4
N
3
PRESIDENT TELLS
OF CONDITIONS
I PORTO RICO
Special Message the Re
sult of Chief Execu
tives Recent Visit
MUCH GOOD WORK DONE
Progress Made Under American Ad
ministration Is Pointed to with
Pride Last Year the Most Pros
perous the Island Has Ever Known
Congress Urged to Confer Full
American Citizenship Upon the
Porto Ricans Vould Have All In
sular Governments Placed in One
Bureau
Washington President Roosevelts
message describing conditions in Por
to Rico and making recommendations
for legislation he believes necessary
was read to the congress It is as fol
lows
To the Senate and House of Represen
tatives
On November 21 I visited the island
of Porto Rico landing at Ponce cross
ing by the old Spanish road by Cayey
to San Juan and returning next morn
ing over the new American road from
Arecibo to Ponce the scenery was
wonderfully beautiful especially
among the mountains of the interior
which constitute a veritable tropic
Switzerland I could not embark at
San Juan because the harbor has not
been dredged out and can not receive
an American battleship I do not
think this fact creditable to us as a
nation and 1 earnestly hope that im
mediate provision will be made for
dredging San Juan harbor
I doubt whether our people as a
whole realize the beauty and fertility
of Porto Rico and the progress that
has been made under its admirable
government We have just cause for
prido in the character of our represen
tatives who have administered the
tropic islands which came under our
flag as a result of the war with Spain
and of no one of them is this more
true than of Porto Rico It would be
impossible to wish a more faithful a
more efficient and a more disinter
ested public service than that now be
ing rendered in the island of Porto
Rico by those in control of the insular
government
I stopped at a dozen towns all told
and one of the notable features in
every town was the gathering of the
school children The work that has
been done in Porto Rico for education
has been noteworthy The main em
phasis as is eminently wise and prop
er has been put upon primary educa
tion but in addition to this there is a
normal school and agricultural school
three industrial and three high
schools Every effort is being made to
secure not only the benefits of ele
mentary education to all the Porto
Ricans of the next generation but
also as far as means will permit to
train them so that the industrial agri
cultural and commercial opportunities
of the island can be utilized to the
best possible advantage It was evi
dent at a glance that the teachers
both Americans and native Porto
Ricans were devoted to their work
took the greatest pride in it and were
endeavoring to train their pupils not
only in mind but in what counts for
far more than mind in citizenship that
Is in character
I was very much struck by the ex
cellent character both of the insular
police and of the Porto Rican regi
ment They are both of them bodies
that reflect credit upon the American
administration of the island The in
sular police are under the local Porto
Rican government The Porto Rican
regiment of troops must be appro
priated for by the congress I earn
estly hope that this body will be Ket
permanent There should corfainly be
troops in the islaivl and it is wise
that these troops should be themselves
native Porto Ricans It wmhl be
from every standpoint a mistake not
to perpetuate this regiment
In traversing the island even the
most cursory survey leaves the be
holder struck with the evident rapid
growth in the culmre both of the su
gar cane and tobacco The fruit in
dustry is also growing Last year was
the most prosperous year that the
Island has ever kno vn before or sines
the American occupation The total
of exports and imports of the island
was 45000000 as against 1S000000
In 1901 This is the largest in the
islands history Prior to the Ameri
can occupation the greatest trade for
any one year was that of 1S9G when it
reached nearly 23000000 Last year
therefore there was double the trade
that there was in the most prosper
ous year under the Spanish regime
There were 210273 tons of sugar ex
ported last year of the value of 14
1S6319 35551G3 of tobacco and
2S290322 pounds of coffee of the value
of 34S1102 Unfortunately what
used to be Porto Ricos prime crop
coffee has not shared this prosper
ity It has never recovered from the
ilisaster of the hurricane and more
over the benefit of throwing open
our market to it has not compensated
for the loss inflicted by the closing of
the markets to it abroad I call your
attention to the accompanying memo
rial on this supject of the board of
trade of San Juan and I earnestly
hope that some measure will be taken
for the heneit of tne excellent and
high grade Porto Rican coffee
In addition to delegations from the
