BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1904-06-06
To The President
and to the Congress

than the great amount OF good which
must eventually come 10 our agricul
tural classes through our effors we
wouId find il in the constant flow OF
conqratulation and encouragement
which is continually coming TO US from
all sections of the island. We are
leased to say, however, that no stimu-
liant is required, as our desire to con-
fer such lasting benefit upon our in
dustries is PRED dominant and is not en-
gendered by desire for praise We
expect TO continue along the same line
of conduct that we have mapped out
for ourselves and will, of course, be
grateful for the good will and support
of all honest men and measures. we
realize that our task is a difficult one
and that the way is beset by Difficult
ties without number, and we believe
that the public understands the situa
tion lust as well and as thoroughly as
we do, and appreciates the situation to
the same extent and is with us heart
and soul in our fight for tariff reform
and justice.
There vas time when such de-
ma1ds and claims as we are now
making would have been looked upon
as rare and exceptional, but that time
is past, and the solution of our diff
Guilty as propounded by the BoLET1N
has come to be looked upon as the
most rational and the most reasonable.
Our insistence that the InSular and
Federal government should take in
mediate steps to arrest the decay of
our economic system has taken firm
root in the minds Of our people and
must in the course of time bring forth
good results. We have take course
apart from the usual routine ofnews-
paperdom in our island aud instead of
a sporadic statement We mean to keep
merrily on hammer and tongs until
some relief is accorded us. There is
no reason why we should sit and
mourn our dead industries, as this
constitutes but waste of our last
energies. Far better is it to devote
those energies to determined effort
to ameliorate the existing condition OF
affairs.
The only means by which our pre-
sent economic crisis can be brought to
determination has been pointed ont by
as time and again and those who pro-
fess to believe differently have not as
yet brought to the fore any substitute
for our claims that we must have pro-
lection and free trade in every sense
of the words. Those who do not think
so have as vet failed to make any i'm
preston whatever on public opinion.
while our theories have been accepted
and looked upon as the only true me-
thod of remedyinh our sad plight. 1t is
a hard, uphill fight we are making,
as the very air of our island now
seems to be filled with that quality
which makes men desist in cause
which they know to be well founded
and Just. This is what must be com
batted and overcome and . new life
and vigor mast be infused into our
people.
Continuing along the lines of the
past we have now come to that point
where we must say that if there is an
official on the island of Porto Rico
representing that entity known as
"The People of Porto Rice" who has
not JuN1LCQ LQS dLtCut2Ou VI tAO cVrO-
reign power to the actual conditions
existing in our island today he has
neglected his duty. If the proper of
fetal mention is not given the depres-
sed condition of the marked for our
coffee how will it ever be possible for
us to begin upon successful career as
a dependency of the United States,
since we can only look to that body
for relief from our present depression
and if it does not hear officially of our
plight it will take no heed whatever
It IS the duty of each and every off
cial to invite the attention of the Pre-
sident of the United States and the
Secretary of State to he fact that we
are entitled to, and should have, full |
and free right 10 trade with the United |
States and that all other nations, espe
cially those producing coffee. should
be disseminated against in protection
Of Our product. The coffee, of the
entire world is received into American
ports on an equal footing with our
own.
When the Foraker bill was framed |
it would have been productive of much |
better results and would have placed