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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1899)
Octobur 8 1SIKI , OMAHA ILLUSTRATED HfiK. Americaniztn ( ( Copyrighted , ISM , by Frank G. Carpenter. ) WASHINGTON , Oct. 3. ( Special CorreI Ispondenco of The Bee. ) With thla loiter I fcloso my scries on Porto Rico. I have found ' Uncle Sam's new Island cno of the most ' Interesting parts of his possessions , and I P bellcvo in the end It will , In proportion to size , bo cne of tlio most profitable. DurIng - , Ing my travels I have Interviewed the leading - | ing Americans who have visited Porto Rico an to whether the island w ill pay or not as n part of our territory. So far I have not found ono answer in the negative. General Fred Grant , with whom I talked Just before ho left San Juan for the Philippines , was enthusiastic over Porto Rico , and he knew as muoh about the country and Its Inbab- Hants as any man who has ever visited It. During his stay he rode over every part of the Island on horseback , going from town to town and village to village. He visited every plantation ( f any sl/c and made the personal acquaintance of almost every prom inent Porto RIcan. Some of his rides were extraordinary. At one time he made eighty- two miles In ono night rn horseback , his only companion being Ills 5011 , a boy of 17. Ho had traveled 115 miles bv rail and horse tha day before , but pushed right on In order to get through quickly. General Grant told me he thought thp island would be the garden - den patch of the United States , and that It would eventually bo divided up Into small plantations , owned by Individuals nnd syndl- catPs and by rich people who desire- de lightful winter residence. HP was enthu- slastlc over the climate and the fertility of the s ll. Ho liked the pe plp , and told mo he thought they would make good American cltl7ons. He believes , I think , in i civil rather than militarv government , but does not think the Porto Rieans arc as yet fit to govern thomselvrs. General Robert P. Kennedy , the head of tha Insular commission , has the same opin ion , although I do not kmw that bo ex presses It In his report. HP , together with manv others , think the Island should have a government somewhat ] ike that of the District of Columbia , the chief officials to I be Americans , appointed by the president. Assistant Postmaster General Heath , who has visited all parts of the Island , ex pressed n similar opinion In a conversation with me , as have also many other prominent ' men. AiniTlfiniN t > lioiil < l Illlllillr ( lie MOIIOV. There Is one thing very evident , and that Is that Americans should handle all public funds and hold the chief offices of trust for some years to come. The Porto Rlcans have been educated according to Spanish ideas of honor nnd financial responsibility. Thpy have been taught that every public official can be bribed and can be moved b- ; bribes. With them In the past Justice has always been bought and sold. Judges and Justices nre still considered open to pur- chape , and the courts cannot be respected as long ns natives are at the head of thorn. It is so with the other native officials. Noarlv every one of them expects to charge for doing his duty when the doing it bene fits any ono out of whom he can squeeze money. The notaries public , for Instance , so managed their offices In times past that many of them made as much as $10.000 a year. General Kennedy tells of one who made moro than $50,000 per annum , nnd says lie heard of some who made more. According to law , the notaries have to draw up all real estate papers. They charge 1 not only for their services , but also a per centage on the amount of the sales. Hav ing made a deed , they will not deliver tht > original to the purchaser , but make him pay for a certified copy. They then hand the original deed over to the recorder , who charges for entering It , but who will not let any one look at the entry , but will charge for telling whether It Is there ann Just what It is. Fees of this kind are com mon In all such transactions. A recent transfer pf real estate cost the purchaser over $2.000 for notarial and recorder fees. Another transfer , the amount of which was , only $2,000 , cost In fees alone over $500 The recorders charge proportionate fees for all kinds of work , ono recently demanding morp than $3,000 for recording a will. In fact , until Undo Sam took possession of the government It Is doubtful whethei there was nn official In Porto Rico who wa > > not making moro or less money outside or his regular salary. The stealings extended to nl ! branches and the people were worked In