicians
vaccinated the population of the is
land. Every disease IS being conquer
ed 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,
dues and consume tax of no small
rate. In addition there were eXactions
by the church, which We're backed by
the crown and the insular government,
and last but not least there was a
governmental lottery. The mayors
were instructed to sell certain
amount of the drawings, and they in
VII ia ait n r,r1tanacn n lra
ing, which was understood to be a
thin yelled order to contribute the
amount asked for to the government.
With the occupation by the Ameri-
cans the lottery disappeared, and the
burden of taxation dwindled down to
IS per cent of the tariff upon imports,
and, what was more important, the
amounts thus collected are handed
over to the island government for pay
ing the expenses of running that gov
eminent. so that the Il 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 sup
plies for the stranded victims of the
storm gave evidence of the true feel
ing which this country entertained
toward the new possession. 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. Tie foreclosure of a mort
gage was permitted in a most unwar-
ranted manner and always to the loss
of the debtor. \ military order check
ed this. Under Spanish rule a large
percentage Of the property owners
were abSentees. conducting their es-
tates through agencies and eXacting
a most ruinous course against other
interests The property of the alb
sentee class has been put under taxa.
BILE conditions that viii make them
bear their portion of the burden Of the
government which gives security TO
their property.
Under Spanish rule the money of the
island was subject to the most OK
traordinary fluctuations When the
planter needed money to pay his help
and for supplies, the peso would be
held Mt 60 cents in gold, and as soon
as the money had passed into the
hands of the men whom the planter
had owed the value of the same peso
declined to ~ cents This ruinous
variation in money has been made to
give place to certainty and stability
by changing the currency of the is
land to United States currency.
Under the rule Of Spain the mass
of the people dared not make an out
cry against any oppression, The bak-
ers of San Juan testified that their
hours of labor were from 4 o'clock p.
m. until II o'clock noon of the follow
ing day and that they worked every
day in the year. Other artisans gave
similar testimony. With American oc-
cupation shorter hours were demanded
without fear. and fair dealing began