The New York herald., 1921-11-21
ship FIRED AT SEA,
GOVERNOR RELY OF
4PORTORlCO ABOARD
Blaze in Hold of Vessel Lasts
Four Days and Is Be-
lieyed Incendiary.
SECESSIONISTS BLAMED
Turbulent Crowd at Pier
Flaunt Placards Holding
Him Up to Scorn.
ELUDES PLOTTERS HERE
England Has Its Ireland and
the United States It's Porto
Rico,' Is Slogan.
ELUDEs PLOTTERs HERE

Usually Governors Of Porto Rico
arrive in New York unheralded and
never upset the complacency o. the
port. IT was different at sunset yes
terday when the Atlantic Fruit liner
Tanamao docked at the foot of Rector
street bringing in Gov. f.. Mont. Reilly
and a nearly suppressed fire that had
been burning and smouldering in the
ships hold four days. The fire, it was
said, was plainly Of incendiary origin,
and the inclination Of Some of the
twenty cabin passengers was to at
tribute the blaze to plot of the Porto
Rico secessionists, more politely called
the Independents.
The excitement of four days of fire
fighting by Capt. Herbert Hudson and
his officers and men had affected the
nerves of some of the voyagers. Gov.
Rely was not altogether exempt, and
also was under stress because of
threatening letters sent to him by
was not relieved when. he learned that
about 200 former residents of Porto
Rico were at the street end of the
pier waiting to give him an ardent
ironical reception and chase him in
automobiles to the Hotel Vanderbilt
The Governor and his friends, as
sisted BY the police, decided to disap-
point the wecomers, so the harbor
police were called and the Governor
was taken aboard the police boat John
r. Hylan secretly and landed at Pier
a, whence he was whisked uptown
in a taxicab.
The Deepest Cut of All.
The welcomers had become noisy and
were gathered in senii-circle in front
of the pier. equipped with white ban
ners held aloft on poles. They pointed
to the inscriptions on the banners with
great glee and shouted uncomplmentary
things in Spanish and English in the di-
rection from which they expected the
Governor to appear. One inscription In
letters nearly foot high, was:
Reilly Is Not An Irishman.
Irishmen Like Freedom.
Other banners bore these notices
The Porto Rican Nationalist Association
of New York Protests Against Your
Autocracy.
'L'etat c'est Moi"--Reily.
Reilly. America Never Trained You to Ee
Tyrant.
Britain Has Its Ireland. America Its
nrtn
How Are You, Reilly? You're Looking
Quite Well.
The strategsts among the Governors
friends decided to entice the demonstra-
tors from the pier and at the same time
fool them a bit, so they piled baggage
in taxicab. pulled down the curtains
and had the chauffeur make speed from
the pier. while they inspired cry of
There goes the Governor!" to follow
the taxicab. The demonstrators bit and
after they had tied their banners to the
automobiles, lit out in procession. after
the vacant taxicab, which gave them a
fine circuitous lead that wound I'D at
nowhere In particular and wore out the
pursucrs.
right Fire with steam.
Then the passengers told about the
fire and how the gallant skipper and
his crew had mastered IL after hard
battle. during which the passengers were
sometimes at high tension At first, when
l. was found that there was dangerous
blaze in hold No. 2. about amidships,
among lot of tobacco and cocoanuts,
two days after the liner sailed from sam
Juan, an effort was made to keep tho
knowledge from the passengers. but the
odor OF burning tobacco became strong
md (innt Hndenp Of pdo ;p4,
his confidence, assuring them that the
fire equipment of the ship was equal to
any emergency. Meanwhile the life
boats were swung out on the davts
ready to launch.
They frcttcd much and slept indiffer-
emily or not at all on Friday and Satur-
day night The skipper and chief cngi-
necr reported that the live steam being
constantly injected through the pipes
into the hold where the fire was raging
would surely end N, and 1t did practical
~ before the steamship tied UP at her
pier yesterday. The conduct of skipper
ond crew was the subject OF resolutions
signed by nineteen of the twenty
passengers. including several women.
The one who did not sign was not able
to, being baby. The resolutions
praised the skipper and officers and crew
for their admirable coolness and cour-
tBc Hiu tfntttHts III tOItTofilUE ana
puppressing the fire and the example
they set in sllaying fear and preventing
panic"
Fire Bomb suspccted.
Governor Reilly ssid he did not wish
10 express any opinion OF tho conduct OF
the independents either at Porto Rico
or here or give an opinion as TO the
origin OF the fire. Senator Santiago
oglesias of Porto Rico, Chief OF Police
George s. Mcclure. immigration Conn
Missioner r. H. Todd and Agricultural
Commisnioncr. Carlos Tcro accompanied
Governor Rely IL was learned from
Continued on Page SIX.
Theatrical and Hotel and Restaurants
A .AnNnrllslnr. a..Iu he fftind mn Il d..