The Washington herald., 1907-07-22

Commercial Disaster to Island.
Senior Jose de Diego, speaker OF the
house of delegates Of Porto Rico, ar
rived in Washington yesterday TO pre-
sent to the officials Of the State Depart
ment some crying needs OF the Porto
Ricans. and to protest against the pro-
posed French tariff, which he claims viii
kill the increasing prosperity Of that
island After a conference with Acting
Secretary Of State Adee and the Score
! taries Of the Treasury and Agriculture,
he viii go to jamestown to attend a
meeting Of the speakers Of the various
houses commemorative Of the arst legis-
/ lative gathering at Jamestown Before
returning to Porto Rico the speaker will
visit the President at Oyster Bay and
communicate to him the message with
which he has been intrusted.
! Senor Diego does not speak English, but
is accompanied by an interpreter, who
acts in the same capacity for the house
Of delegates.
Tells of His Mission.
When asked what his mission to this
country was. Senior Diego said:
Il have come TO tell the heads Of your
nation, rather. our nation. that II the
proposed French tariff Is allowed to be-
come a law the prosperity Of Porto Rico
viii suffer a devastating blow, and one
from which they can never recover. The
tariff law is aimed directly at our coffee,
on which crop the entire future Of the
island depends. I have come also 10 ask
;hat a school Of agriculture be estab-
lished to supplement the experiment sta
ton which we already have, in order that
my people may learn the most approved
modern methods Of farming.
/ These things 1 viii urge on the Sec
retaries. but 10 the President viii make
plea for citizenship to the United States.
which every Porto Rican desires. Or II
I citizenship is out OF the question. I viii
ask him to give US government and
/ liberty"
/ Asked as to the Objectionable features
OF the French tariff, Senor Diego said:
France IS tie country on which We
/ depend mainly for the sale Of our coffee,
/ which. although it is by no means the
/ best in the market, is the equal OF any
/ that is grown in the Central American
countries If the French raise their
/ tariff We viii be deprived Of thst market
4 for our goods. which will leave Us prac-
/ ticaliy dependent on the United States
/ for all our sales. Before the war with
/ Spain we had large market for our cof-
/ fee in that country, without tariff. but
since the war that market has been
I closed TO US
Rivals Can Meet II.
Brazil and the South American coun-
/ tries are better able TO meet high tariff
/ than we are. because OF the superior
grade OF their coffee. With Germany.
/ France. Spain, and practically all Europe
/ closed to US. the coffee industry in Porto
Rico will die. If we are TO be assisted by
the United States. why DO they not pro-
/ tect US as they do themselves? Why do
/ they not allow us the same protective
tariff which made them great? We ask
/ only that they put a tariff on the coffee
/ Of other countries and allow US. who be-
/ long TO them, the free trade which is our
right
The sugar industry in our island Is
| controlled by corporations; so is the to-
bacco. but coffee grows wild. and is the
Z 81 = O~sF Fe a.
future Of the island. A protective tariff
on coffee would increase ths revenues OF
the United States-by more than 100000
year, and would save US"
In reply 10 the question as to the na-
ture Of his mission to the President, the
speaker said:
Z have come to tell the President the
truth about the feeling Of the people
OF Porto Rico in regard 70 the United
States and the laws Of the island. 9th
ers have talked 10 the President, but told
him only what they thought he would
ike to hear. am here to speak Of the
exact conditions.
People Not Satisfied.
''The people are not satisfied. They
want either citizenship to the United
States or self-government. They are as
well qualified as Cuba, and perhaps better.
They have a greater percentage Of men
who can read and write than has Cuba.
and as great q percentage as the United
States had when they began the founda-
ten Of their republic The laws do not
suit US. Poetry can be translated and
made TO fit another language, but laws
cannot. The same laws viii not rule all
peoples, and we have been treated to a
diversity Of them.
We are at the mercy Of the men the
President sends down to US. Fortunately,
they have been good men. but we trembIe
to think what might be- We have no
voice in our law-making to speak of; we
are in a position which is anything but
dignihed. and it is a smarting wound TO
our people. We realize that the United
States has many things TO think about.
and we are willing to wait indefinitely
if the promise Of citizenship is held out
to US. We would infinitely prefer citizen
ship 10 government for there is moth
ing in the world that is a greater honor
Ia our people than to be Americans.
mo man who comes fresh from the
United States can understand US and
make satisfactory laws First we get a
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