BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1904-10-24
EDITORIAL

tion have not met with an harmonious
reception on the part Of The New
York Sun, and it seems that our as
sertions do not sound very pleasant to
their eminently proper ears.
Our North American colleage seems
very much surprised that Ii should
have occurred 10 us to ask protection
for Puerto Rican coffee as sort OF 1n-
demnity from the United States, tor
the ruin and misery that the Island has
suffered. To MS it seems the very
least of the very many reasonable de
mands we might make, if Our hypote-
sis that the United States has no right
to bring ruin upon us is correct, and
that since the Island has been incerpor
ated as an intregal part of the Anne
rican Union, at the very least, it
should not be treated with prejudicial
partiality and injustice. 1t seems to
us to be the very least that we could
ask, after having exposed for thou
sand and one times the paralyzlng
regime which we are lsboring under
at the present time. and under which
we are forcibly obliged to buy Ameri-
can goods at exhorbitant prices, while
on the other hand, the people of the
United States are left free to buy their
coffee from foreign sources, the prefe-
renee being given to the very cheap
est kinds which are we'll known on
accountof long usage, without paying
one cent of revenue to the government.
The tariff conditions established by
the Foraker Law, thinly disguised un-
der the name of free trade and mutual
protection, none f which actually
exist, and designed with the sole idea
of completely absorbing our markets,
have brought as their natural conse-
quence not only the total ruin OF the
country which is no; protected, but
have even failed to brig any material
benefits to the powerful republic which
imposed them upon us.
They will come to see sooner or
later that their experiments in the role
of octopus imperialism has its draw
backs as well.
Wherever conditions are imposed
which make it impossible to renew
the economical resources: wherever an
arbitrary system of exchange of pro-
ducts is forcibly established in viola
ton of the rules of equity and justice,
there the same state Of affairs that is
produced by an air-pump exhaustlng
a vacuum will be found.
Mr.. Foraker who may be very
skillful politician a d sagac1ous
statesman, but who nevertheless is far
from being a Leroy Beaulieu, believed
that with'a single stroke of the pen he
could close our markets to all but
American products, under the outra-
geous customs tariff established by
Dingley Law, while on the other
hand the United states could get along
very well without buying any of our
products, since they were LETT open to
foreign competitor in the American
market.
Mr.. Foraker, as perhaps also the
"Sun", seems to think that he can
violate with impunity all the rules of
polical economy, and it does not seem
strange that both Of the these asthor-
tiles believe that we can Buy without
selling and continue importing merch-
andise without any exports.
It is very clear that the rnnt OF the
hardships brought about by this sin
sular alteration on questions OF poll
tical economy has naturally fallen
upon us, and furthermore this chimeri-
cal scheme SO carefully planned IN the
Foraker Law, while it does not pro-
vide for any great advantage to Amer
lean industries, most certainly prohlb.
its US from reaping any gain whatever.
and effectually closes the markets OF
the world to our coffee, occaslonlng
real, not fancied, losses of many mil
tions and brings in its train the ter
rible misery and wand which are the
actual conditions il Puerto Rico to-
day.
And in the face of the m monstruous
imposition, and in clear sight Of the
enormous wrong that is being done us
day after day the Sun" of New
York believes that American public
opinion has not taken kindly to our
methods, because we have boldly and
positively clamored for our rights in
the fearless tones that a crushed and !
down -trodden people have a right to
use, because we have maintained that
the United States shall not continue
to inhict on us this ruinous policy,
and that the least that could be done |