The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1916-09-13
mIseovERNMENT OF PORTO RICO

IMISGOVERNMENT Of run - MN
| Primary evidence as to bad appoint
lments made in the foreign service b.
President Wilson came to light at Den
ison last week when Mrs. Halle L
Hill, the expert on missions, spoke il
her closing talk in the Presbyterian
church.
| Mrs. Hill is woman of superio
abilities and has devoted her ener
gies for many years to mission work
particularly in South America ant
Cuba and Porto Rico. She was {
member of the great religion council
which met in Panama last year, ant
then continued herr Investigation int
Peru, and now devotes her entire time
to nterdenominational work. This II
said to make clear that what she may
say as to conditions in Porto Rice
comes at first hand and as result O.
months stay on that island, In De
cember last Nj
Mrs. Hill, in her address, first tolt
as to the work done by the various
denominations in that island and thel
came to political conditions. She la
mented that the island had been Ris
governed as the result Of governors
being sent there who were in nc
way qualified to act. She said that the
present governor was taken from the
presidency of very small college in
| a small town in a southern state. He
had no knowledge of the Spanish Ian
iguage. was blissfully ignorant OF the
customs, social and domestic, of the
Spanish people, and therefore utterly
| at sea as to how to fill the important
duties of the representative of the
United States among q population ex
citable, prejudiced and needing the
utmost care to bring to proper view
Of what the government at Washing
ton intended to do for them.
As sample of the laundering OF
this college professor, Mrs. Hill eX.
plained his manner of handling affairs
political 1t seems that zone party
which calls itself republican, is favor.
able to the United States and the ap.
pointive officers have been put in the
hands Of representatives of this par
ty. The new democratic governor con-
ceived the brilliant idea that if he
put all the officials out who favored
the United States government, and
put in those from the party which did
IL WUulu IcSulL LII lACA
friends and capture the enemies. This
was done, but with the result which
might be expected. All the republi.
cans were Disguised, and the OppOn-
ents held office and continued to fight
the governor and his policies, so things
are in a beautiful mass politically.
Mrs. Hill said that the lawyer who
had been made the chief judicial off.
Ger of the island seemed to be a level
headed man and giving satisfaction.
Both governor and judge. which,
coming with their wives from the
south, were prejudiced against any
social recognition of persons having
negro blood in their veins, however
little. Now in Porto Rico, Mrs. Hill
said there were no color lines, for there
was hardly person who did not have
negro blood and so the wives Of the
Judge and the governor could not ard
would not treat the wives of even the
highest Porto Rician officials with be.
coming decencyi and this made mat.
tiers worse for the American govern.
nlent in trying TO make friends with
the new people, which were in time to
become citizens Of this country. ~
Our candidate for president, Hughes
has persistently charged that the ap.
pointments made by Wilson were un.
wise, not based on capacity, previous
knowledge of the duties they were to
fill, but on political obligations to the
appointee or his hackers. The testi-
mony of Mrs. Hill, who did not speak
for political effect but to explain the
difficulties of missionaries in Porto
Rico in winning the natives to Ameri:
can ideas, bears out the charge that
President Wilson is guilty of what is
said of him as to the appointments.