New-York tribune., 1921-05-29

Rivera, the islands late resident conn,.
sioner in Washington, was a Unionist 4.
tonic Il. Barcelo, here with the Porto Piss
committee, is the president of the TInio.;4'
party, the majority of the Porto Ricaps !
his country are Unionists and there arc o,.'
5000 resident Porto Ricans in New Yorl ~
and some 10000 more scattered throuoh..
the other large cities Of the United States :
was the Unioni s. too. who constantly ren;,.
er their party constituents that up to tQ,r
when citizenship was really offered hin, i
Porto Kican had but little more stand;n.
the United States than he had in 1902. wb..
in the case of Isabel Gonzales, the Sun,n.
Court decreed that the provisions Of Il.
Treaty of Paris held and that Porto R;e,,
were "aliens" and could enter the counts.
only as such. Citizenship had been M ,o..
denied that it was argued that if oeerod
would be refused. 1t is hard to make ou...
welcome after barring the door against ~,
for nineteen years, and it is not surnrs,.
that some of the less conservative Conserve
tives should plan extremes and advocate
greater reaction against conditions than sn,,
conditions seemed to the United States -
warrant.
1t is also equally plain to the observers =,
matters relating to the government Of pors
Rico that the United States is in no mood !,
relinquish any of the rights to her proud ma.
sessions in the West Indies. Porto Rico. fair.
est of all the Antilles, richest in soil, mon
perfect in climate, is yearly turning into IJncls
is taking out During the last decade tbs
islands commerce has increased from ss7.
100000 to $246, 100000, her coffee is tho
finest in the world, her pineapples rival thm
Of Hawaii, her grapefruit brings the larges
price in the New York market Even bsr
sugar, crippled as it has been by the frss
trade handicap under which it has had to com.
pete, has-thanks to the war-been enabled
to hold its own.
The West Indies have always held strs
tegic position in an approach to the mainland
Events in Europe are following so fast upon
the heel of rumor that apparently it behooves
the government at Washington to hold fast TO
it's little possession on the Caribbean border
And now that the world is ferrying across
both the Atlantic and the Pacific in the gen.
cral eagerness to pass through that needles
eye of commerce, the Panama Canal, Porto
Rico looms large in the way. San Juan is
Uncle Sans clearing house for South Amer.
ica, the halfway resting place between Bos.
ton and Buenos Ayres.
But-and it is an important "but"-the peo.
pie of Porto Rico have been made citizens Of
the United States. Immediately after being
so honored they demanded the right to serve
in the army and navy of their country, and
did so serve valiantly and heroically. Nov
that they have returned to the peaceful pur
suits of their little island they are again de-
manding that they be told, as citizens Of tbt
United States where they are to stand-a'
the members of state of the Union Or not
and, if not, they demand that they be giver
their independence.
This is the Porto Rican question.
It will be interesting to see what relief an
what cooperation the newly appointed chic
executive will bring to the adjustment Of tn
matter--how far he can and will go in the set
tlement of this all-important question Surel
no Governor ever came to the "Rich Port
with greater potential power for the politics
betterment of the million and quarter lOy'
Americans on this diminutive American par'
disc.