The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-09-16
RICANS
RESENT NAVY
RULE OF U. S.
American Corporations
Hold Monopoly
BY VICENTE oEIeEL PoLANco

President JuVentud NaclonalIsta do
San Juan, P. r., Member Of Ma
tIonallst Party, Member Execu-
tive Committee Porto RIean
Section AlI-AmerIca AntI-In-
perlallst League.
TINE imperialist war fought by the
4 United States at the end OF the
nineteenth century brought Porto Rico
within it's zones of exploitation. In
twenty-eight years of colonial govern
ment we are not indebted for a single
act Of Justice. In Porto Rico there is
no such a thing as liberty. There is
what might be called sort Of politi-
cal tolerance; that is, we are allowed
to say, just to say, certain things.
Freedom of speech? No, indeed. A
mere trick to deceive naive minds.
The essentials of democracy, the fun
damental principles Of representative
government are beyond our reach. The
Jones act, our Organic Law, is one
Of the most oppressive pieces of legis-
lation congress has ever passed. Com
pared with the Autonomous Charter
we enjoyed under the Spanish regime,
the latter reveals a higher sense of
Justice, purer conception of political
liberty. And that was law of mo-
narchical SpainI
Dependency Of War Department.
DORTO RICO is a dependency of the
4 war department. The welfare Of
the whole country rests on the whim
Of an imperialist body as is the bureau
Of insular affairs. Congress forced
upon the Porto Ricans American citi-
zenship: a citizenship meaningless to
our spirit, useless In. our social life,
deprived Of the moral significance 1t
has in the states. The new status Of
citizens Of the great republic has not
changed in any sense our abnormal
political situation. AS a matter OF
fact, the American citizenship was
granted to the Porto Ricans not as
an act of justice to a community
highly civilized, but, as voiced by the
bureau Of insular affairs, as con-
elusive demonstration of the perma-
nent occupation of the island. In other
words, American citizenship, the
purest expression of political rights
for a loyal American, WAS used as a
tool for imperialistic Vaccinations.
American corporations hold such a
monopoly over the land that more
than 10000 small landowners have al
ready disappeared. Our economic
situation Is becoming worse. We have
no industries. And the fate of our
agricultural production depends on
the humor Of Wall Street.
Impose Foreign Tongue.
DORTO RICO Is q Spanish-speaking
L country. Our traditions, culture,
mode of living are essentially Spanish.
The imperial government has tried, in
vain, to change these conditions. The
fight against the language-tha. is the
highest expression Of our personality
has been continuous and merciless.
Public instruction, practically from the
kindergarten to college, is conducted
in English If teaching in foreign
tongue is not pedagogical crime, l
do not know what It is. Spanish, our
vernacular language, is taught as a
special subject! In the University of
Porto Rico there are courses on the
history and literature OF practically
every country. with one exception
Porto Rico. Perhaps the authorities
think that the knowledge of our his
torical development and the formative
elements of our nationality might en-
danger their schemes for the Amer
icanization Of the island. Porto Rican
youth must ignore the doing and think
ing Of our great men, but she must
know by heart the most trivial facts
about Jefferson, Lincoln and the rest
Of the American national heroes. The
oficial policy consists in keeping our
youngsters in complete ignorance OF
everything that is related to our life
as a people of a different race.
AmerIcanizatlon A Failure.
TN spite of these tyrannical measures,
i Americanization in Porto Rico
has been a failure. And that is so due
largely to our cultural resources. The
first civilized community was before
from that date on our standards OF
living have been essentially European.
Spanish is spoken thruout the island.
We have literature Of our own.
TINE failure of Americanization Is
L also due to the governmental pol
icy OF imperial America. Porto Ricans
thought that America stood for liberty,
democracy and similar slogans, power
full enough to lure the crowds. But
when we realize that the United
States stands In Porto Rico for both
economic and political exploitation;
when we realize that political corrup-
ton has been the most remarkable
product OF the new regime (the poll
ticians being by-product). the senti-
ment of national independence has
conquered the public mind in such a
way that the Porto Ricans will never