BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1904-12-09
The Unionist Programme


of recommending necessary changes
in the laws and systems now IN vogue
is very good one indeed. The action
taken by the Committee last Saturday
is one of such vast importance to the
country that we cannot let 1t pass
unnoticed. We feel that it is our duty
to commend the splendid work OF the
Unionist Assem- bly, and we do not care
to be at all lax in SO doing.
Reading the resolutions adopted by
the assembly it is easy to understand
that the time is rapidly approaching
when an epech of reconstruction is 10
set in and the moment will arrive
when the reforms which are abSolu-
tely necessary will have been accomp-
lished The program is not an ext
ensive one owing to the fact that it is
presented in the abstract; if it were
given to US in detail it would prove
almost interminaLle, since the number
of laws and resolutions of past legis-
latures which must of necessity be
modified, reformed, and, in some cases
completely revoked, is legion. After
this is done we may once more enter
and things will return to their normal
condition of before the perturbations
of the past few legislatures.
The programme in question, which
will be sustained by the Unionist ma
iority in the House of Delegates, is
prevaded by spirity of democracy
and liberty which is reflected from
every phrase therein. And we learn
from it that the libel law, monstrous
error, worthy only of the legislation
enacted in the empire of Mogreb, will
be entirely abolished in its present
form; that the law of contempt of Co
urt, as it now stands will be consider
ably modified, since none but misan-
thrope could possibly have conceived
suck an iniquitous piece of legislation.
A plebiscite will be established in
order to ascertain the true trend of
public opinion, and in this manner
the Legislators will come more closely
in contact with the people whom they
represent and with their wishes,
and be able to meet more fully
the demands made upon them.
This is a'practice which should have
been esta blished long ago in Porto Ri
co, and we have frequently felt the
need of it, since a people cannot be
governed by body of men who are
entirely oblivious of the existence of
such force as popular opinion, and
those past legislatures, whose very ma
mes were the cause of public fear of
some unjust legislation have now lear
ho%
must be considered first, last, and all
of the time. Legislators in every part
Of the world are constantly looking
for some signs of what the people
want; they listen TO public opinion
and are guided thereby All of their
actions are first tried through the fire
of popular desire, and if they are
found wanting in any respect are modl-
fed to meet the demands of a public
which is the very fountain source of
the existence of our Legislative bodies.
Our past legislatures have found to
their cost that it does not pay to entl-
relv ignore your constituents.
The first work of our new legis-
lature will most naturally be the erad-
ication of all those laws or parts of
laws which in any manner tend to
disfgure or disgrace our statute books
Everything which stands in the way
of progress and advancement must be
eliminated. 1t will be useless to attempt
anything new for time until they
have completely destroyed all that
is grotesque and deforming in our
present system After this is done
they may begin to build anew. For
the present it is absolutely essential
to clean, to cut, to eradicate, to make
deep incisions and to mutilate all that
is Objectionable in our laws. The
work which awaits tie new Legislature
is hard one, but it is absolutely
necessary, since upon it depends ent.
irely the possibility of the country
entering upon new life and into a
new atmosphere, free from the impur-
tiles of those left by their predece-
SsOrS.
We would suggest that the first and
most appropriate action on the part of
the legislature would be the abolition
of the nasty, iniquitous libel law,
which was only enacted by the en-
ep;ac of the nre sc in order that thew