The Washington herald., 1906-12-12

Sls, s3.55,l63 of tobacco. and 2s,2so,S22
pounds Of coffee OF the value Of $751;
l02
Coffee Raising Stunted.
Unfortunately, what used to be Porto
Rico's prime crop-coffee-has not shared
this prosperity. 1t has never recovered
from the disaster Of the hurricane, and
moreover. 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. ] call your atten-
ton to the accompanying memorial on
this subject. of the board of trade Of
San Juan. and l earnestly hope that
some measure will be taken for the bene-
mt OF the excellent and high-grade Porto
Rican coffee
I'm addition to the delegations from the
board of trade and chamber of commerce
OF San Juan. also received delegations
from the Porto Rican Federation of La
Dor, and from the Coffee Growers Asso-
citation.
Would Make Islanders Citizens.
There is matter to which [ wish TO
call your special attention. and that is
the desirability of conferring full Ameri-
can citizenship upon the people of Porto
Rico. 1 most earnestly hope that this
viii be done. l can not see how any
harm can possibly result from it, and II
seems TO me a matter Of right and JUS
tioe to the people Of Porto Rico. They
are loyal, they are glad to be under our
dag, 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 granting
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 10 the people Of the
island the largest measure Of self-gOv-
ernment that can with safety be given
at the present time. Ii would have been
a very serious mistake 10 have gone any
faster than we have already gone in this
direction. The Porto Ricans have COM
plete and absolute autonomy In all their
municipal governments. the only power
over them possessed by the insular gov
ernment being that Of removing corrupt
or incompetent municipal officials.
Power JudIciousIy Used.
This power has never been exercised
save on the clearest proof of corruption or
Of incompetence-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 up
per house is appOintive. This scheme is
working well. no injustice of any kind re-
suits from IL, and great benefit 20 the
island. and il 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
supervision as is necessary in order 20 in
sure an orderly election ANY protest as
/ 10 electoral frauds IS settled in the courts
Here again 1t would not be safe 10
make any change in the present system.
The elections this year were absolutely or
derly. UnaccCmpanied 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 10 be set
tied in the courts.
Officials Work with People,
In short. the governor and council are
cooperating 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 orderly liberty
They are providing a government based
upon each citizens seIf-respect. and the
mutual respect Of all citizens: that is.
based upon rigid observance Of the prin-
ciples OF justice and honesty.
1t has not been easy to instiH into the
minds Of people unaccustOmed 70 the
exercise of freedom. the two basic prin-
ciples Of our American system, the prin-
ciple that the majority must rule. and
the principle that the minority has rights
which must not be .jsregarded or tram
pied upon. Yet re progress has been
made in having these principles accepted
as elementary, as the foundations Of
successful self-government
Wants One Bureau for All.
"All the insular governments should be
placed in one bureau, either in the De-
partment Of War or the Department OF
State. II is a mistake not so to arrange
our handling Of these islands az Wash
ingtOn as 20 be able 10 take advantage
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-
miratlon for the work done by the Con
gress when it enacted the law under
which the island is now being admins
| tered. After seeing the island person
ally, and after FIVE years experience in
connection with its administration, it is
but fair to those who devised this law
20 say that u would be well-nigh impOs-
sible TO have devised any other which in
the actual working would have accom-
plished better results
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"