The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-03-12
PICTURES WRONGS
OF PORTO RICO
Pathetic Incident at Close of
Congress as Commissioner
Larrinaga Speaks.
DECLARES HIS PEOPLE
ENTITLED TO CITIZENSHIP
Country Has Suffered Much
Through Government by
American Council.
Special to The Tribune.

Special to The Tribune.
WASHINGTON. March 10,-Tbe most
pathetic incident to occur during the
Fifty ninth Congress came during the
last hour of the last session last Mon
day. Mr. Tulic Larrinaga, Comnls-
sioner from Porto Rico, when the court
was about TO adjourn, the jury to DO
dismissed and no new cases taken up,
was at last gwen few moments In
which to place in the record state
ment of the wrongs of which his fellow
aliens complain at the hands Of the
United States Without citizenship,
without standing, and without a right
to recognition, he could only act by the
courtesy of the House
"Mr. Speaker he said, "within the
short time at my disposal and AT this
late hour I cannot undertake TO present
the arguments to show that my coun-
try is entitled to self government. /
Will therefore merely say that the peo-
pie of Porto Rico, for whom | am al
lowed to speak, not by law but by the
courtesy OF this House, contend that
they have a full right to be represented
here in this House as they were repre-
sented for thiTtyhve years in the span,
ish Congress- We had ten full-ledged
representatives there to look after lcgls-
lation affecting Porto Rico and they did
pass the most important law that the
Spanish Congress ever passed or ever
viii pass in the centuries TO come, 1t
was the Porto Rican delegation, by
their votes, that placed upon the Span
isb statute books the law setting free
$4,000 slaves in Porto Rico. The last
provision of that act was that il should
be at once made effective by cable. and
those $4,000 slaves arose, free, and
thanking God that the Porto Ricau free
men knew how to make use OF the right
given them by Spain, and which is de-
MED by this great Congress of the great
est nation In the world.
Suffered Many Calamities.
With American occupation of our
island came one calamity after another,
First the great cyclone which swept
away the coffee industry. Then the
Dinglev tariff set between us and the
rest OF the world, but without giving lis
access TO the markets of the United
States. These two events killed all
credit with foreign trade ceuters there.
tofore enjoyed by our people, and there
was no means of raising money with
which TO rehabilitate our devastated
plantations. The people of the island,
through their House Of Delegates, de
cided 10 raise S5,00O.000 by means of
a loan. the money to be reloancd to
such planters rs could give adequate
security, but the other house Of our
Legislature. the Executive Council,
which is not elected by the people, but
is appointed by the President, and is
composed of a majority Of Americans,
vetoed the loan, The result was that
most Of the small coffee planters were
ruined and their plantations have
fallen into the hands of rich bankers
and wealthy merchants. We paid for
our slaves within a few years after
setting them free. We have always
recovered from such calamitieS as the
hurricane of 1899 within a year or
two. Porto Rico, when left to the
free exercise OF her own resources, has
always been forehanded community,
and has lent money to the crown treas
ury, to Santo Domingo and even to the
rich island of Cuba At the present
moment Cuba owes $3.50 900 to our
island treasury. Yet all these facts
were disregarded by the Americans in
the upper House of our Legislature.
We know what we could do and what
the lower House of our Legislature,
whom we have elected, know what
We could do and what we ought to do.
Americans Vetoed Plans.
'FBut the American members of the
upper House, who were in the major
ity, but who were not familiar with
the island or the people or what thew
had done and could do again, vetoed
our attempt TO help ourselves T will
not mention all the calamities, misery
and destitution that followed But for
the first time in the long and there
tofore prosperous history of Porto
Rico native Porto Ricans were com
PEELED to emigrate to foreign countries
in order that they might live They
went to Peru, Mexico and Hawaii
Among those who remained, men,
women and children starved in their
little homes in the mountains or
dropped from exhaustion on their way
to beg crumb to keep them alive.
Nor was the destruction of our
markets the last calamity to befall us
through the upper House Of our Lepis-
lature. A law provided for the even
exchange of our silver coins for Amer.
ican coins. Thus 100000 silver coins
were reduced to less than 100000 sill.
ver coins and certificates, when by sim
ply recoining our silver pesos, which
were of superior fnencss TO the Amer.
Ican dollars, the exchange could have
been made without the loss Of cent
to our islanders. This enormous con.
traction in our circulating medium ia
known in financial circles on the island
as the "second cyclone The effect
Of all these conditions has been that
1t has taken seven years of hard toll
TO restore IN part, only, the former
economic conditions in the island,
Finds Fault With System,
Now, Mr.. Speaker, when l say that
these calarnitics were inflicted upon
US by the Executive Council, that is
the upper House Of our Legislature. our
Senate, so to speak, DO not mean