The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-13
BEGGING FOR RELIEF.
Thousands of Porto Ricans Destitute
and Without Work.


and Without Work.
| Correspondence Of the Associated Press. }
San Juan. Porto Rico. April 5.-Gen-
eral conditions in Porto Rico remain
| the same from week to week. Deiega-
tons OF country people continue to ar
rive at the governors palace almost
! daily and beg for relief.
Without doubt thousands Of Porto
Ricans are destitute and without work.
One need but glance at the poor.
ragged. barefooted poems and notice
! the expression of want and destitution
to be convinced of this fact Never
| theless, the situation is not quite as
bad as IL has been painted At noon
| yesterday a delegation Of poor. people
from Aguas Buenos presented them
/ selves at the palace.
! The procession was headed by four or
| five little girls, not over 10 years of
| age. two OF whom carried black flags.
! evidently supposed to signify that the
! party was in mourning for those left
behind, too weak from starvation TO
attempt the long Journey to the cap
ital. The little girls were followed by
! twenty-five women and 100 men. They
were received at the palace by Colo
mel Hoff. to whom they presented the
usual petition telling Of the want and
restitution.
This is the second delegation of the
sort from Aguas Buenos this week. the
! first arriving on Monday. It might be
noted in this connection that nearly
/ all Of the delegations have come from
this same general district They ar
rive at the palace almost daily, and
the general opinion is chat they are
dirccted by people with an object in
view. An army officer IS authority for
the statement th9t 4 delegation from
Other sections of the island once in
awhile would PERHAPS be m re effect
i've. When all originate IN :he same
district it appears rather suspicious.
According to TIC report of The most
commander at Aguas b.
date of March % over 1910 "A t,cr
have been issued wee' " from that nest
for over three months. 10 SAYS hat
there are no laboTers in the isl4n.i tx
cent those wko do not wish to work.
There are few families without a; least
one 40 s-bOdie man: tint there are
orders that every able.bodi Il man
must Re made t. WORK for the ratjors.
anG that the alcalla = caivAe thirty
relief supply tickets monthly
the officer Odds n his TeDor- that in
MS personal opinion the re5uesfs fer
provisions are simply schemes OF the
alcaldeS TO provide provisions for the
lazy, idle people. The sergeant believes
that the petitioners. are backed by a
certain clique of citizens of the town
including the alcalde. who desire that
every family should Draw relief sun
plies, whether or not they are desti
tute. He also adds that the alcaIde in
issuing the relief tickets allotted to
him, does not distribute them to the
more needy. Such instances as this
need not be taken as applying to the
entire island. In many cases the peo-
J,le are actually starving. and with no
work to do
Thousands of dollars worth of pro-
visions have been issued to these people
for many months Thousands have
been fed ard the relief supply has
never run short. In Porto Rico. as in
every country, a class of people exist
who will not work so long as they may
pick up enough to keep the spark of
life ahame without exerting them
selves. This sort Of people have learned
Of the S2095,000 appropriated to Porto
Rico and many of them have come in.
expecting to receive their share.
The conditions Of the laboring class
will be materially relieved in a few
weeks. Contracts for the building OF
new roads from seaeoast towns to in
terror points We're. let a few DAYS ago.
The approximate cost Of this work viii
be 100000 Of which $4,000 must be
earned per month. according to the
contracts. It has been estimated that
nearly 10000 men viii be given enc
plOyment.