The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-03-21

the Dill 10 make ClJlZeuS OF EOTJO lG'
co citizens of the United States tool
place in the House of Representatives
on March 4. Mr.. Jones of Virginia
who moved the passage of the bill
said in part:
Mr.. Jones Opens.
Mr.. Speaker, the object of this bill
is twofold. One of its purposes is tc
settle and definitely fix the political
and civil status of the people of the
island of Porto Rico The other is to
make those persons who are now de.
fined to be citizens of Porto Rico citi.
zens of the United States.
During the second session of the
Sixty-first Congress a bill providing
for American citizenship for the peo-
pie of Porto Rico was passed by this
House. This bill is recommended by
the Secretary of War and each of the
great political parties of this country
in its last national platform declar-
ed unequivocally in favor of confer
ring American citizenship upon the
people of Porto Rico. So this bill in
wolves no political question. It has
the Endorsement of both the Republi-
can and the Democratic Party
The organic act of Porto Rico, ap-
proved April IL, 1900, known as the
Foraker Act, provided that all inhab-
itants continuing to reside in Porto
Rico who were Spanish subjects on
the 18th day Of April, 1899, and then
residing therein, and their children
born subsequent thereto, should be
deemed and held to be citizens of Por-
to Rico
This bill proposes not only to make
the citizens of Porto Rico, as defined
in the Foraker Act, citizens of the
United States, but also those natives
of Porto Rico who were temporarily
absent from the island on the 18th
of April, 1899, and who have returned
thereto and are now permanently re-
siding therein, and who are not citi-
zens of any foreign country.
In order that nobody in Porto Rico
affected by this proposed legislation
may hereafter be able to say that the
people of Porto Rico were not con-
suited as to whether or not they
should be made citizens of the United
States, it is provided in this bill that
within six months after its passage
any citizen of Porto Rico may go into
the district court Of the district in
which he resides and declare his pur-
pose not to become citizen of the
United States.
Now, Mr.. Speaker, there are a great
many eminent lawyers who holland
I may say that such is the opinoin of
the attorney general of Porto Rico
that citizens of Porto Rico are already
citizens of the United States. I, Mr..
Speaker, believe that this is true, but
they have not been held to be such
by those who administer the laws of
Porto Rico, either in this country or
that island
If we are going to bestow American
citizenship upon the people Of Porto
Rico at all, We ought, l think, to do |
it collectively and not compel each
one of the male adults in population
of eleven hundred thousand people to !
go into court and go through pro-
cess of naturalization, which I under
stand to be the proposition Of the
gentleman (Mr. Martin of South Da-
kota who had interrupted the speak
err. II we are going to give them
American citizenship it should be done
freely and not grudgingly.
Mr.. Mann's Remarks.
Mr.. Mann of Illinois said: Our Ian
guage in reference to territories is
not very accurate, but I do not think
anybody will very seriously contend
that Porto Rico is an organized Terri
tory. I believe the time has passed
when it would do any good to oppose
this bill. do not think we ought toi
pass a bill Of this sort without some
knowledge OF its natural consequence.
It is as inevitable, in my, judgment, as
that the sun will rise tomorrow, that
when Porto Rico is an organized Ter
ritory of the United tSates and her
citizens are made citizens of the Unit
ed States, they will at once COM
mence to demand admission into the
Union with greater force and with
better logic than they ask to be made
citizens. If they are citizens OF the
United States with a population such
as they have, it is not practicable for
any long time to deny their request or
demand that they shall become a
State of the Union, Perhaps that is
the proper thing to do. Perhaps there
is good reason for doing 1t, and yet
have some doubt about it. 1t is
quite likely that We would in some
way have amalgamated Cuba before
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