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

executive heads, due to de1eCtlVe
system of law which leaves the rights
and restrictions of these officials in
chaotic confusion, has come to llght
in an occurrence recently, which
merits Our severeSt censure.
According to local daily, the police
in Ponce interfered which speaker
in the midst of a political speech
because it is said it appeared to the
police officer that the private life of
wellknown citizen was being attack
ed from the public forum.
And Captain Silen, of the 1nsular
Police has sent a communication to the
heads of the various parties, in which
he counsels them to restrain their
public speakers from anything in the
nature of personal invective, as tending
to disturb the peace.
The conduct of the police seems to
be very cautious, but we cannot COM
mend a caution of this sort, which be-
comes an arbitrary interference with
the right of the people 'peacesully to
assemble tyranny against the right
of free speech and the most element
ary principles of democratic government
The police cannot become the judges
of how far the private or public life of
a citizen extends, especially when the
citizen become as candidate for office
and furthermore they have absolutely
no authority to regulate what shall or
shall not be said in a political meeting.
The occurrence in Ponce merits Sc
we're criticism, and the intrusion of
the police into the regulation of poll
tical rights and meters that properly
pertain to the courts of justice is very
unfortunate.
An attack on the private life of
citizen, no matter how highly esteemed
he may be, surely cannot constitute
danger or disturb ance of public Or
der. And as far we know, the Insu
lar Police of Porto Rico have never
been vested with the right of repair
ing the Deficiencies of the codes, or
supplying what may haye been left
out, or amending and improving upon
the work of our sorry and mediocre
legislators.
Captain Silen as we'll as his subal-
terms who listened to the orator in
Ponce ought to know that there are
tribunals of Justice in Puerto; Rico that
martial law is not in force on the
Island, nor have the citizens turned
over to the police the mission Of defen-
ding their honor and their regulations.
In the United States, and We cite this
country because it is held up to us a
model from which everything we need
to copy or to learn is to be derived,
something of the nature of the occur-
renee in Ponce has happened. Any
thing in the nature of an attack on the
private life of President Roosevelt,
as a personal insult 10 him, has been
tabooed, but this was done by his pol
itica1 adversary as matter OF cour-
tesy, on Mr.. Parkers recommendation,
but the American people would have
resented any suggestlon of this sort
on the part of the police authorities.
But aside from any discussion of
the unfortunate or ill-adv sed aspect
of the interference of the police in any
riots or disturbances of the peace
which may be brought on by the
utterances objected to by the police,
which we cannot enter into as we
have no knowledge of what was said,
and therefore cannot say just how
severe condemnation it merits, we
feel it, neverthe less Our duty to use
the very strongect expression of cen
sure against any usurpation of the
police of the righr to invade the field,
frsm which above all others they are
excluded the right Of every citizen
to defend his god name and honor
when any attempt is made to besmirch
it. 1t is an usurpation and an
encroachment which should be nlpped
in the bud, before it grows into
custom, and perhaps a law. 1t has
been an injustihable interference with
the liberty of the citizen, and the
police should be strictly " armed against
any further interferences of this sort.
Every one has his niche to fill, to
maintain the stability and equilibrium
of society; everyone should fill his
allotted sphere, without invading the
rights of his neighbor; the rights,
privileges, and bounds which everyone
should have hould be fixed with equity
and Justice by law, and the ofhciA
shouidhave certain duties and powers,
and not unlimited sway as they have
at present, in order that the rights and