board of trade and chamber of com
merce of San Juan I also received
delegations from the Porto Rican Fed
eration of Labor and from the Coffee
Growers association
There is a matter to which I wish
to call your especial attention and
that is the desirability of conferring
full American citizenship upon the
people of Porto Rico I most earnest
ly hope that this will be done I can
not see how any harm can possibly re
sult from it and it seems to me a mat
ter of right and justice to the people
of Porto Rico They are loyal they
are glad to be under our Hag they are
making rapid progress along the path
of orderly liberty Surely we should
show our appreciation of them our
pride in what they have done and
our pleasure in extending recognition
for what has thus been done by grant
ing them full American citizenship
Under the wise administration of the
present governor and council marked
progress has been made in the diificult
matter of granting to the people of the
island the largest measure of self-government
that can with safety be given
at the present time It would have
been a very serious mistake to have
gone any faster than we have already
gone m this direction The Porto
Ricans have complete and absolute
autonomy in all their municipal gov
ernments the only power over them
possessed by the insular government
being that of removing corrupt or in
competent municipal officials This
power lias never been exercised save
on the clearest proof of corruption or
of incompetence such as to jeopar
dize the interests of the people of the
island and under such circumstances
it has been fearlessly used to the im
mense benefit of the people It is not
a power with which it would be safe
for the sake of the island itself to dis
pense at present The lower house is
absolutely elective while the upper
house is appointive This scheme is
working well no injustice of any kind
results from it and great benefit to
the island and it should certainly not
be changed at this time The machin
ery of the elections is administered en
tirely by the Porto Rican people them
selves the governor and council keep
ing only such supervision as is neces
sary in order to insure an orderly elec
tion Any protest as to electoral frauds
is settled in the courts Here again it
would not be safe to make any change
in the present system The elections
this year were absolutely orderly un
accompanied by any disturbance and
no protest has been made against the
management of the elections although
three contests are threatened where
the majorities were very small and
error was claimed the contests of
course to be settled in the courts In
short the governor and council are co
operating with all of the most enlight
ened and most patriotic of the people
of Porto Rico in educating the citizens
of the island in the principles of order
ly liberty They are providing a gov
ernment based upon each citizens self
respect and the mutual respect of all
citizens that is based upon a rigid
observance of the principles of justice
and honesty It has not been easy to
instill into the minds of people unac
customed to the exercise of freedom
the two basic principles of our Ameri
can system the principle that the ma
jority must rule and the principle that
the minority has rights which must
not be disregarded or trampled upon
Yet real progress has been made in
having these principles accepted as
elementary as the foundations of suc
cessful self government
I transmit herewith the report of the
governor of Porto Rico sent to the
president through the secretary of
state
All the insular governments should
be placed in one bureau either in the
department of war or the department
of state It is a mistake not so to ar
range our handling of these islands at
Washington as to be able to take ad
vantage of the experience gained in
one when dealing with the problemj
that from time to time arise in an
other
In conclusion let me express my ad
miration for the work done by the con
gress when it enacted the law under
which the island is now being admin
istered After seeing the island per
sonally and after five years experi
ence in connection with its adminis
tration it is but fair to those who de
vised this law to say that it would be
well nigh impossible to have devised
any other which in the actual working
would have accomplished better re
suits THEODORE ROOSEVELT
The White House Dec 11 1906
Aristocratic French Cabman
One of the vicissitudes of life has
been revealed by the death of an old
cabman at St
France It transpires that the unfor
tunate old fellow was entitled to style
himself the marquis de Loz de Gouet
Gouraud It is an old Spanish peerage
and in his earlier days the last unfor
fortunate holder of the title had lived
in circumstances befitting his rank
