BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1901-11-12
SANJUAN, NOVEMBER y
Editorial Comment.

Gin municipal affairs, we can maze i'm
provements by legislation which scill reduce
the number of municip ties, and in many
instances reduce the number of councilmen
The management of municipal corporation
should be conducted upon strict business
principles, and with the same cautious
regard for affairs that the prudeLt merchant
exercises in his commercial house,.
Frugal management in the municipalities
means municipal credit for water works,
sewers, streets, school houses, hospitals and
fire protection" Chap. %, Gov Hunts
Inaugural Address.
When the Governor OF Porto Rico gave
voice to the above ideas he believed as many
other non.partisan citizens Of this island
believe, that too much money is annually
spent in paying the salaries of municipal
officials for attending to duties which COL sist
mainly in maintaining political strength
and party lines, driving political opponents
out Of town, signing salary vouchers and
writing letters to the Insular officials com
planning of the terrible condition of the poor
and asking for help to light the streets and
pave them, build waterworks, sewers, streets,
hospitals aud organize fire departments.
The budgets of nine tenths of the munici
palities of this island when carefully read
will develop the fact that the salaries of
municipal officials constitute the bulk Of
municipal expenditures and that the balance
left is usually just about enough TO build a
fancy kiosk for fiesta.
There are in the island of Porto Rico
about sixty.six separate and distinct
municipalities, each one with a complete
municipal government, and in many cases
when the Office holders have been counted it
is rather difficult undertaking to discover
citlzsn whose name doesn't figure some
where on the budget. Certain municipalities
on the island are known as Federal towns
and others as Republican towns, ard the
people of the various municipalities in
comparing their town to others speak of the
neighbor as the Federal budget or as the
Republican budget
These municipal governments are orga
nlzed in accordance with the law. The laws
Ct this island provide for them and the In
sular authorities are compelled to take due
notice OF their existence, and must
accept their municipal budgets Eithe certain
restrictions and restraints, just as they are,
and pay the sums mentioned as the expenses
of the town.
That there are too many municipalities
on the island has never been doubted or
questioned by any disinterested citizen or
student of municipal management and eco.
nomlcS. Too many Alcaldes and Ayunta.
mlentos to be accounted for. Never day
passes that some letter of complaint is not
received from one Of THIN. The insular
official who has charge of the supervision Of
municipalities, receives a letter that is
signed by all the indignant citizens (about1
len able bodied suffragists). complaining that
Two OF their number are not councilmen and
that since they are the intelligence. of the
municipality they demand that these two be
recognized, that they appeal for their righs,
ana ask that the great sense of justice which
Is forever in the heart of the official addres
sed will not deny them the right Of being
conncllmen in the town, of which they are
individually o1e tenth the population or
iaken collectively two tenths of the popula
lion OF the enti:e municipality.
Then from the second city on the island
comesa c9mplaintfrom anon.partisant citizen
mat the Police force is eating up the town.
that there are more officers on the force than
Irlvates, and that all municipal works are
10 terrible condition, and that the Alcal. |
DC is walking the streets pulling out his |
hair IN desperation because he cannot fad
enough money to pay his Police Depart |
menf. These are two sample complaints. |
If all were taken it would REQUIRE a book
lsrger than the island of Porto Rico could |
hold.
II five municipalities on this island were
made into one, four municipal budgets
would disappear, the entire municipality
would be managed and run By one set of
ofi1clals, and the money formerly used to
pay unnecessary municipal officials could
Dc used for works of public nature and
lor the public betterment. TIE municipali.
lies could be run on business principles and
not according to the political ideas of the
Aicalde or bis henchmen, and what the
Governor calls ''the same cautious regard
ior affairs that the prudent merchant exer
clses In bis commercial house, could bal
given more attention than it now receives. L
what the municipalities Of this island need
are fewer politicians and more business
men, fewer office holders and more private !
cuzers. Municipalities we're never orga hired I
a1 cooperative schemes where everybody
VINO belongs to the association is sure Of
being an official and drawing dividend iflf
he waits long enough. Municipal dividends {
consist IN public convenienses and comforts, I
ubIIc works Of benefit to The people and q h
municipal credit al over the world. What b
Nant In our municipalities i5 fewer gov.
nor1 and more governed. Il