The sun., 1903-12-06
/ PORTO RYCOs BIG FAMILIES
They Have Lots Of Children There ana
Can't Bear to Lese Any or Them.

"The Porto Ricans are yet wondering
why President Roosevelt gave that race
suicide warning" said former official OF
the customs service at San Juan. They
say that IL the President lived in Porto Rico
he would have no occasion to talk about the
danger to the State from small families.
"The fact is. Porto Rioans, rich and poor
alike. seem to strive to raise the largest
families possible. The people worship their
children, and the children look upto their
parents with love and reverence. Families
Of ten, fifteen, eighteen or twenty children
are so common as to excite no comment.
I know one woman in San Juan who has
twenty-four children. and they are all
living.
"She is the wife Of rich planter and is.
contrary to the general rule with Porto
Rican women, good business woman
and aids her husband in the management
Of his business affairs, besides looking
after her household These double cares
would kill the average American woman /,
but the Porto Rican woman is happy and
contented and doesn't look a year over 80.
"Thc wife of relative of mine, rich
planter, had fourteen children, but she lost
one OF them. The death of child in Porto
Rican family, no matter how large the fam
lily may he, is a blow so stunning that the
parents carry their grief to their graves.
when this one died the sorrow of the
parents was intense The father owned a
newspaper in San Juan, but he refused even
to open the door of his office for month,
and then he could do no work Finally he
had to 10 abroad for six months in an effort
to forget his grief.
while in Europe he ordered marble
tomb, with a beautiful white figure of an
angel surmounting it, in which to place the
chld's remains. Now. although the little
one has been dead several years. the fathe
goes regularly twice a week to the ceme-
terry. and remains several hours each time.
THE mother trudges every day to the
cemetery, taking with her each time a
bunch of fresh flowers to place on the
child's tomb. They dress in black, and will
remain in mourning, think, till death
entail devotion, because on every Sunday or
feast day you may go to the beautiful San
Juan cemetery and see hundreds OF people
sitting by the graves Of children.
Il recall striking instance OF TidoT ~, 9 9
San Juan municipality owns the cemetery
and charges a rental for the reception OF the
bodies. The rent for the flrst three years
has to be paid in advance, and II the renewal
rent is not paid after the expiration Of the
three years the bones OF the dead are
| without warning, thrown out OF the inches
where the coffins rest.
1T chanoed that through an error the
! widow failed to pay again after the three
years had expired, and when she went to
| the cemetery one day she discovered to
| her dismay that the bones Of her husband
| had been taken from their niche and cast
| into a pile Of bones Of hundreds OF other
| dead. There was no way by which the
bones could be identified and recovered.
"The widow had had great mausoleum
| built for the remains OF her husband, and.
rather than have nothing in the vault TO
remind her of hin, she caused all the bones
! in the pile, comprising the renal ms of hun
| dreds Of people. to be gathered up and placed
in the mausoleum, being well satisfied that
! among the great mass Of bones In the place
were those of her husband. This woman
makes regular visits to the cemetery and
| offers up prayers over that great mauso-
leum full OF bones for the repose of her
| husbands soul"