The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-02-26
No RIGHT
To VOTE
Porto Ricans Not
Citizens, Says
Dole.

Acknowledgement Dole yesterday
handed down an opinion at the request
of the Republican Territorial Commit
tee in which he holds that Porto Ricans
are not citizens of the United States,
and consequently have no right to vote
in Hawaii. He holds, however, that
they are citizens of Porto Rico ana
can vote in their native country, but IN
order to secure the right of franchise In
Hawaii they must first be naturalized
as would any other foreigner. Mr.
Dole's opinion was forwarded to j. D.
Avery, secretary of the Central Com
mittee. yesterday, and is as follows:
Territory of Hawaii,
Office of the Attorney General
Honolulu, H. l., Feb. %, 1902.
Mr. J. d. Avery, Assistant Secretary Re-
publican Central Committee OF Ha-
wal, Elite Building, Hotel Street,
Honolulu:
Dear Sir:| beg to acknowledge your
communication of yesterday, requesting
my opinion as to the status OF the Porto
Ricans now in this Territory, with leI>
erence to the suffrage.
Article of the Treaty OF Paris Oh De
cember TO- 1898. by which Porto Rico and
other islands were ceded to the United
States, provides that: THE civil and Pc.
Iitical status of the native Inhabitants OF
States shall be determined by Congress-
This treaty indicates the Federal policy
in regard to the new insular possessions
There has been A provision IN all FORMER
treaties ceding territory TO the Uniteu
States, that the inhabitants Thereon
should Immediately or ultimately become
citizens of the United States. The treaty
of Paris is unique in that it leaves the
civil rights and political status OF the
inhabitants of Porto Rico and the Phil
ippine Islands entirely at the discretion
of Congress.
Section of an act of the Fifty-sixth
Congress-. entitled An Act temporarily
to provide revenues and a civil govern
menr for Porto Rico, and for other pur-
poses" approved April r. 1900, provides:
THAT all inhabitants continuing to re-
side therein who We're Spanish subjects
on the 18th day of April, 1899, and then
resided in Porto Rico, and their children
born subsequent thereto, shall be deemed
and held to be citizens of Porto Rico,
and as such entitled to the protection OF
the United States, except such as shall
have elected to preserve their allegiance
to the crown of Spain on or before the
18th day of April. 1900, in accordance with
the provisions of the treaty of peace De-
tween the United States and Spain, en-
tered into the 18th day of April, 1872;
and they, together with such citizens OF
the United States as may reside in Porto
Rico, shall constitute body polite I'M
der the name of the people of Porto
Rico, with governmental powers as here
matter conferred. and with power to sue
and be sued as SUCH"
Under the foregoing section the inhab-
itants of Porto Rico, together with their
children subsequently born there, are
citizens of Porto Rico, and as such en-
titled to the protection of the United
States" In other words, they are en-
titled to protection as citizens OF Porto
Rico not as citizens of the United States.
Furthermore. the words, And they, to-
gether with such citizens of the United
States as may reside in Porto Rico,
clearly distinguishes and segregates them
from citizens of the United States, divid-
ing the body polite of Porto Rico into
two classes, one class being citizens of
the United States. the other class being
merely citizens of Porto Rico The act
creating a temporary government for
Porto Rico contains nothing in the least
corresponding to Section of our Organic
Act making all citizens of the Republic
of Hawaii citizens of the United states;
or to like provisions which Congress has
always enacted when organizing terri
tories on the mainland.
AS our Organic Act makes United
States citizenship an Indispensable quail
ifcat.on for the suffrage in this Terri
tory, it follows that Porto Ricans can
not vote here without being first natur-
allied.
Very respectfully yours,
F.. p. DOLE,
Attorney General.
The ruling was requested by the Re
publican Central Committee, as the
status of the Porto Ricans is of con-
siderable Importance politically. If
they were allowed to vote it would
have introduced a new element into
the political situation of the Hawaiian
Islands of a rather uncertain quality.
The ruling of the Acknowledgement
will. however, settle the question. as 1t
is not likely that any of the Porto Ri
caD Ia horerS viii insist upon the right