La correspondencia de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 1890-1943, 1902-05-14
OPEN LETTERS.
To His Excellency
the Governor.
of Porto Rico.

1t happens with governments
as with lofty mountain-peaks: the
sounds stal ting ct their base, either
do not reach them ct all or rise in
the form of distorted echoes wholly
diff srent from the initial vibration.
Nothing, however, can be more
use ful to q Well disposed Chief Exc
cntive than = perfect knowledge of
public opinion, when such can ba
expressed with imp&rti&lity and
fairness, and no eye to the selfish
considerations Of party convenience.
ga good governments, remar KS
Montesquieu, eis the resultant Of
two principal factors or forces, ma
mely, the magistrate and the people;
it being we'll kaown that how aver
great the ability and good disposi-
tion Of the former, he needs the
assistance of thu latter, to ensure
the success of his endeavors.D
It is not, therefore, presump-
tious impertinence, but rather the
performance Of patriotic duty, to
call attention to matters which legt-
tim&tely concern both the govern
ment and the people.
The first question that suggests
itself is the significance practically
attached in Porto Rico to the off se
Of Chief Executive: q significance
which certainly does not obtain in
any of States and Territories of the
Union.
Reared under the monarchical
practices of ths former regime, the
people here still implicitly comedies
to the Chief Magistrate . wider
sphere of action than is allowed him
by the laws; it confides more in the
uprightness of his authority; looks
to his judgment for o solution of his
difficulties and is ever ready to fol-
low his eounsels and abide by his
decisions. Bat for the very reason
that he is thus invested with o supe.
rior moral influence, the Magistrate
is held responsible for acts which
might have been avoided, if wrong,
CT performed, it beneficial, had said
iraaence been opportunely or pro-
perly exercised.
The seed of perfect democracy,
as understood and practiced by the
American people, has not yet taken
root in our customs, for the simple
reason that all evolutions, whether
social or natural, require time for
their development, whatever may be
said to the contrary by the advocates
| of an immediate Gnsform&tion.
But there is another phase of
the question, more delicate and
trRscendental even, because c&lcu-
lated TO afford the basis for this
countr9's Americ&nization;
And it is this:
We Porto Ricans have all, or
almost all, of us entertained the
most exalted notion of the Govern
ment and people Of the United Sta.
tes. Our tropical imagination has
possibly mRgnifed their civic vjr.
tues; we have believed in their pro-
videnci&l mission, and have been
accustomed to look upon the GStars
and Stripes as the symbol of free.
dom, justice and right. While die
t&torial restrictions would have
seemed to Us quite natural in a Spa.
nish ruler, such things would gre&t1y
surprise as in an American Chief
Magistrate, whom we have always
considered rs having been brought
up under entirely d. # aren't Influences
and condition s.
Oar people, then, have faith
aud confidence in the impartislity
and uprightness of American m gis.
trAtes, q faith and conf dence which,
once shaken, would give rise to
dss& If action and disloyalty.
When the Spsni&rds first set
| foot on the shores of America, the
! ab borigenes believed that they came
from tbs land of the sun. They
looked upon them as supernatural
beings, and we're ready to worship
them as demigods. Years after, the
ambition and greed of the conQWisto-
d0res awcks distrust and apprehen.
sion in the bosom Ct the natives,
and then came hatred with all it's
dire concomitSuts.
This goes to show that the sud.
den and unconditional attachment
to distAnt mother countries is not an
Outburst of sentiment; it is the work
of ref 9ction. Nature has ordained
that Wa should love the land of our
birth As part and parcel of our own
selves. Washington had q noble
conception of country, and he set
about to constitute his, indepen-
IDENTITY CT England; the Beers go
even to the extreme Of suicide, in
defending theirs; the Philippines
shut their eyes to the glowing pro-
misses Of the American Commissions,
prefsrring, to these forcsd blessings,
their moral and material sta gnation.
Toe imposibility Of establishing
an independent nationality in so
small territory as Porto Rico, CON.
pels our reason to accept rs necessA
rv and b3nefciSl the intervention of
the United States. Bat inasmuch
IS in every act where reason is q
factor, analysis must follow as
q logical consequence, the aforesaid
intervention can become each day
| more &cceptable only IN proportion