BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1904-10-28
EDITORIAL

election of President Roosevelt, has
been prepared by his campaign
managers and consists of a compilation
cf fragments from many of his public
utterances gathered together IN book
of over three hundred pages. There
are also included speeches of some of
the principal republican orators. repre-
Senta tiveS and senators all on the same
theme of the prosperity of the country,
of the progress, which in their minds
the country has made, and of the
benefits which the present imperial
istic policies will bring to the people
of the United States And as we are
always interested in the pamphlets
and compaign literature which is cir
culated in the interests of American
politics, we have tried to find some
thing in the section published by the
"Latin-American Roosevelt Republi
can Club which might touch on
Puerto Rico. in the way of promise
or hope; something that might serve
to clear away the shadows from the
minds filled with despair and throw
bright light of promise on our horizon.
And we have found in this book the
sad confirmation of the fact that Porto
Rico is the subject that least interests
the American people, of the many that
are made campaign issues to arouse
enthusiasm and awaken party interest.
The Fl reign policyof the United States
is treat d as a subject of interest, but
it is entirely absorbed in the Philip
pines and Cuba; but, we, we are
not taken any notice of whatever. we
are scarcely considered as a people.
four short lines is all the space we are
entitled to iAthis cook of three hun
dred pages.
The Oceanic Archipelago merited
better fate than ours. A large part Of
the book is taken up in the discussion
of these islands in revolt against the
American Government even more at
the present time than they ever were
under Spanish dominion. a whole
chapter is devoted to the subject of
their flu uture, and the President, him
self is quoted as expressing himself in
regard to their independence and So
vereignty. Of us they say merely:
Look at Puerto Rico. We'll inform
ed people who have come from the
Island state that before the American
occupation smallpox had been preva
lent throughout the Island for a
periodof three hundred years. One of
the first things done by the American
Government upon taking possession
was to vaccinate over 900 900 people
and in the LIST four years there has
not been one single case of smallpox
on the Island
This would be statement to be
proud of in report of the Board of
Health, jfit were true, but it surely
has nothing to do with the political
outlook of the Island in the speech of
the President
Perhaps Puerto Rico is smallpox
colony! Is it thai there is no political
problems here to be solved? What
advantages have we gained taking
as true the declarations contained
in the book We are discussing? The
laconic manner in which the state
ment is made, the boasting spirit evil
denced whenever Puerto ->ico is |
being absolutely unbearable. We have
driven small pox from Puerto Rico
indeed
If that were all that they had driven |
away, we could very nicely get along
without the small pox, but one of the
first things that they did in Puerto |
Rico, almost before the American |
troops had landed. was to drive away |
the markets for our products, and as
an immediate result, the production of
our fields was paralyzed; and to subj
stltute for the autonomous government
we were enjoying an autocratlc mill
tary regime, which effectually pre- !
vented us from securing other markets
or entering into any agreements with
other countries to secure the reel
procal entry of our products to in a
measure compensate us for the losses
we had suffered. And from that mo-
ment the fall of our country COM
menced.
Our peasants who never in our
history were compelled to fee from
smallpox or fever, have been COM
PEELED to make their escape in legions
before a far more relentless for
HUNGER.
Capital took alarm at the unstable
financial conditions and deserled the |
Island for other and more favorable |
ole