BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1905-03-28
EDITORIAL.

:, - tsesfi
-. =
frlra t.a Acme tsl fae D. rfn
sf ,ht .Nsa ~ttta hR aut tt oaf
coll.hf.,oss wh,a h~s ssa scnsi
siiv rraised
lhf So ans hgcf r h.stfea y
ne ss,le wands fouh 49, AZ irrsG'i-
rr,er..t fhr dtnufas rs ~ thc
sras hllod wl,h hgorcs iogioaiiy oom
sasrra and calm drauucd
Where th,n IS "a motive s., ,he
ancnn'ioallc pnbhc - l>iscilou oi
which ;ke "a IS, h.e hr hua; spcskS
Can ruined ptol.e .lp - con +
tented
Would u no, bc dcSpicahle ior 8
people. receiving iil ireaila.ni - ieign
The serenl;, of Saii>iactson. IN order ~
SHOW calm iaoe g. those weo deSpo1
the island.
Our rum winch embraces misfortune
emigration the public auc;ionin. Of
lands. the increase II crime. anemia
and death. is clearly set forth in the
article written by l.. lie Palafon
cell. He DESTROYS the strange aud sur
prising conclusions o. Mr.. brau IN his
exposition Of ihe economical crisis.
The article publlsk. in La Demo
cracia and discussed IN the same organ
by that brilliant historian. Salvador
Brau, sounded har>hy TO us. If as a
historian and n letters he hiss gained
his laurels and triumphs he can ne
yer expect to achieve any fame as an
economist.
But it is possible that n sc who are
in search Of opinions subscribed by
well known signatures. whether the
writers are or are not compel nj 10 tire I
such SUBJECTS may find the well-refut.
ed opinion Of Mr. Brau useful in order
TO give a certain SoIennit, TO eplSrams
such as use to be pronounced b, the
heartles ex gov rnor Hunt.
In this sense Mr Brsu has rend-
cred bad service TO the island.
Inasmuch as it is. not true that the
tariff law is beneficial so long AS our
coffee remains abandoned here is no
reason for saying that the justified
protests against lac present preJud-
icial regime. are only lamentations
uttered by those opposed to innov-
alton and in love with the old re
sime.
Our people who live in the mount
ain districts (the coffee raising sect :
ion) cannot Withstand the crisis. They
fee. blindlv t0.0ther islands or other
countries for hey can no longer endure
their exist tenoe.
Our coffee trees become barren
We are CHALLENGING nature with trem-
endous revenge by beng reckless.
with the eXpbeTant productivenes IS
Of the sap which is part Of our soil. =
- We have in our hands the remed,
for the evil which our people sufe
but we cannot administer it. We
have the recourse TO overcome the
crisis, which, not alone are we hind
cred from employing but W are
told that it IS worthless and even that
we need no remedy; that We complain
from habit
Under these conditions, the island
must be a theatre Of Couedy
Here everybody ieigns misery;
simulate the emotions Of desperation,
depict the bitterness and suffering of
forced fight, portray the tortures of
munger SICK t6So CIlIUe anu lHSdu y 3.
And to tn nix that all is disslnulatlon
There is no reason for all this
acting, fr the people comptin
:. through force of habit for we are
better off than before in ct than We
have ever been.
This is what the despoiers would
tell us; what they would throw in the
face of the people if the article Of
Mr.. Brau had not been answered more
authoritatlvely and based upon true
and higher doctrine.
All this is no, a question Ct opinions
not points # lew nor generallties nor
impulses 1t is question OF mathe-
matical exactltudc. ana - aubs,an
tiate this the putting together of
ciphers and the gathering together
wildly Of budget >tati>t1cs, dis
carding the essential fea.ure Of alb
truse investigation. What is needed
is careful and serious la Dor; II is
necessary to look for the truth as in
all sciences
But WE find o irse YES confronted by
the strange protcctected by
the tariff lsv whic still has many
defenders tallo . coffee o enter
clandestir y, m - worse the al