But the latter part of his life was
clouded by constant misfortune and at
last two years ago poverty compelled
him in his old age to take to driving
a cab to eke out a wretched existence
Bound to Keep Boys Busy
The Burgess Hill England group
of council school managers not being
allowed to encourage rifle shooting
among the boys have decided to seek j
consent of the East Sussex education
authority to give instruction in gar
deuing
2jiii2 itur ftf c r - ac rx - tw A -ii s r st --
NEBRASKA NOTES
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS IN
THE COMMONWEALTH
THE IVIEIViBERS SELECT SITTINGS
Legislators Elect Preparing for the
Work That Is Before Them Some
Recommendations in Land Commis
sioner Eatons Report
Preparing for Legislature
LINCOLN Neaily all the members
Df the legislature have selected their
seats and have secured quarters in
Lincoln for the winter It is believed
that the members will meet Saturday
or the following Monday preceding
Tuesday January 1 the day of the
opening session The preliminary
meeting is customary for the purpose
of giving the majority members ample
opportunity to agree on officers The
slate is usually adopted at this meet
ing so that no misunderstanding may
take place on the floor of the two
houses The caucus agreement is in
variably carried out and thus friction
or delay in organization is avoided
There is considerable talk among the
members of delegating to a commit
tee comprising members of both houses
the work of drafting the important
measures that are pledged by the re
publican platform This plan worked
well in 1903 when the new revenue
law was formulated ly a joint commit
tee
Judge E P Holmes of Lincoln has
snent considerable time on a bill pro
viding for indeterminate sentences
The bill is now complete and will be
introduced in the legislature Judge
Holmes has been on the district bench
for many years and has taken a deep
interest in criminal proceedings
Land Commissioner Recommends
Land Commissioner II M Eaton has
filed a report with the governor which
contains many recommendations The
report will be withheld by the gover
nors office until it can be scrutinized
The report contains a recommendation
for a wider field for the investment
of the permanent scbool fund Mr
Eaton is willing to leave the matter
with the legislature Personally he
favors investments in school district
bonds and in lands He repeats his
recommendation for the selection of a
state accountant to Investigate the
management and books of the state in
stitutions and to act as clerk of the
Board of Purchase and Supplies and
to cneck vouchers drawn upon funds
in payment for state supplies
He recommends that the interest
rate on sale contracts for state land be
reduced from 0 to 5 per cent because
holders of leases can horrow money
at a less rate and pay off their indebt
edness to the state He calls attention
to the fact that the legislature passed
an act appropriating money received
by the Kearne3 Industrial school for
frarm products and other supplies sold
by that institution A similar approp
riation hill was passed for the Home
for the Friendless The proceeds are
placed in a cash fund and such funds
are usual at all state institutions
Building of Armories
State municipal aid for the building
af armories in the cities of Nebraska
where a militia company has shown
that it will be a permanent institution
will be earnestly recommended by Ad
jutant Culver He will also recom
mend the purchase of a permanent
ramp ground and maneuver ground
with a range as near the center of the
state as possible The maneuver
grounds at Fort Niobrara might be
given to the state by the government
but they are too far away necessitat
ing too much railroad fare for the
transportation of the soldiers
Prizes for Good Drilling
LINCOLN Adjutant General Cul
ver will probably offer prizes for the
host drilled squad platoon and com
pany of the Nebraska National guard
He hopes to stir up rivalry between
the companies thus inspiring better
work Competitive drills will be held
in the companies the winning squad
being sent to a brigade meeting for a
competitive contest The best drilled
squads from the various brigades will
choose the squads in the regiments
Permanent School Fund
LINCOLN Though more than 4
000000 have been received in the per
manent school fund during the last
two years less than 10000 of it re
mains uninvested according to the
biennial report of the state auditor
Most of it has been used to buy se
curities which net the estate about 3
per cent interest The county treas
urers have received inheritance tax
fees which aggregate about 10000
Railroad Grading Suspended
NORFOLK Grading on the new
Rosebud extension of the North
western from Bonsteel to Gregory S
D has been abandoned until spring
