The National tribune., 1906-04-19

grades to form the so-called family
| coffee" which Is SO marked q feature
| of the modern grocery.
Sugar Cane.
| The Porto RicanS. however, regard
! the better qualities as the best coffee
| in the world. They prepare ii in a way
| very different from that familiar to
most American households. The first
| difference is In the roasting, which Is
| carried far beyond our standard, and
the result is n fluid which, after being
| strained, is perfectly clear and trans
parent, despite it's dark color, and which
! has a richness of flavor and perfume
which cannot be too highly praised. 1t
| is said upon good authority that no
other coffee is now used in the White
House.
The most important product of the
| island is, however, the sugar cane,
which has been raised there since 1850.
| The only difference between the Gull
ture of the cane IN Porto Rico and the
| United States IS that the machinery is,
| as a rule, more out of date and the
| methods more crude. Practically no
sugar is refined. and in all the families
and in nearly all the hotels. the sugar
| for table use is of a cream color, with
| the smell of molasses still plainly evil
dent. 1t is. however. more pleasant
| than the American sugar when one be-
comes accustomed 10 IL.
Tobacco.
Tobacco raising is third in impor-
lance in the industries of the island.
| The tobacco has been introduced into
the United States, but has not met with
much favor. Previous to the Spanish
| American war large amounts of the
| leaf were sent TO Cuba, where they
were manufactured into cigars and
| cigarettes. but there is a difference in
quality which seems puzzling. The
same leaf is used in both islands; it Is
grown, cultivated and cured in the same
way and by the same class of laborers.
The climates are very much alike, ex-
| cept that of Porto Rico appears to be
a trife drier and more equable. But
the difference exists, nevertheless, and
the Porto Rican tobacco will never, in
all probability, become popular in this
country.
A peculiar feature of the population
of the island is that the white race.
even before the occupation by the Unit
| ed States troops, outnumbered the COM
| bined black and colored people. prov
| ing that Porto Rico, at least, has not
become Africanized, as have all the 9TH
| er West Indian islands with the single
exception of Cuba. About rs per cent
| of the people are illiterate. but this
condition is becoming rapidly anchor
ated through the establishment Of
American schools, which have a large
and enthusiastic attendance.
The Natives.
The native people may as a whole,
be divided into four classes: The better
class of creoles, who called themselves
Spaniards and who in point Of fact are
the descendants of military men who,
and garrisoned by Spanish troops,
formed alliances and settled there.
These people maintain their pride Of
birth, as do the old Spanish grandees,
and most of them are well-to-do, some
even opulent. They are good-looking,
happy and prosperous set of people, and
have, as a rule, taken the trouble to
acquire a considerable education, many
attending school in the United States.
The ladies are. as a rule, handsome
and refined, and are as strictly seclud-
| ed as in other Spanish-American coun-
| tries. Their goodness of heart and un-
affected frankness with their friends
are most charming.
The other three classes comprise the
peasantry, known as gibaros; the col
ored people, or those of mixed blood,
and the blacks, who, with the peasants,
| form the laboring classes. There is,
however, little or no race prejudice, and
| the white or even darker mixtures of
the two races pass muster as whites
| blacks. The Moorish type is quite COM
| mon, especially where there is a dash
| of African blood. This serves to make
the eye darker, to give the so-called
white blush tinge, and to change
the Spanish pearly teeth into the
Ethiopian worries. Many of the lower
class are, through lack of proper food,
Of complexion which undoubtedly ex-
presses physical degeneracy. 1t is a
sodden brownish gray which suggests
ecru color in some faces and mouse
color in others, and is invariably ac-
companied by small muscles, hollow
shoulders and a bowed-in waist 1t is
from this class that consumption, the
curse Of the island, selects it's victims.
Political Conditions and Aspirations.
AS to the aspirations and political
conditions now prevailing in the island,
Senior TuliO Larrinaga, the Porto Rican
Delegate TO the United States Congress-
may well be quoted as an authority.
He says:
THE Porto Rican people have not
been. and never will be, satisfied with
the Foraker bill. 1t is true that the
evils attending it have been to a great
extent alleviated, but it Is only because
OF the country's great resources and
great recuperatiye powers, and also to
some extent to the wise policy OF the
present Government.
Section 7 of the bill did not provide
for citizenship, and section 18 provides
for an appointive Senate instead Of an
elective one. Every member of the
Senate. the judiciary, and, in fact, all
civil officials, have to take q solemn
oath to protect the Constitution of the
United States, and many Porto Ricans
have had guns put I'm their hands and
4 have sworn to protect the flag of our
country! Would such a right be given
to Chinaman? We believe that the
duties imposed upon us also carry a
right, and we are assured that the
great American people. the greatest Ma
ton on the globe, will not deny to an
enlightened people the privileges which
rightfully belong to them.
! Under the Spanish rule our people
were ridden by the military, by the
clergy and by the judiciary, yet we
found ready market for our tobacco.
our coffee, and our sugar in Spain,
France, Italy and Cuba. To-day it Is
true that We have free trade with the
United States. but our products are
OF l,Nfkn.