The Colorado statesman., 1906-12-15

that there was in the most prosper
GUS year under the Spanish regime.
There were 210,273 tons Of sugar ex-
ported last year, of the value of S14.-
1S6,319; S3,555, 163 of tobacco, and
2S,29O,S22 pounds of coffee of the value
OF $3.4S1,102. Unfortunately. what
used to be Porto Rico's prime crop
conee-has not shared this prosper
ity. 1t has never recovered from the
disaster of the hurricane, and, more
over. the benefit of throwing open
our market to it has not compensated
for the loss inflicted by the closing of
the markets to it abroad. l call your
attention to the accompanying memo
rial on this Subject of the board of
trade of San Juan, and 1 earnestly
hope that some measure will be taken
for the benefit of the excellent and
high grade Porto Rican coffee.
There is a matter to which I wish
to call your especial attention, and
that is the desirability of comforting
full American citizenship upon the
people of Porto Rico. l most earnest
ly hope that this will be done. I can
not see how any harm can possibly re-
suit from it, and it seems to me mat
ter of right and justice to the people
of Porto Rico. They are loyal, they
are glad to be under our flag, they are
making rapid progress along the path
of orderly liberty. Surely we should
show our appreciation of them, our
pride in what they have done, and
our pleasure in extending recognition
for what has thus been done, by grant
ing them full American citizenship.
Under the wise administration of the
present governor and council, marked
progress has been made in the difficult
matter of granting to the people of the
island the largest measure of self-gov-
ernment that can with safety be given
at the present time. 1t would have
been very serious mistake to have
gone any faster than we have already
gone in this direction. The Porto
Ricans have complete and absolute
autonomy in all their municipal gov
ernments, the only power over them
possessed by the insular government
being that Of removing corrupt or in
competent municipal officials. This
power has never been exercised save
on the clearest proof of corruption or
of ncompetence-such as to jeopar-
die the interests of the people of the
island; and under such circumstances
it has been fearlessly used to the i'm
mense benefit of the people. 1t is not
a power with which it would be safe,
for the sake of the island itself, to dis
pense at present. The lower house is
absolutely elective, while the upper
house is appointive. This scheme is
working well; no injustice of any kind
results from it, and great benefit to
the island, and it should certainly not
be changed at this time. The machin-
cry of the elections is administered en-
tirely by the Porto Rican people them
selves, the governor and council keep
ing only such supervision as is neces-
sary in order to insure an orderly elec-
tion. Any protest as to electoral frauds
is Eettled in the courts. Here again 1t
would not be safe to make any change
in the present system. The elections
this year were absolutely orderly, un-
accompanied by any disturbance; and
no protest has been made against the
management of the elections, although
three contests are threatened where
the majorities were very small and
error was claimed; the conlests, of
course, to be settled in the courts. In
short, the governor and council are CO.
operating with ali of the most enlight-
ened and most patriotic of the people
of Porto Rico in educating the citizens
of the island in the principles of order
ly liberty. They are providing a gov
ernment based upon each citizens self
respect and the mutual respect of all
citizens; that is, based upon rigid
observance of the principles of justice
and honesty. 1t has not been easy to
instill into the minds of people unac-
customed to the exercise of freedom
the two basic principles of our Ameri-
can system; the principle that the ma
jority must rule, and the principle that
the minority has rights which must
not be disregarded or trampled upon.
Yet real progress has been made in
having these principles accepted as
elementary. as the foundations of sue
cessful self-government.
| transmit herewith the report of the
governor of Porto Rico, sent to the
president through the secretary of
state.
All the insular governments should
be placed in one bureau, either in the
department of war or the department
of state. 1t is a mistake not SO to ar
range our handling of these islands at
Washington as to be able to take ad-
vantage of the experience gained in
one, when dealing with the problems
that from time to time arise in an
other.
In conclusion let me express my ad-
miration for the work done by the con-
gress when it enacted the law under