on account of the frozen ground
FREMONT Mrs N Cullerton com
mitted suicide at her home here by
taking carbolic acid She had been ii
poor health lately
Be Careful About Seed
FREMONT P E McKillip of Hum
phrey was the principal speaker before
the Dodge county farmers institute
Mr McKillips topic was Seed He
urged the farmers to study scientific
methods and to be careful in the sel
ection of what they planted He de
clared this would put farming upon a
higher plane and make it so attractive
that the boys would not be leaving the
home place to seek other pursuits As
much care should be exercised in get
ting good seed as in the breeding of
their stock
m
OVER THE STATE
A now electric light plant Is being
installed at McCbol
York countys teachers institute has
been arranged for Juno 3 to S
David McCarty who attempted sui
cide at Beatrice will recover
The Nebraska Press association wiU
hold Its next meeting in Omaha Tho
date has not yet been fixed
The Johnson county fair was not a
success financially Receipts were
192940 and expenses 210092
Charles Foster of Keya Paha county
has just commenced a three year term
in the penitentiary for horse stealing
Fanners in Gage count y have prac
tically finished gathering their corn
crop and most of tho grain is in the
crib
Floyd Ingalls a 11-year-old boy of
Omaha was accidentally shot and
killed by his brother while handling
a pistol
The county board of commissionera
of Thurston county incorporated the
new town of Walthill on the Great
Northern
h western and northern Nebraska
seitz is a constantly increasing crop
Seventeen counties have an acreage
of more than 1000 each
At Pender County Judge King bound
Oscar lliinhlin over to the district
court under 1000 bonds on the charge
of stealing hogs from John Bjork
The next qualifying examination for
the scholarships awarded under the
Rhodes bequest h s been fixed for
January 17 and iS 07 at the Univer
sity of Nebraska beginning at 9 oclock
In tho case of tho State against
Mike Burns on trial at Albion
charged with the killing of James
Grimison on July f last the jury re
turned a verdict of not guilty after
being out about six hours
Five years imprisonment in the
state penitentiary was the sentence
that Judge Paul Tessen passed upon
Eli Mitchell the negro who was recent
ly convicted by a jury at Nebraska
City of a crime against nature
Mr and Mrs Kirby McGrew two of
the oldest settlers of Burwell cele
brated their golden wedding at tho
Methodist church in that place A
son two daughters and two grand
children were present besides about
sixty friends
News has been received at Kearney
that William Oehlerich formerly of
that city but now residing on a farm
near Rogers engaged in repairing the
windmill when the steel stub tower he
was putting up fell down striking him
on the head and crushing a large part
of his skull
Congressman Norris has recom
mended O K Olmstead to be post
master at Orleans vice Andrew Rich
mond Mr Richmond has held tho
office a long time and has given excel
lent service save for the fact that
growing deafness has made it difficult
for both him and patrons
The county treasurer of Lincoln
count has received a telegram that
the Buiiincton Missouri River rail
road had filed its petition for an in
junction in the United States court
to restrain him and other treasurers
from levying on or attaching the
property of the company for the 190G
tax
Five hundred dollars reward was
paid by the Nebraska Bankers asso
ciation to Detective James Malone of
Lincoln for the arrest and conviction
of Burglars Burke and Riley who
blew the safe of the Chapman State
bank of Chapman and thereupon
eloped with the 2000 in cash which
they found
An important measure decided upon
by the state association of county
supervisors and commissioners at the
twelfth annual meeting which closea
at Kearne was the appointment of
a legislative committee to attend the
sessions of the legislature and in
fluence legislation for the best inter
ests of the public
The report of State Treasurer Mor
tenson shows that of the 5745S716 of
trust funds invested by tne state in
interest bearing securities 5039C2S
is invcted in bonds and coupons and
1S190S7 in general fund warrants Of
the amount invested in bonds and cou
pons 20428S1 is invested in the
bends of other states
The following dates have been set
for the holding of court in the counties
included in the First district by Judges
J B Raper and W H Kelliger for
1907 Johnson county Febraury 4
May 6 and October 7 Pawnee county
February 11 May 6 and October 7
Richardson county February 18 May
20 and November 11 Nemaha county
March 11 June 3 and December 2
Jefferson county March IS June 3
and November 11 Gage county April
15 June 10 and December 2
Dr H B Ward who has recently
