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 ' "
