The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-06-25
SPECIMEN ESSAY OF YOUNG
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE
Continued from Page 49,

months within the municipality where
the election is held" This government,
which is now In operation. was estab-
lished on May LIST by the Inauguration of
Governor Charles H Allen. The island
is divided into seven districts each OF
which elects five representatives to the
chamber of delegates. The senate in
cludes the principal department chiefs
of the island and five members who
must be Puerto Ricans and who must
have their appointments confirmed by
the United States Senate. Appeals from
the local Supreme Court may be taken
TO the Supreme Court of the United
States.
Great difficulty was met with in trying
TO solve the currency question in our
new acquisition. Puerto Rico was the
only one of Spain's possessions which
had distinct coinage of its own. 1t wae
against the law to export a peso"
which was coined to do away with lucra-
tive speculation in Mexican money It
contained about IL cents worth of silver
and there We're, according to estimate,
IS. 500 900 in circulation Before the way
with Spain, one gold dollar was worth
$40 in pesos. but within a week after
war had been declared it was worth g Do
General Miles issued order that the
ratio should be two pesos to one Ameri
can dollar, but the banks continued TO
give only S1.75. There were two troubles
in exchanging-the face value vas much
greater than the actual value Of the bull
lion, and the ignorant people would be
prejudiced against new system Sec
ton II in the Act of April u, 1900 pro-
vided for the substitution Of United
States coin for the Puerto Rican money.
at the rate of 70 cents of the Corner 10
he In ffay ,nbo
begun on May /. 1900. and American coin
was established as legal tender on An
gust of the same year. The expense to
the United States has been about sl2, 400
There have been four governors and
seven school commissioners In twenty
one months, and some complain that
there has been too much changing OF Of
ficers and policy.
Seven hundred and ninety thousand
people have been vaccinated and no case
OF smallpox has been reported In the last
few months. permanent vaccine sta
ton has been constructed near San Juan
pure-food law Is in operation, thanks
TO the new board of health. The prisons
have been reformed, cemeteries have
been condemned and new ones laid out;
the Insane Hospital has been enlarged;
and a leper station has been built: a
light house has been placed on Mona ISL
andffia deep-water dock has been con-
Istructed at San Juan; buoys have been
anchored to mark the channels, and over
= hundred miles of good road has been
built BIZ the American engineers. Upon
Investigation. General Brooke found that
more than SIS per cent of the people were
hliteresse-. Schools were Immediately es-
tabished. General Eaton was sent for to
take charge of the work, and he was au-
thori2ed to bring seventy teachers from
the United States. BY the end of De-
'cemoer. 1899. the registers showed totals
of 1910 boys and s.952 girls, with an ay-
erage daily attendance of So per cent
II is very difficult to permanently infiu-
ence the children because they hear moth
ing but patois at home and can receive
no aid In their studies from such ignor-
ant parents A normal school, which
Will train more teachers has been es-
tablished in Faiardo
Four hundred mounted men. mostly
Puertoriquenos. Were chosen as an insu-
lar police to succeed the Spanish Guardia
CtVil. and were place. under command
of Captain LUZ Barrios
When, by the Treaty of Paris, signed
on december 10. 1885. Puerto Rico was
coded to the United States. she lost her
principal market with the hope of get
=
We're 50 poor and destitute that 1t was
decided to raise money by duties instead
of by direct taxation. because the burden
might then fall on those most competent
TO bear it. All duty collected under the
military government, amounting to S.
eoo,Ooo has been returned to the insular
treasury" - The duty is now is per cent
of the Dingley tariff rates. and the WAYS
and Means Committee reported their be-
lief that the island industries can never
recover unless this is removed One thing
is certain. that trade with the United
States has enormously increased In the
last three years. The Supreme Court has
just decided that Congress has right
TO maintain the tariff.
1t must be Kept in mind that the island
is small and therefore is restricted in the
production of wealth. With it's fine ell
mate, tropical fruits and beautiful seen
cry, Puerto Rico may become a fayorite
winter resort for wealthy Americans
The opening OF a canal would greatly
increase. traffic. as the island would lie
in the path Of steamers coming from Eu-
rope and America