Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1913-07-11
ENGLISH NOT POPULAR
RlcANS EXPRESS PREFER.
ENCE FOR SPANISH TONGUE.
House of Delegates Has Put Itself on
Record in the Matter in a Way
That There Can Be No Mis-
understanding.

Letters and kilograms from San
Juan, Porto Rico, indicate that among
the most important of the problems in
that island possession with which
President Wilson soon will have to
deal, and in which he will be interest
ed both as chief executive and as an
educator, is the fight now being made
by the Unionist party there to force
the teaching of the English language
into the background of the education
al system of the island. says the New
York World.
The Porto Rico house of delegates,
which is solidly Porto Rican in mem.
bership, has just passed unanimously
bill which reads:
ut is hereby ordered that the Span
lsh language be exclusively used in
the graded schools of Porto Rico in all
recitations and exercises; provided,
however, that the English language
be taught as a preferred subject in all
grades"
In most of the schools the second
clause would be necessarily inopera-
tive because of the fact that the ma
iority of the native teachers-and they
are greatly in the majority in the
lsland-do not understand the English
language and hence cannot teach It.
And even If they could, the devoting
Of limited period Of each day would
accomplish little, especially as most
Of the children do not care to learn
English. Proof of this disinclination
Is shown in the fact that outside OF
their classes the pupils rarely make
even an attempt to speak English.
Defending the measure against 6
storm of criticism by Americans IN
Porto Rico, Antonio Barcelo, president
of the Unionist party, has issued 6
public statement attacking those who
oppose the bill. Senor Barcelo Is the
personal representative of Luis Muno!
Rivers, delegate from Porto Rico t.
Washington. He says in part:
THE whole country Is defendin,
through us the language Of our native
land. Perhaps you will find some nev
Porto Ricans willing to forget wha
they are, and even the language o
their mothers. They will fiatter fl
the best English imaginable; they will
speak Of how contented they live un
der this regime.
THE lower house was never 80 tru
to itself and to the people it repre-
sented as when it approved on tina
happy occasion the bill referred tc
The action of the house Is full of sis
nificance. 1t means that Porto Ric
wants to be Porto Rican; 1t mean
that the language Of our forefather
must be kept in all its purity, neve
to disappear. We want our children
to learn, but in the language the.
learned to say their first prayer t,
God; in which they understood tn,
first loving words Of their mothers
We are defending the language of ou
homes. We love our country, small
and weak as it is; here we were born
and death will find us here. There 4
not single sincere Porto Rican VIII
has failed to approve of our action
The country has learned Of it with az
plause and gladness.
There are other potent reasons 70
our action, which only blind mai
will fail to see. The purpose of ou
schools is not to teach English, but t,
diffuse learning; their object is to de
velop the mental faculties of our chill
dren to cultivate their intelligence
and educate their character. Ian
guage is the only means to reach tha
end"