Evening star., 1925-01-11
BY CAYETANo COLL CUCHI.
Former Speaker of the Porto Riean
House of Representatives.

In the last Sunday issue of your
paper appeared a statement by the
Resident Commissioner from Porto
Rico regarding information on Porto
Rican affairs made by "unimportant
persons, with tendency to discredit
the Insular Government" The infor-
nation to which the Commissioner
refers is that contained in a letter
addressed by me to President Cool
idge, commenting upon the public
finances of the island, and some 9TH
er statements made to congressman
and newspaper men concerning the
frauds and violences perpetrated in
the last elections held in Porto Rico.
We are asking for an investiga-
tion of the social, political and eco
nomic conditions of Porto Rico under
and by the authority of the President
or by Congress. The Commissioner
and his friends are opposing that
! They know how this country would
' be amazed to know the truth, other
than represented by interested re-
ports of government officials.
Other Side of Picture.
Every one of the figures quoted by
the Commissioner is true; but they
represent only one side of the pic
ture. The other side is this:
All the millions Of our commercial
trade are handled by half a dozen
banks and 40 or so corporations. Fac
ing that there are 80 per cent of the
total population of 100000 of the
poor peon and labor classes under
fed, barefoot. sick and uneducated.
The commissioner has been all his
life a public employe. drawing a pub
col 70 l.
mental language. I am a lawyer, a
corporation lawyer, one of the few
who profit out of the millions quoted
by the commissioner; but my con-
science rebels against the unbearable
conditions of life in which the great
majority of my countrymen live. I
Pknow that this nation would help us
If only it knew" and I want every
body TO know. For that reason, we
are asking for congressional hearings
and Investigations where all may be
said, heard and contradicted, support
ed by proper evidence.
II is misleading to use the per
capita as a test for taXpaying ca
pacity-human souls are not taxed
The real test must be the national in
come with relation to the national
wealth. There is no means to estab-
lish at present the national income of
gives as the national wealth" is the
assessed value of property" which
are two different things. That "as-
sessed value of property" is heavily
mortgaged perhaps to a so per cent
of the total, at a rate of interest from
to Is per cent.
Enormous Production Cost.
Besides, the cost of production be-
ing enormous, the balance OF trade
has lowered in favor OF the island, un-
til last year II was against il by
nearly 100000, and the condition
of the sugar companies, regardless of
official figures, is far from secure.
1t is not true that at the end of
the fiscal year for 1924 the receipts of
our treasury amounted to s12,61s.-
OS3.3e; but on the contrary, there were
receipts only TO the sum of S9,lsS,-
3S5S3, or perhaps less, because in
that amount there are included trans
fers from trust funds into the gem
eral funds available for expenditures.
The budgetary expenses being $12,-
45I,72443, there was a considerable
deficit which has been made good by
q loan of S2,000,0o0 from the banks.
That loan Is counted by the Com
missioner as receipts, in order to show
a cash balance in the treasury at the
end of the year of $402, 2,154.06.
The commissioner mentions the
sum of S3,O35,661.S1 as uncollected
delinQueRt taxes, as If this amount of
money represented taxes uncollected
during the year 1924, when as a mat
ter Of fact they correspond TO several
years. The uncollected taxes from
1884 do not represent an amount OF
money equal 70 that Of the $4,000 600