The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-09-08

PROGRESS OF PORTO RICO.

BY GEORGE MARVIN.

The visible change at work at this
/ time in the life of the people of Porto
Rico and in the appearances of things
there is impressive and significant
This process, the degree of transforma-
ton, is naturally less noticeable to the
American who has lived here since the
occupation than TO one who. like the
writer. revisits the island after an
absence of three years. A UNIQUE proc
ess 1t is-the Americanization of a
Latin community. Porto Rico today is
a. vastly different place from Porto
Rico three years ago, and some of the
signs of the times are plain enough for
him who runs to read. Such judg-
ments. formed on the appearances of
things and on what people apparently
think, are sufficiently confirmed in
most cases, should they need support,
/ by recorded facts and by what people
frankly say.
AS one goes ashore from the steamer
at San Juan and walks up from the
landing-stage through the shining,
clean Marina" evidences of change
| are at once forthcoming Over the
shouts of the stevedores and bulldogs
on the docks, and the thin, shrin whis-
ties Of small craft in the harbor, sound
the familiar gong and ascending whir
of the American trolley. Soon arount,
the corner from the Plaza swings a
long yellow car guided by a white
coated motorman. AS it straightens
out and speeds away along the military
road, under the ancient ruined walls of
Fort Cristobal. on it's way to Santurce,
it works magic Transformation. The
low, f1at-roofed, bright-tinted Spanish
buildings, with their dark arcades, the
crumbling. grass-grown fortified tions,
the graceful palms along the harbor
Shores-the entire composition, from
the archaic bull-carts close at hand to
the distant sleepy, shower-swept
mountains, speaks one language,
strikes one accord-the language of
Spanish America; the minor note of ar
rested development, of eternal content
ment in statu quo. That long yellow
car just disappearing behind the
Quartet talks plain United States 1t
speaks the language of progress-its
iotC 10 tiiC iiolC VI piOS5i CsoSiNc I'LL
In Ponce, across the island, another
American trolley line connects the city
with the Playa, or port, two miles
away, supplanting slow bull-carts and
a high-priced and totally inadequate
coach monopoly. Each line in euuip-
ment and road-bed is fully up to the
standard of the best suburban roads in
the States. The San Juan line runs
over the grades of the old Spanish
tramway through the palm groves of
Santurce and Martin Pena to Rio Pie
dras, seven miles from the ca ital IT
provides fast, clean, brilliantly lighted
cars in place of the old, dingy, badly
ventilated Spanish coaches covered
with soft-coaI dust. Three years ago
the steam tram, on an hourly schedule,
was seldom filed. Running ten min
utes apart, every trolley-car is filled
to overlooking That difference implies
a great increase in the amount of nee
essary travel in and out of the two
cities. But crowds of Porto Ricans,
some with the evident enjoyment of
children, ride up and down the length
of the line every day for the pure pleas
ure of the journey.
A Ponce dry-goods merchant whose
shop is in the Plaza said:
1.-THE 'trowley' is more change Ponce
to American than all de Americanos."
On fine nights this same merchant,
complacently putting his after-dinner
cigarro, boards the crowley" at his
own door, and, with the subdued Seno-
ra and their two little black-eyed
daughters beside him, traverses the
long loop through Ponce streets and
speeds down the two cool miles over
the river and through the shadowy
cane-fields of Senior Barros to the
Playa. During the week in February
when Admiral Higginson's fleet lay at
anchor in the harbor of Ponce, one
third of the population of the city rang
up fares on the electric road.
In addition to the trolley system the
automobile has invaded Porto Rico. a
transinsular express and passenger SER
vice has been in operation from Ponce
to San Juan during the past year, and
the daily passage of these putting, evil
smelling vehicles along the highway
actually occasions no disturbance and
attracts less notice than would be the
case on almost any American country
road The use of American horses by
civilians has greatly increasd during
| the past three years. AT San Juan,
Ponce and Mayaguez I saw several
handsome teams belonging to Porto
Rfcans driven by native coachmen in
| neat white liveries, some of them close.
possibly Intentional copies of the Gov
ernor's equipage. 1t is difficult to ac-
count for this change, unless the big
| horses are valued for their added i'm
portanee and show. The small. wiry
native horses, if properly fed and car
| ed for, are handsome animals, fully
equal to any demands made upon them
| and much better adapted, either for
riding or irving, to the climate and
local conditions.
! San Juan, as the seat of insular gov
ternment, the headquarters of the mill
tary organization, and the chief port
for navy and merchant marine, nat
urally is further advanced toward
Americanization than any othar CITY
on the island. Ponce, however, with a
very much smaller American colony.
exhibits an even more progressive spir-
1t, and Mayaguez, Cayey, and Aguadil-
la also show distinct change One must
In fairness except Caguas and Arecibo.
where an anti-administration political