El Imparcial. (San Juan, P.R.) 1918-197?, 1919-05-22
OPINIONS OF MY OWN
arp By Claudio Cap6.
OUR MAIN
PROBLEM
! (Parenthesis)

(parenthesis) were familiar with representative
ii - IL government, at the time when they
~ declared themselves independent,
while the Spanish Colonies in this part of the world did not
know any other but personal government
Spaniard friend of has expressed to us his frank
opinion that we have exaggerated the picture praisng
the English system of colonization and painting the work
Of Spain here with too dark coors IN other Words tnat
we have been unusy harsh toward Spain and too par
tialin favor OF England
Ino,. case there occurs also the circumstance that
aveived for many years in the United States and it
would beDny too human for many persons TO peeVe aC
we have americanzed ourselves much that we allow
our admiration for that country it's history and nstt
tos influence our judgement; therefore cannot let
theopportny pass without clearly explaining 1urtner
the objected to by friend and we sincerely
hone that our explanation will satisfy him or anybody
ese.Hl3a | +
Let us repeat before going any further that far from
being hspanophobe proud OF the fact that our
ancestors were all Spanish. Furthermore, we always
wereas much interested in things Spanish as we were IN
things American Spanish history art literature always
had our cordial attention. and we have not succeed
I'D in the cultivation of Spanish which is our vernaculaf
- ,a@tb nfau Of mind and not OF our heart why
Il have branded as stupid any step in that direction
and again we have said that we Porto Rcans
insist in keeping every good thing Spain left US
Jig the language.
}Eoming to the point, let us say that our best
(. Vour friend would be History itself. We did not
Nv that the English system of colonization was SUI
the Spanish frankly Isl spfakng Sast e. we o ae vmaoe nao@
5 I~did say was that while the American colonies
$sentative governments, their commons
xoesses, assemblies and other provincial,
s. king bodies being copies of the English
81 &bansh colonists had nothing of the Kind.
~ MATters Of those English colonies were SO
Four memory is right, the constitutions OF
Sand connecticut did not have to be changed
6ese colonies hecame sovereign states OF the Unlon
1Ae even elected the governor.
The English governors of the other provinces were not
lat all like the Spanish vceroys; those governors were
more or less gureheads according to their personality
and more than once it happened that the man having
been found persona grata by the coonsts ne was
shipped back to England without any ceremony.
ENGLAND was too busy with her own troubles to pay
much attention to these ries but when she thought she
could impose her will in America in auocratc manner
she found much to her that she could not 40 IT,
because the coonists knew too well their rights as free
Enelish citizens. Independence was the result
Our friend explained to that the English settlers
exteiinated the redskins while the Spamards dld not
the result that there few Indians left in the Unlted
States,while in Latin America they constitute the bulk
of the population We recognize the fact and that is
exactly why we said above that really 90 not know
which of the two systems Of colonization was better
more humane" But not studying causes; we are
concerned with the facts The undeniabe fact IN
case is that England left behind selfgoyern
lpeopes, while Spain gave up colonies whose lnhab-
would have Jared much better it, instead OF states
by republican institutions which they could not
tand, they would have become limited monarchles
az until they had acquired the political experience
6a to the highest among the forms OF government
CHILE CON CARNE
IfJ,s Diaz Caneia had been sugar planter for the