had two offers to leave the university
of Nebraska will remain Dr Ward
has been with the Nebraska university
br fourteen years and during that time
has received many offers none of
which have been sufficiently tempting
to cause him to leave Dr Ward has
been strongly urged to remain by
members of the faculty and others It
is owing to this and to other reasons
that he will stay in Nebraska Dr
Ward is dean of the medical school
and head of the department of zoology
A E Ward now in the office of
state superintendent occupying the
position of vice president of the teach
ers examining committee is to be
Cnuressman rlect Boyds private sec
retary
The Young Mens Christian associa
tion are contemplating many improve
ments A separate room for the bus
iness men will be added to the dress
ing rooms in the basement and a gas
range has been purchased to be used
in connection with the hauquets held
in the Young Mans Christian associa
tion building
BEHIND THE TIMES
ENGLISH RAILROAD LINES NOT
UP TO DATE
Old Style Carriages and Few Tralnmc n
Employes Work Long Hours for
Low Wages Statistics as to
Fatalities
Old fashioned railway carriages on
English lines with doors opening on
the sides as a relic of the year 1S3S
when ordinary coaches were simply
mounted on railway trucks Though
it is recognized that these cars are
more than half a century behind the
times they are almost universally
used in 1 higlnud especially for local
traffic which is the heaviest Ameri
can corridor trains are in use on some
of the through lines running long dis
tances but various British railroad
managements find antiquated side
Joor carriages best for their purpose
which s mainly economy In these
trains there is only one conductor an
arrangement which also saves ex
pense In fact even in corridor trains
only one conductor is required These
conductors or guards as they are
called work long hours at very low
tay the average wage being not more
than nine dollars a week While 39
passengers were killed in what a re
port calls train accidents such as
collisions derailments etc 109 addi
tional passengers were killed and
1972 injured by what the report
3uplioniously terms the movement of
trains and railway vehicles exclusive
if train accidents
When the guileless reader scans tho
EARLY DAYS OF RAILROADS
Freak Inventions Called Forth by tho
Steam Locomotive
Tho advent of the Kteam locomotive
waH the signal for a host of ingenious
and nmuBing inventions says tho Mon
treal Herald One Inventor who ap
peared early on the scene was mini
that In winter the steam engine would
be comparatively useless becauHo tho
thin coating of frost that would
gather In the morning upon tho
rails would effectually hinder tho
wheels from moving along Of course
this objector had a remedy to offer
His rails were to be hollow in order
to allow hot water to circulate through
them thus keeping the metal warm
and preventing tho formation of frost
Another ingenious spirit fully per
suaded that no smooth wheeled ve
hicle could be made to move along
ordinary roads fitted his piston rods
not to wheels hut to a set of legs that
kicked into the road beneath the en
gine moving it much as a punt Is
poled in tho water only in this case
there were to bo found several poles
instead of one
Decidedly more interesting than an
engine that kicked its way along was
one that was to actually walk on four
legs There were several varieties nf
these sloani walkers one of which
burst on its trial trip and killed ten
persons It was not till Iledley ex
ploded all these ingenious theories
by simply trying how a smooth wheel
would really act on a smooth mail
that the wonderful inventions ceased
Tho idea of danger was always a
very prominent one in the minds of
these early inventors One was so
convinced that accidents on rail mails
TO PLYMOUTH
government report he must be pre
oared for some gentle surprises For
instance on the front page of the in
genious work it is frankly stated
The ycor 1905 was remarkable for
the number of fatalities to passengers
n train accidents more indeed were
killed in this way than in any year
since 1SS9 while on page IS the in
eresting counter statement is set
rorth The average numbers killed
and injured in previous years were
100 killed in the 25 years ending with
J 904 and 15S9 injured in the nine
rears ending with 1901 A compari
son or these figures for 1905 shows in
he latter year a slight increase in
the number of killed and a considera
jle increase in the number of injured
But taking tho number of journeys
into account it will be foind that in
905 one passenger was killed in every I
11000202 journeys and one injureu
n even- G0S023 journeys as com
nared with one in S39420G killed and
jno in 704G57 injured on tho average
in the previous periods of 25 years
