The Coolidge examiner., 1931-05-08

Society Washington. D. C.)
DORTO RICO'S problems-prOb-
lens that have flowed strange
ly enough in large part from
improved sanitation and health and
the consequent rapid increase in
pOpulatiOn-have come more plain
ly into view of the American peo-
pie as a result of President Hoo
ver'S trip TO the island. The area
OF Porto Rico is only once and a
half that of Delaware, but into its
3,435 square miles are crowded more
than million and hale people
nearly seven times the population
OF Delaware. This gives the island
a population density IF approx
mately $50 to the square mile
With more labOrers than there is
work TO be done, unemployment is
a perennial evil, and a job is like
an heirloom to be handed down
from generation to generation when
ever possible.
Usually the plantation labOrer
and his entire family go barefoot
because there are no funds with
which to buy shoes. The young
boys in the rural districts com
commonly run about with less than
the prOverbial fig leaf to clothe
them and suffer not at all, thanks TO
the glorious climate.
Food, perfOrce. is both simple and
scarce. Rice and beans with a little
bit of salt cod, appear on the table
when the wage earners are ell
ployed; but these are important an'.
cost money, so they disappear when
the job ends. Then bananas, sweet
potatoes. and native vegetables
raised on their small patches of
ground must tide the families over
until another period of employment
begins.
The United States Department Of
Agriculture is trying to induce the
natives to raise Belgian hares. The
rapidity with which these animals
breed, the quickness with which
they attain maturity. and the ease
with which their food require
ments are met in tropical environ
ment make them poor mans cat
tie par excellence. Hare raising
would solve the jibaro's meat prob
lem as perhaps no other industry
could.
If one examines the census re-
turns, the conclusion will likely be
drawn that Porto Rico has a high
percentage of home growers; but a
very large proportion of these
homes are merely thatched shacks,
costing perhaps $25 each.
Plantation owners are glad TO
have natives build the shacks on
their estates. as constant supply
of cheap labor is thus provided.
There are few mortgages, as such
buildings are not worth mortgag-
ing.
The thatch, made of rough grass
or palm leaves. is sometimes used
for side walls as well as the roof,
though more frequently the walls
are made of royal-palm bark. Flat
tened tin cans and discarded CORFU
gated metal sheets are also utilized.
r1OHlcIIldOe OIcnSiS.
Dishes and utensils are largely
homemade. Gourds and discarded
tin cans are substituted for the
pots and pans of continental kitch.
ems. Hammocks and floor pallets
take the place of beds and chairs.
The rural, laboring native is
known as ''jibaro." which literally
means escape from civilization. y
Good natured. reconciled TO a hard
lot and a precariOus existence, a
mixture of Indian and Spanish. he
combines the carefree ideals of the
redskin and the impetuOus temper
ament of the Spaniard.
The jbaro inherits his name
from the distant past. After Co.
lumbus discovered the island and
Ponce de Leon awakened it. a gold
fever brought many Adventures,
service. Those natives who could
escape fed to the interior. away
from their slave-driving masters.
Some of the pioneering Spaniards
made homes for themselves with
native women, by whom they had
numerous children. These all too
often were turned adrift.
Furthermore, in the past Spain
sent to the island many petty of
tenders, who sooner or later were
released to wander inland from the
civilization that fringed the coast.
Out of diverse types and races
has been bred the jibaro.
One of the potent factors in the
development of Porto Rico has been
the constabulary system under
American supervision.
The police force, which under the
Spanish regime consisted of less
than 800 officers and men, when the
island was formally taken over by
the United States. was replaced by
military police under the com
mand of Gen. John r. Brooke.
In 1899 the present insular police
of Porto Rico was organized with
a force of six officers and 10U
guardsmen. This was almost i'm