every pos sible way. In some of the towns I found the policemen going about the markets and laying oEsessments of their own or the major's , I suppose , on the amount of vege tables and fruit which the peons had brought in for sale. The Jailors In man > j of the towns have been found to have charged 20 cents nploeo for the rations thoi j have given the prisoners , whereas It Is | known that the rations thus Itemized have I cc t each 1C cents or less. School teachers J have been allowed to charge certain classes of pupils , and they have , as a usual thing \ sublet their living rooms to the government for school rooms , making , In some cases , as much out of their rent as their salaries The normal school at San Juan , which has chiefly small children , and which Is not n normal school In our sense of the word , has i seventeen professors , who have been drawIng - Ing $45,000 a year from the government , and the host of government officials at the cap- i Ital have , until lately , been doing little more than fleece the people nnd draw their sal aries. The depaitmont of public works has been costing Potto Rico In salaries alone $58.000 In Porto RIcan currency , the courts and department of Justice have been rocelv- Ing $1CO,000 , nnd other things In proportion g Porto Rico The pilests up to the beginning of the Amer ican I occupation were paid out of the govern ment i treasury , nninmlly receiving $92,000 from I that source , and this notwithstanding they I charged such high fees for marriages that i many people wore unable to afford the ceremony. ( MtiNt He American U M | . I nm surprised at the hazy Ideas \\hlch many ! hold no to cur posscwlon of Porto Ulco. Sonio do not realize that It Is now and for all time n part of the United States It Is as much a part of the union as Massa chusetts ' or California , and the time may come ' when It will be one of the most Im portant ' parts of the country. We should consider ' the Island as nn outlying defense or ' fortification. H will bo one of cur chief military ' and naval stations and will bo ono of ' the bases of operations In the defense of the Gulf nf Mexico and of any canal across the ' Isthmus of Panama. We have already a. ] naval 9tatlou upon It , and have set aside a ! largo territory on the bay of San Juan lor n ' navy yard. As a station of thlb Idnd It la Important ' that the leland shnuld be essen tially ' American in all of Its Interests. Its people ' should he made Americans as far at heart ' , head and pccket are concerned. The heart ' and pocliet will go somewhat together but ' the head will ha\e to be a matter of education. ' Defoie we can make the Porto Ricaus Americans In our scnso of the worti \\c have got to give them our language and ideas. ' They must be taught English. Tht only ' way to do this will be through the next gonciatlm I , and that by American education At present 90 per cent of the Porto Klcaiu- cannot ' read and write. They are denseb ignorant , and having been so oppressed b\ the Spaniards , they have an antipathy 11 cver ' > thing Spanish , and from now on will naturally lean toward everything Ameiican These 00 per cent form the working classes The other 10 per cent nre the property own ers and the government class. They are Spanish In feeling and education , and It la they who wish to keep the Spanish language In the schools. I think this Is a mistake The Spanish language or literature are the key to the Spanish thought and idea , the very tilings we want to get rid of. Nothing but English should be taught , and English should bo made the language of the people just as soon as possible. If Spanish were kept rut of the schools this would bo QE- compllshed In a very few years. The young Porto Ricans would become Americans In spirit and ideas ; they would feed upon our literature and would probably be the most intensely patriotic of our people. IVcw SolioolN Very Imiiortiiiit. One of the brightest men I met In San Juan was the Acnerlcan consul , Mr. Hanna. Ho told mo that the only hope of Porto nice was in the children and In English education. General Kennedy has the same opinion. He believes In the organization of night schorls as well as day schools , and sajs the island should be divided up Into small school districts , and that the English language should bo taught. He found the same condition of education existing as that I have described In a former letter. He vU- ited school houses everywhere , but nowhere found desks nor any kind cf school con veniences. I do not think a pr per repre = en- tatlon has been given as to the backward condition of education In Porto Illco. The reports of the bureau of education