Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1906-12-20


hope that some measure will be taken
for the benefit of the excellent and
high grade Porto Rican coffee.
In addition to delegations from the
board of trade and chamber of COM
merce of San Juan, / also received
delegations from the Porto Rican Fed
GRAFTON of Labor, and from the Coffee
Growers association.
There is matter to which l wish
to call your especial attention, and
that is the desirability of comforting
full American citizenship upon the
people of Porto Rico. | most earnest
ly hope that this will be done. | 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 tie 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 incompetence-such as to jeopar-
die the interests of the people of the
island; and under such circumstances
1t has been fearlessly used to the i'm
mense benefit of the people. 1t is not
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 1t 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.
| ton. Any protest as to electoral frauds
| is settled 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 contests, OF
course, to be settled in the courts. In
short, the governor and council are co
operating with all 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.
eminent based upon each citizens self.
respect, and the mutual respect of all
citizens; that is, based upon a 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 disegarded 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 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
which the island is now being admin.
istered. After seeing the island per-
sonally, and after five years expert.
ence in connection with it's admins.
tration, it is but fair to those who de.
vised this law to say that it would be
well-nigh impossible to have devised
any other which in the actual working
would have accomplished better re-
suits. THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
The White House, Dec. IL, 1906.