showing that in regard to the number
if iournevs there were fewer fatal
and more non fatal accidents of this i
class in 1905 than usual
It will thus be seen that in one
section of the report it is pointed out
that 1905 was a record year for pas
senger slaughter Avhile in another
part the figures go to show that it
was not so bad after all This bears
3ut the saying that statistics were in
vented to prove either side of any
question
As to Railroad Whistles
There is a lot of agitation concern
ing unnecessary whistling on rail
road lines and the railroad commis
sioners have exercised the power
which they have to abrogate tho law
requiring whistling at crossings in
places where complaint has
been made and where there is a cross
ing tender There is a chance how
ever of the reform going too far
whatever may have been the abuse
Not every crossing is sufficiently pro
tected even with a crossing tender
and the warning whistle prior to the
tpprcth of the train is desirable not
only for the person who is at the
rosing and can be readily stopped
by the il rgman or the gate but also
for the person who is approaching the
ro 5ing and is possibly deprived of a
jleir -- of the guard and cannot be
so easily stopped Not many engineers
col their whistles for the fun of it or
ueraiiic they like additional noiso
mid i ail mad iegulations are not
ramd for the purpose of making a
noisv advertisement of their lines
The Whistles are for public safety
and ihis is still entitled to as much
consideration as are the sensitive
cars of those who were complaining
hci aucj they are disturbed by the
nolo Haverhill Gazette
Locomotives Construction
T ho formation of a single locomo
tive steam engine there are nearly
0 3 pieces to be put together and
these require to be as accurately ad
justed as the works of a watch
Novel Trip Over Mountains
Last summer two residents of Van
couver crossed the Rocky mountains
on a speeder which is a kind of
tricycle over the line of the Canadian
Pacific railroad
would be frequent that ho proposed
to minimize tho loss of life by attach
ing the train to the engine by a lung
rope so that in the event of collision
only the enginemen would suffer
Another adopted the expedient of
a feather bed placed between the buf
fers of tho cars so that a shuck
could not be transmitted and a third
and still more ingenious patentee pro
posed fixing a pair of rails along the
top of the train railing at a gradient
fore and aft so that in the event of
another train meeting or overtaking
it the two could pass over and under
each other and both could go their
way rejoicing
HAD THEIR MINDS ON RACE
Neither of the Engineers Heeded the
Broke in Two Signal
The following story was told by J
D McNamara assistant general pas
senger agent of the Wabash railroad
says the Kansas City Times
From Clark to Mexico Mo our
line runs almost parallel with that of
the Alton The distance is about 20
miles It is open country and the
grades are light Tho going is
good and trains race with each other
as often as occasion offers
One day two long freight trains
one on each road reached Clark
about together A race of course was
in order Passing Centralia the YVa
bash engineer turned partly around in
his cab and noting that tho Alton
was minus a portion of his train gae
a broke in two whistle signal for the
information of his rival The Alton
man hearing the signal himself turn
ed in his seat and observing that the
Wabash train was considerably short
er than when the race began be
pulled the throttle open a notch or
two more and smiled as he looked foi -ward
to winning the contest As the
speed of the Wabash train continue
to increase the Alton man in a si hit
of banter gave with his whistle the
broke in two signal As there wis
no apparent effort made to stop the
signal wr s repcated
Again and again was the signal
given by the racing enginemen
At length Mexico was reached both
trains arriving there at the same tiji
each engineer laughing at the joke
he would have on his competitor when
the break would he discovered
soon as he stopped at the Mfxni
water tank the Alton man call i
across the right of way
How far you goin without
lights
The Wahash man observing for tho
first time his own predicament vii i
Gosh but I thought yoa was
for your own hind end
Ditto Bud exclaimed th Ch
cago Alton as he noticed regret fn
Iy that about two thirds of his own
train was absent
New Railroads for Bolivia
Thirty flve million dollars is to b
expended by Standard Oil capita is
and their allies in covering the re
public of Bolivia with railroads during
the next eicht months
The concessions have been ratified
by the Bolivian congress and ahead v
contracts have been made for rw I
rails and other material needed in the
fnnstnit ton of the roads