have been full of large words conveying the Idea that much moro than the reality has been ac complished. The Porto nicans themselves , of course , are anxious to make as good a showing as possible. They put their beet foot forward at all times , and when Secre tary Alger was hero some time ago they had the school children of San Juan come out to meet him. I don't know that the secretary know It , but the assembly Included In fact all the school children who could be scraped together from all the schools , both public and private , In San Juan and also the sur- THUOUGII AVENUES OF COCOANUT P\LMS loundlug towns. A photograph made of the review was quite Impressive. CnriietliiiKKi'rM M t AVaiiU'tl. I doubt whether Uncle Sam can do much with the educated Porto RIcan , especially those who have been of the official class. The tax collectors and other political leeches who have been fattening off of the people for years cannot bo taught to govern honestly. The keeping them In office , as has been done in some cases , is only chang ing the nameof the government and not its character. In time the people will be educated up to our Idea of a government , but until then we should consider that we have about 800,000 Ignorant and oppressed people to care for , and that their Interests are above the 50,000 or 75,000 property owners who have been molded along lines contrary tn ours. The children of these people may be educated so that they will become Americans ; it la doubtful whether the old will ever be so. At the same- time the men sent down to take charge of the offices should not be of the carpet-bag class. The more Important officials should be honest American business men not broken-down , out-of-job politici ans , and to them should bo given the charge of all money-producing olllces. 1 know such a policy would not bo popular In Porto Hlco , but it will undoubtedly tend to bring order out of the financial chaos which lias prevailed there for years. Among the most Important things Is the reorganization of the courts and of tno laws. The laws should bo adapted to those of the United States and the system of Justice should be the same. English ahould be the ofllclal language of the courts , and a Jury system should be established. KiiKllNli IIH tlic I'orlo HIiMiMN Tnicrli ir. I believe the Porto Rlcans are anxious to become good American citizens. I think many of the better classes are already so In spirit , and if the tariff can bo oo ar- langed as to glvo the Island mercantile ad vantages they will bo moro patriot.c still I saw American Hags everywheru oxer the Island. They ate hung up In many of the pailois and sitting rooms , and also In many of the btores. The Porto nl nns are trjlng | to learn the English language , and every joung man who has n scattering if It is 1 teaching his fi lends. Some of the methods 1 of teaching are peculiar , books having been 1 published showing how the language may be learned wlthrut n teacher In thirty les sons. From one of these comes the foil wIng - Ing , from which jou may see what the pro nunciation of these future Yankees of the tropics may be If the public school leachors do not crrrcct It. I < | ti to : . 1 1 l'intN for I'orto Itleiin VNOI'H. | | Americans shnuld visit Porto Rico. They will 11 nil few discomforts and will ice more curious things In a four-weeki' trip than they can see in Europe In six mouths. The Btoameis now take you from New York to San Juan In about live days. The distance Is about 1,100 miles , and the sea , nftor you pass Cape Hattera ? , Is rcumikably smooth. At San Juan yo'i find n fairly g od hotel , and there nro places where you can stop comfortably over night at almost any town on the Island , If ynu are a good horseman you can get a native pony and go from pla-o to plnco In the saddle. Your steed tA rel GENERAL ALGER REVIEWING THE SCHOOL CHILDREN OF SAN JUAN will carry you along OB gently ns though vou were on a rocking hnrso. H will take you through avenues of cocoauut palnm ; It will carry you through tulles of coffee plan tations ami Into regions where you will tco a luxuilanro of vegetation not visible out side the tropics. If vou nro an amateur photographer you will find snap shots of all kinds at every turn and on over } road , but jou will have to be careful of your lights. The nlr In Porto Ulco Is full of moisture. It has what Is technically called light Interference , and tliero Is a peculiar hare which tuakes pho tography dIUlcutt. Dut lug my travels 1 mot nno of the photographers nf the War depaitmcnt and got the bone ! ! ! of his ox- ppilenco. Ho told me that ho had made thousands nf exposures , and that It wn s