Milford chronicle., 1961-09-01
Statehood Lingers
In Puero Rico



SAN JUAN. Puerto Rico (AP)-
The effort to make Puerto Rict
the 51st state in the American I'm
ion continues-but it's an up
hill battle almost all the way.
Statehood advocates in recen
years have been encouraged by the
admission of Alaska in 1858 ant
Hawaii in 1859.
Their hopes leaped again this
year when residents of the Dis
trict of Columbia finally were Civ.
an the right to vote.
But the obstacles, if not mum
erous. are big and important.
For one thing. there is now com
paratively little agitation in the
u. S. Congress- to vote statehood
for this Caribbean island.
For another, Gov. Luis Muno2
Marin OF Puerto Rico is sQuarely
against statehood in this genera
ton or the next one Economic lun-
acy. he called it when a reporter
preached the question. Suicidal, he
told an inquiring congressman.
I'll ltlC OtHCi u<tiiur WI nv wv
Rexford G.. Tugwell, who served
by appointment in the Franklin
d. Roosevelt New Deal days de-
cIared ON a visit here this Spring:
The islands evolution is toward
statehood"
And Luis A. Ferre, who ran for
governor against Munoz last year,
is still hopefully carrying on the
fight for statehood.
Ferre. an important leader of
Puerto Rico's business community,
contends that statehood would help
give stability to the islands econ
omy.
But primarily, he argued, the
thing at stake is "the hallowed
sacred right of Americans to ex-
ercise the right of self-determina-
ton and to enjoy the full blessings
of representative democracy.
Since 1852, Puerto Rico has ex-
listed as self-governing common
wealth within the American union.
Its residents do not have a vote
for president or any voting rep
resentation in Congress. They do
not pay federal taxes.
Gov. Munoz contends that FEEDER
al taxes. on top of those the COM
monwealth has to impose, would
either break the back of the tax
payer or force a ruinous cut-down
of public service. Federal taxes
would accompany statehood
Tn hA 10 On pnnrfn p inO
has made great economic strides,
most of them under Munoz' ad-
ministration. but its per capita in
come is stifk far below the lowest
of any of the so states now in the
Union.
During an inquiry into island is
sues by visiting U. S. House
subcommittee, there was this ex-
change.
Rep. Jack Westland. R-Wash.-
81 wanted to ask you, governor.
what effect statehood for Hawaii
and Alaska has had here in Puerto
Rico"
Gov. Munoz-"A psychological
effect rendering the understanding
OI tNOIfOililtS ODSiCuIt.
That itself sounded obscure to
Westkand, so the governor expand
ed:
Il mean. Congressman, that some
people that are for statehood have
become so enthusiastic about il
that they forget all the economic
facs of life"
Ferries reply to that line of ar
gument:
Whatever additional taxes were
paid. we would gladly pay to as
sure the stability which would
come to Puerto Rico from the en-
joyment of its sovereign rights,
convinced that in the long run they
would be greatly compensated by
increased economic activity"
In an interview, Munoz was re-
minded that some statehood advo-
Gates had spoken Of him as their
only real obstacle, and he COM
mented:
81 doubt it very much. Their
obstacle is that the people of
Puerto Rico like the common
Wtdftn 6Osti navy
shown so repeatedly at the polls
The people showed most recent
~, in the election last November,
that they certainly liked MunOz,
or his party, or both. They gave
Munoz' Popular Democrats 457 ,S87
votes, or more than 100000 more
than the other three parties COM
bined
Still. Ferries Republican State
hood party could find reason to
feel encouraged. Its hackers point
out that that their total of 249,446
was a 43 percent improvement
over four years earlier.
Munoz is conceded by all to be
an extraordinarily popular individ-
ual. The party-by-party returns
might have been vastly different
had he not headed the Popular
Democratic ticket.
Munoz is So years old now and
some day, of course, he'll be out
of the political picture. When thai
day comes, Puerto Ricans of All
sorts say. anything can happen