The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1936-03-25
AUTONOMOUS
PUERTO RICAN
MOVECAIN[NG
Would Be Liberators Have
Colorful And Fiery
Political Leader
BY w. F.. O'REILLY
United Press Staff Correspondent

! SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico. Mar.
rs. (UP)-The Nationalist party,
too weak to elect a single candi-
date to office in the last election
when it polled less than 2 per
cent of the total vote. has become
at least temporarily the dominant
/ force in molding Puerto Rican
public opinion, and may be. the de-
cisiye factor in determining the
islands permanent political status.
For the first time since Puerto
Rico became American territory
SO years ago the promise or
threat, depending on viewpoint
of an Independent republic seems
to many hitherto skeptics to be in
process of realization. Conserva-
tive observers, especially contin-
entail AmericacanS who in the past
regarded the independence move
ment as a romantic quest or a
sentimental gesture, admit that
recent ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
the Nationalist campaign of vio
lence and the popular reaction to
it. furnishes convincing evidence
! that the desire for separation from
the United State sis strong, earn
est. and widely felt.
An American business M d n
whose interests here over a score
of years have brought him into
contact with different social and
economic groups, asserts that
separatist sentiment and anti
,, Americanism have been constant
" growing stronger and that ma
tionalism in it's latest radical
phase is the inevitable climax OF
a long developing condition.
APPEALS TO EMOTIONS
The Nationalist party owes its
present emotional ascendancy in
great part to the power of its
leader Pedro Albizu Campos to
| awaken and dramatic rather
| primitive group and racial antag-
! onisms, Albizu Campos' "ideol !
ogy" is simply, easily understood,
| and above all Ego dtheatrc." His
creed is that Puerto Rico, a small
nation of Spanish descent, culture
and tastes, has, become the un-
willing vassal. state of the brutal
Yanqui empire of Anglo Saxon
blod and traditions whose only
| purpose is to exploit and enslave
| the native population. Every evil
in insular life, according to the
nationalists, has its origin in this
relationship and the only remedy
lies in an immediate rupture that
would leave Puerto Rice and inde.
pendent republic. .'..., ..-
To support his conquered ma
ton" doctrine Albizu Campos has
constructed theory of Puerto
Rican nationality which he asserts
| is based on the principles of inter-
national law. The autonomy chat
ter granted by Spain in the clos
ing months Of the old regime pro
vided that no treaty made by the
Spanish Crown should apply to the
| island until the colonial govern
ment had ratified it. The Treaty
of Paris by which, at the end OF
the Spanish American War, SPAN
transferred this island to the
United States, was not submitted
to the government for ratiflca-
ton. Consequently, Albizu con-
tends. the transfer had no validity
and when Spain withdrew Puerto
Rico became, and still remains, a
nation entitled to rule itself.
Hard-headed outsiders find 1t
difficult to understand how rela-
tivelv small group of enthusiasts
pledged to purpose that if ae-
complished, in all reasonable prob
ability will bring about the isl
and's economic ruin, should play
leading and perhaps controlling
role in forming public sentiment
The explanation lies to a very
large degree in local political his
tory since the American occupa-
ton. At the beginning of the
new regime the tw oprincipal par
ties-the Republicans and the
Federalists, who shortly became
the Unionists, made platform de-
clarations on the islands ultimate
political status. Republicans COM
mitted themselves to statehood,
thereby forcing their opponents to
favor or at least include another
solution. The latter declared for
,,l+;,>,,1o observation-disclosures ,l+bourI,