mo time before he discovered the exact PtoH ) and times to get the bent result. He R.I.NS that the light Is BO strong that the glaio spoils the photograph If It Is not euro fully made. U Is bust to use a small diaphragm and expose slowly. The host stops atp thirty-two and sixty-four , and the best time from ouo-twcnty-llfth to ono fourth of a second. Olio must bo very care fill of his plates. They should bo wrapped In tinfoil and not left long In the plate holder. Users of films should buy tropical Ill'ins nnd keep thorn wrapped In olhxl allk I have used films mid have had good results Potto Rico Is a good place for moonlight photography. The moon Is very bright , and beautiful effects nre to be had by night , tlu > photos dhow Ing the outlines of the hills and loadvvavs. A Word UN to Oiillllf. . The traveler need not worry much ubotn hla tnittlt. He con wear almost the name clothes that ho wears in the summer at home , although It Is well to bilng an ovoi c at , for the nights In the mmiutalus ate often cold. The man who Intends to ride much on hntseback had best hi tug his own saddle and bildlo. The average Porto RIcan of the country sltH upon his pony as upon n chair , with saddle baskets on each sldo and with his legs around the neck of the pony Ha uses no stlrrupn. but , notwithstanding this , his method of sitting Is quite as com fortablc as ours Ono needs n good water proof , rubber leggings and an umbrella , HP should have a blanket frr Interior trlp- and liipcct powder will oftep help 1'ls ' slumbers Ai to food , he can get anything In San Juan that he can get In the United States , and this Is o also as to wlnps ami llqunrtt. HP will never be out of roach of Porto RIcan rum. which will eervo In case nf an attack of cold , and which will cost him ab ut one tenth what he would pay for It at home Good bread Is to bo had everywhere. H Is made by the town bakers nnd sold at oo much n loaf. The meatH of the Interl-r are tough , the chickens nro small , but the egg" are generally pood. As to thp language , If you do not under stand Spanish It Is v\pll to takp along n pbrasp book of Spanl = h nnd Engll h , nl though this IB not essential. YOU will meet American soldiers pvorywhero and y-u can not find a town wltprp vou will not be wel- corned bv the pos'nl officials In most p'aces the Americans will put themselves nt your disposal and guldo vou ah ut the country , showing you the slghto. The be t way to do It Is to take every thing you think you may want on the ship wllb you to San Juan. There IB no extra bngpago to bo paid on the steamer , nnd n rouple of porters will carry your trunks nnd bags on their hpads from thp ship to the hotel , whpro you can leave them vvhll" you mnko trips through the InterlT Dlcyclcs can bp UFPI ! In mnnv parts of the country , especially on the military road ami Its branches. The weather , however. Is somewhat hot for wheeling. nd the til cyclists I have seen hnvo generally Bccmpd prPtty well tuckered out. Travel Is every where pafo for Amcrlean men , and I think women culd travel alone without danger on any of the public roads of the island. AH to health , the country Is quite a" salubrious as any part of Nfrtb America , the only warnings nrcessarv bo'nu ' to avoid the night air and overexertlon un der the trrplcnl Him. Thopo who wish mav mnkn the trip cheaply. In addition to HIP FteainiBhlp faro It need nnt cost them more than $ ! per day , while parties by traveling together could make the average rale stilt less. Altogether , I doubt whether there l < a place where tlio American can got more plraHtiio , health and profit from a trip Mian In Porto Rlro. FRANK G PARI'INTIII Green Corn in Europe Julian Ralph lolls of hlx delight In ! liidini- gieon coin in Europe. In the c ; uibo of man. years of cxtciislvu travel on the cuntluui ho had never seen an o.n. lie reccntl. , Hioppod at a hotel In Paila and mot a porloi in the hall carrying a banket of genuine American green corn. "Green torn ! " h Dhoutcd. "la It possible that this Is what I see ? " "Yes , monsieur , " said Mine , Hrunol the wife of the proprietor. "It Is verltabb the green corn c f America. Wo grow It upon our farm. So many of uur guests are Amurl cans and BO fond mo they of this peculiai food that wo have men It to bo to our ad vantage I" make for thuiii this singular pin duct In our fields In the country " ' I took Minu. Brunei's hand , " tavs Mr Ralph "and pressed It. J mined my hand ah out does who bcntows a bunudlctlon. 'God blos-t vou , cnailam , ' nald I , with such evident plots that Bho could not take offense. 'You an the most magnificent and the most wondi-i fill woman In Pranoa ' "
