New Britain herald., 1921-07-12
GOVERNOR OF PORTO
 RICO TELLS PLANS
Intends to Work for Welfare Of
 Its Residents

Kansas City. Mo, July 12.-From a residence on quite street in Kansas City, F. Mont Reilly is moving to a palace Ill the tropics, palace built in the year 1515, with 35 rooms, 21 servants, throne room where once Spanish governors ruff1ed it in armor and bright silks, and courtyard gar dens bright with flowers.
 The palace is one of the perquisites that goes with being governor of Porto Rico a position to which Presi- dent Harding appointed his friend Mont Reilly a few weeks ago. Gov ernor Reilly sailed for his new domain July ID, to take up the task of colonial administration that has been assigned to him. He has already devoted con- siderable time and thought to the problems of Porto Rico and has ten tatively formulated a number of pol icies which he hopes to carry out.
 f'I want to see Porto Rico as truly ana completely American as any state i'll our Union,' the governor said in discussing. his plans for the island, land I have no sympathy for the movenlen. for making Porto Rico in dependent. I do not believe that the rank and file of Porto Rican voters il, propagandists are professional agita- tors many of whom were not even born on the island. To the Porto Ricans who desire independence, I would say: Make Porto Rico full f1edged state of the Union; elect your own governors then, and you will have all the independence you want, and be infinitely better off than if the is Io indonnrdant And the thoughtful men of Porto Rico, looking around them at some of the nominally independent countries of the West Indies, struggling with debts and other handicaps, appreciate the advantage of belonging to Uncle Sam.
 "I don't know what the feeling of the p,esident and Secretary Weeks would ne in regard to statehood for Porto Rico, and while I should like to see it, whatever their views are, are n,ne.
 "In line with this, I favor making the English primary language in the Porto Rican schools, and Spanish sec ondary. I want to see the Stars and Stripes the only flag in Porto Rico. There is q movement in the island for a Porto Rican flag. The American flag. under which our forefathers won their liberty, is the flag which brought liberty and self government to Porto Rico. I don't think we need try and improve upon it.
 T wart to see woman suffrage in Porto Rico and mean to work for it.
 Porto Rico passed a prohibition law in 1o17. I understand it has been rather laxly enforced. I mean to enforce it. It passed by a very large popular vote. If it can't be en- forced, it ought to be repealed.
 t1 should like to see a subsidy on Porto Pican coffee, which would put the industry on it's feet without in> fiicting hardship on the American breakfast ta b1e. A subsidy of quar- ter of a cent a pound-not enough to be noticed in the retail price of coffee would brig in $75, 5,000,000 a year to Porto Rican coffee growers, and go far toward putting the industry sol idly on it's feet.
 'There is another condition on the island that needs remedial legislation, and that is the condition of children, who have been abandoned by their fathers. There are literally thou sands of such children in Porto Rico, born in lawful wed1ock and then abandoned by their fathers. I should like to sec law, such as we have in Missouri, compelling fathers to sup port tkeir children and providing heavy penalties for the man who runs away from his duty.''