Weekly journal-miner., 1916-01-12
PORTO RICANS TO
 ASK FOR CITIZENSHIP

. Press )-Whether Porto Ricans are
 to be successful tilis year in getting
 the United States Congress to admit
 them to American citizenship Is the
 question uppermost in the minds ot
 most Porto Ricans at present. Al- though citizenship has been promised
 since the days of the Spanish-Ameri-
 can war and American occupation, seventeen years ago. caC1 congress
 since that time has failed to pass the necessary laws. The islanders are now hopeful that the first Demo cratic administration since 1898 will act favorably and give them a definite
 political status. At present Porto
 Ricans are merely ''c;tizcns of Porto Rico"
 In the hope that favorable legis- lation may be obtai1ed. Governor Ar thur Wager will spend the month of January in Washington urging con. gross to act. Bills providing a new organic act to take the place of the temporary Foraker Act. which went into force in 1901 establishing civil government and which has been in force ever since, have already been introduced in congress by Chairman Jones of the house committee on in- sular affairs. and by Senator Willard Salisbury of Delaware.
 ''Tne new organic act should grant to the people of Porto Rico collec- tive citizenship i1 the United States" said Governor Wager before sailing. T know of no simple gift that would go so far toward removing dissatisfaction and difficulty in Porto Rico as this simple grant of citizen ship. and none that would be attend cd with so little cost and risk.
 People speak of citizenship as privilege To my mind 1t is not a privilege at all, but a right It is the necessary complement of sover- eignity and should go with the flag. The people of Porto Rico must obey all the laws of the United States, pay taxes, are liable to military ser vices, and yet they are not citizens.
 Citizenship does not at all imply suffrage or the power to vote for any officer of the government or any thing else. In the United States there are now many more citizens who have not the privilege of the suffrage than those who have. The people of the District of Columbia never have had the privilege to vote floor anybody or anything and yet they are citizens. Most of the negroes of the South. the minors of both sexes. and as yet an immense majority of the women of the country are not permitted to vote and yet TO one would think of excluding these classes from the rights of citizenship"
 The chief features of the bills to be considered by congress. it IS ex- pected here, will provide both for blanket citizenship and a greater de gree of home rule The most impor- tant home rule feature is the pro vision for an elective senate of nine teen members. The present lower house of the legislature is already elected. while the present upper house -or senate is composed of eleven mem bers. all of whom are appointed by the president of the United States. and six of whom are heads of executive departments of the insular govern i ment.
 Those most interested in the pas sage of new organic act for Porto l Rico have been much encouraged by | the presidents recent message to con gross in which he recommended new | legislation for both Porto Rico and | the Philippines.
 At the same time Porto Ricans point out that reference to legisla- ton for them is so closely associated with that urged for the Philippines that they fear the two may become confused and that in the fight which they expect will develop over def ming a policy for Philippines inde- pe1dence Porto Rico may again be disappointed.
 Here in the island it is said that all difficulties which heretofore have developed over legislation by con gress in behalf of Porto Rico have been cleared away. The most i'm portant step which has been taken re- gently was the adoption of new platform by the Unionist party. the majority party in the island. renounc' i1g its independence platform and confining itself to policy of home rule. Almost invariably in the past when legislation for the island has been under consideration at Washing