Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1902-05-28
Entertaining Letter From Edward
Grindtod Tells OF His Work for
the Past Three Months.
COPIED THE CALIFORNIA CODE
Political Rivals of the Present Office
Holders Endeavor to Make Things
Hot for Them.

Edward Grindrod, in a personal let
ter to Halsey r. Watson, devotes con-
siderable space to the new laws OF
Porto Rico and the political situation
there. which will, no doubt, be of in
terest to many readers and acquain-
tances of the writer. Mr.. Grindrod
in part, says:
For the last two or three months OF
my residence in Porto Rico my work
has consisted almost exclusively OF
typewriting laws. When the Porto
Rican legislature adjourned | was
placed at work making copies of all
the laws, acts, and resolutions which
passed under the session. The magni-
tude of this task can best be inferred
when It is stated that, in addition to
a great deal of legislation Of a general
character, the lawmakers Of the is.
land also adopted three new codes,
which are known respectively as the
Civil Code, the Penal Code, and the
Code of Criminal Procedure. The ma
jority of these laws was passed and
received the approval of the governor
on the last day of the session, the
previous time having been needlessly
consumed and frittered away in fruit.
less discussions and sham procedure
which is in keeping with the general
character of legislative assemblies in
all parts of the United States, but is
to be discouraged by every lover OF
good government. The result of so
much hasty and wholesale legislation
has been a strange medley OF con-
tradictions, absurdites and curious ex-
amples of lawmaking power.
can remember distinctly that the
adoption of the codes in Montana a
number of years ago produced cha
otic condition out of which 1t took
much time to evolve anything like or
der and symmetry. Here in Porto
Rico a similar experiment has result
ed tenfold worse. / will admit that
the situation which confronted the
code commissioners of Porto Rico was
much more difficult and complex than
it was in Montana, but | deny that
there was any excuse for foisting up
on a people with different ideas OF
propriety and morality, with distinct
customs and institutions, and with en-
tirely different racial characteristics,
a conglomeration of penal enactments
culled from statutes which were dc
signed to meet requirements of states
whose civilization and social develop
ment have nothing in common with
the island of Porto Rico. Yet this is
precisely what has been done In this
island. When Porto Rico was ceded
to the United States by the treaty OF
Paris, there was great anxiety on the
part of the American people to abol.
ish and to extirpate, root and branch,
the unwholesome Spanish laws, and to
substitute them with laws more In
keeping with the spirit of the Ameri-
can government. 1t was taken for
granted without the slightest exami-
nation into the subject, that all laws
originating in the Spanish brain were
essentially vicious Lawyers and leg
islators in the United States seemed
to have forgotten that the civil law,
which lies at the basis OF Spanish
Jurisprudence, has been the object of
the highest encomiums on the part of
common law jurists, and that the
question of the relative superiority OF
the two systems is one about which
the best legal minds have differed for
centuries. No doubt the Spaniards
inflicted many oppressive and tyrran.
ical laws upon their colonial subjects
but that was no sufficient reason why
the American people should regard all
laws emanating from the lberian pen,
insula as deserving a place by the
side OF the Draconian code of anti.
guilty.
At any rate this idea was so prevail.
ent in the United States that a code
commission was appointed to come
down and do away with these laws.
This learned body addressed itself to
the task in a perfunctory manner, ac-
complished practically nothing, and re-
ceived big compensation for services
which were worth nothing. This at
tempt was followed by second one,
in which a new code commission was
appointed consisting of three mem
bers. Two of the commissioners were
Americans, while the third was a
member of the local Porto Rican bar.
This body OF Solons remained in ses.
sion for about one year. meeting for
a time each day: at least one of the
Ia II a. L. T~ls soI