Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1906-12-20

any one year was that u isse, when 10
reached nearly %. 900 .ooo. Last year.
therefore. there Wa double the trade
that there Wa In the most prosper
Gus year under the Spanish regime.
There were 210,273 tons Of sugar e.
ported last year, OF the value Of e14s
1850; 1S,666.1S3 Of tobacco. and
8 ,290, 321 pounds OF coffee Of the value
Of 93,4S1.105. Unfortunately, what
used TO b Porto Rico's prime crop
coffee-haA not shared this prosper.
ity. Il has never recovered from the
disaster Of the hurricane. and, more
over, the beneht OF throwing open
our market TO It has not compensated
for the loss inflicted By ~ closing Of
the markets to It abroad. I ealD your
attention to the accompanying memo
rial on this Subject Of the board OF
trade Of Ban Juan, and ] earnestly
hope that some measure will b taken
for the benefit Of the excellent and
high grade Porto Rican coffee.
There II Q matter to which ! wish
to call your especial attention. and
that IL the d~esirability Of comforting
full American citizenship upon the
people of Porto Rico. I most earnest.
ly hope that this will be done. I can
not see how any harm can possibly 70
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 Jul nag. they are
making rapid progress along the path
Of orderly liberty. Surely We should
show our appreciation Of them. U
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 administ. alton OF the
present governor and council, marked
progress has been made In the dihicult
matter of granting to the people Of the
island the largest measure Of self-gov.
eminent that can with safety be given
at the present time. It would rave
been q very serious mistake to ave
gone any faster than we have already
gone 1 this direction. The Porto
Ricans have complete aud 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 0ficials. This
power has never been exercised save
on the clearest proof Of corruption or
Of incompetence-such a. to jeopar'
die the interests Of the people OF the
island; and under such circumstances
It has been fearlessly used to the Inn
mense benefit Of the people. II II not
q power with which It would be safe.
for the sake OF the island itself. to dis
pense at present. The lower house 10
absolutely elective. while the upper
house IL a%ppointive. This scheme 10
working we'll; 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 Ia administered en-
tirely by the Porto Rican people them
selves. the governor and council keep
ing only such supervision a. 10 neces-
sary In order to insure an orderly cleo.
ton. Any protest as to electoral frauds
IL settled In the courts. Here again 1t
would not be safe to make any change
In the present system. The elections
this year we're 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.
ly liberty. They are providing Q gov.
eminent based upon each citizens self.
respect. and the mutual respect Of all
citizens; that IL, based upon . rigid
observance Of the principles Of Justice
and honesty. It 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 "a
elementary. a. the foundations OF sue
cessful self-government.
transmit herewith the report Of the
governor of Porto Rico. sent to the
:. president through the secretary ol