The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-12-12

tending recognition for what has thus been done, by granting them full Amer ican 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 selfgov- ernment that can with safety be given at the present time. It would have been a very serious mistake to have gone any faster than we have already gone in this direction. The Porto Ri- cans have complete and absolute au- tonomy in all their municipal govern ments, the only power over them pos sessed by the insular government being that of removing corrupt or incompe- tent municipal officials. This power has never been exercised save on the dearest proof of corruption or of in- competence-such as to jeopardize the interests of the people of the island; and under such circumstances it has been fearlessly used to the immense benefit of the people. It is not a power with which it would be safe, for the sake of the island itself, to dispense at present The lower house is absolutely elective, while the upper house is ap- pointive. 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 machinery of the elections is administered entirely by the Porto Rican people themselves, the governor and council keeping only such supervi- sion as is necessary in order to insure an orderly election. Any protest as to electoral frauds is settled in the courts. Here again it would not be safe to make any change in the present sys- tenn. The elections this year were ab- solutely orderly unaccompanied by any disturbance; and no protest has been made against the management of the elections, altho three contests are threatened where the majorities were very small and error was claimed; the contests, of course, to be settled in the courts. In short, the governor and council are cooperating with all of the most enlightened and most patriotic of the people of Porto Rico in educating the citizens of the island in the pIinci- ples of orderly liberty. They are pro- viding a government based upon each citizens self-respect, and the mutual respect of all citizens; that Is, based upon a rigid observance of the princi- pies of justice and honesty. It has not been easy to instil into the minds of people unaccustomed to the exercise of freedom, the two basic principles of our American system; the principle that the majority must rule, and the prin- ciple that the minority has rights which must not be iisregarded or trampled upon. Yet real progress has been made in having these principles accepted as elementary. as the foun- dations of successful self-government. I transmit herewith the report of the governor of Porto Rico, sent to the President thru 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. It is a mistake not so to arr 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 another.
 In conclusion let me express my ad- miration for the work done by the con gress when it enacted the law under whihc the island is now being admins tered. After seeing the island person. ally, and after five years experience in connection with it's administration, it is but fair to those who devised this law to say that 1t would be well-ngh impossible to have devised any other which In the actual working would have accomplished better results.
 THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
 The White House, Dec. ii, 1906.