BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1901-11-18
SAN JUAN, MOVE MBER Is
From New York Evening
Post November 4. ii
Aid For Porto Rico.1


"The BOLETIN MERCANTIL of Portt
Rico in its issue of Oct 15 makes an appe,
to this country's philanthropy which shou''
be brought to the attention of all the char
itably inclined, Several months ago. wber
ex Governor Allen appealed TO American
generosity to help the people OF our new
possession, the BoLETIN MERoANTIL took
jssne with him and asserted that Porto RcU
was we'll able to care for itself and had NO
need of American charity. Now, however,
it has come to the conclusion that Governor
Allen was right and that an appeal should
be made to this country.
This does not mean, however, that gener
al relief for the people of the island is called
for, such indiscriminate reliet as would tend
to the pauperlzation of the population. Two
great problems confront the island authOri
ties, the proper caring for the blind and
the crippled. In the case of the blind, OF
whom there are many, a majority, it is said,
might be cured with proper care and surg c.
al treatment, and money is needed for this
money that Porto Rico at this time bas
not. Iu the case of the crpples, however,
the question is more serious In Porte
Rico, as in all Span sh c. untries, their
number is very great, and most of them are
congenitally lncuraOle. All Of them, witt
hardly an exception, are sept out into the
world to beg and on the proceeds of th:
charity thus bestowed larger number Of
able bodied men and women live in compa.
rative comfort.
ssEvery possible effort" says the BOLETIN
MERoANTIL, " should be used to Empress
the people with the necessity Of labor. Those
who cannot work should he taken care Of,
but those who Con must work. But tb,
great difficulty is that the financial condi-
tion of the island and the over.popu'ation
thereof makes it impossible to provide as
should be done, and The only hope lies in
the education Of the present generation and
the separation Of the blinl, crippled and
helpless from those that live on their infirm
tiles and acko garner in more of the pubic
pennies than the unforIunstes for rhom
they are intended. An important matter Is
the removal Of the young, perfectly llmbtd
and mentally balanced children from th.
degrading and enslaving influence OF the
Ielples incurables. The ciildrenscan do no
good for tbs grown disabled, and the grow n
disabled can only do harm in his influence 8
to the young child to WON fortune bas
heen kind enough to make life worth living"
The appeal to American philanthropy
is 10 provide the means by which care cat
be taken Of the blind and infrm, of tk4
children who are dependent Tor supporb
on these or are thrown into close sssoca-
fion with them, so that the result mas
be that the able bodied may be forced to
work for their living instead Of living in
idleness. "We do not wish," concludes
the BoLETIN, "to appear as beggsrs seek
ing admission into the almshouses of the
American people. Porto Rico has too
many beggars already to permit its people
to constitute themselves as body Of the
whole and make one gigantic beggsr Of it,
self. From the standpoint Of patriotism
there could be no more glorious phllau.hro-
py than to ASST this little island in work.
ing out ber redemption. From the view
OF governmental policy it would be an in.
portant move in the future management OF
our colonial possessions, which is always.
grave and serious responsibility, being
particularly SO srhen we consider the
condition and temperament of these peo
pie, the necessary Of convincing tuese
people that our interests in them are SIM
cere, and that our hopes of gain in con.
nec'ion with their land lies only in the
betterment Of their own condition and
the improvement of their lives. At the
same time every man could be taught lhe
necessity Of working for his livelihood, and
the glory of honest toll would only have 10
be shown them once to become an eyerlast
ing light before their eyes, guiding starr
A thoughtful and conservative appeal like
this is we'll worth the careful attention Of
the American people,