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Show PRESIDENT TELLS OE CONDITIONS IN PORTO eico Special Message the Re-1 suit of Chief Executive's Execu-tive's Recent Visit. MUCH GOOD WORK DONE Progress Made Under American Administration 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 Would Have All Insular In-sular Governments Placed In One Bureau, Washington. President Roosevelt's message, describing conditions In Porto Por-to Rico, nnd making recommendations tor legislation ho believes necessary, wns read to tho congress. It la as follows: fol-lows: To tho Sonato and House of Representatives: Represen-tatives: On November 21 I visited tho Island f Porto Rico, landing ntj'onco, crossing cross-ing by tho old Spanish road by Cayoy to San Junn, nnd returning next morning morn-ing over tho now American road from nrccibo to Ponco; tho scenery was wonderfully beautiful. especially tmong tho mountains or tho lntorlor, which constitute a vorltablo tropic Switzerland. I could not embark at Ban Juan because the harbor has not boon dredged out and can not rccolvo n American battleship. I do not think this fact creditable to us as a nation, and I earnestly hopo thnt Immediate Im-mediate provision will ho mado for Iredglng San Juan harbor. I doubt whether our people as a wholo reallzo the beauty and fertility of Porto Rico, and tho progross that has been mado under Its admirable fovernment. Wo havo Just causo for prldo In tho character of our representatives represen-tatives who havo administered tho tropic Islands which eamo under our flag as a result of tho war with Spain; and of no ono of them Is this more true than of Porto Rico. It would 'bo Impossible to wish a more faithful, a more ofllclent and a m.iro disinterested disinter-ested public service than that now being be-ing rendered In tho Island of Porto Rico by thoso lu control of tho insular fovernment. I stoppod at a dozen towns nil told, ind ono of tho notable features In Bvory town was tho gathering of tho ichool children. Tho work that has boon dono In Porto Rico for education has been noteworthy. Tho main am-phasls, am-phasls, as Is eminently wlso nnd proper, prop-er, has boon put upon prlmnry .education; .educa-tion; but liunddltlon to this tlioro Is n normal school, and agricultural school, threo Industrial and threo high ichools. Every effort Is being mado to iccuro not only tho benefits of ole-montnry ole-montnry education to all tho Porto Weans of tho noxt generation, but lso ns far as means will permit to train them so that tho Industrial, agricultural agri-cultural and commercial opportunities of tho Island can bo utilized to tho best possible advantage. It was ovl-dont ovl-dont at a glance that tho tcachors, both Americans and natlvo Porto Rlcans, woro devoted to their work, took tho greatest prldo lu It, and woro endeavoring to train their pupils, not only In mind, hut lu what counts for far moro than mind In citizenship, that Is, in character. I was very much struck by tho excellent ex-cellent character both of tho Insular police and of tho Porto Rlcnn regiment. regi-ment. They nro both of them bodies that rolled credit upon tho Amorlcnn administration' of tho Island. Tho Insular In-sular pollco nro under tho local Porto Rlcan government. Tho Porto Rlcnn regiment of troops must bo appropriated appro-priated for by tho congress. I earn-' ostly hopo that this body will be ico,il permanent. Thero slit 11M cor'nlnly bo troops In tho Island, nnd It Is wlso that theso troops jhould be themselves natlvo Porto RIojub. It win'd bo from ovory standpoint n mlslnke not to porpotuato thU regiment. In travorslng the Islnnd .ovon tho most cursory survey loaves tho bo-holdor bo-holdor struck with the ovldotu rapid growth In tho culture both of tho sugar su-gar qano and tob.icco. Tho fruit Industry In-dustry Is nlso growing. Last year was tho most prosperous year that tho Islnnd has over km vn before qr slnca the Amorlcnn ooeuuntlon. Tim total of exports and Im'iorts of tho Island was $15,000,000. ns against $IS.OW),000 In 1001. This Is tho large-)', lu tho Island's history. Prior to the Amorl can occupation tho greatest trade for any ono year wns that of 1S0G, when It reached n&arly $23,000,000. Last year, thoroforo, thero was doublo tho trado that thero was In tho most prosperous prosper-ous year under the Spanish regime. Thero woro 210,273 tons of sugar exported ex-ported Inst year, of tho altio of ill.-lSO.P.lfi: ill.-lSO.P.lfi: $3,555,1113 of tobacco, and 26.2Iid.322 pounds of coffee of the value of $:i,l8l,102. Unfortunately, what need to be Porto Rico's prime crop-coffee crop-coffee has not shared this prosperity. prosper-ity. It has never recovered from tho disaster of tho hurricane, and, moreover, more-over, the benetlt of throwing open our market to It has n 11 eonioenxnted for the loss Inflicted lo the closing of tho markots to It nbroVid. I call your attention to the accompanying memorial memo-rial on this supject of tho board of trade of San Juan, and I carnostly hopo that some measure will bo taken for tho benefit of tho excellent and high grado Porto Rlcnn coffco. In addition to delegations from tho board of trado and chnmbor of commerce com-merce of Snn Junn, I nlso received delegations from tho Porto Rlcan Federation Fed-eration of Labor, and from tho Coffee Growers' association. Thero Is n mntter to which I wish to call your especial attention, and that Is tho desirability of conferring full American citizenship upon tho pcoplo of Porto Rico. I most earnestly earnest-ly hope that this will bo done. I can not see how nny hnrm can possibly rc-su't rc-su't from It, nml It seems to mo a matter mat-ter of right and Justlco to tho people of Porto Rico. Tnoy nro loyal, they nro glad to tio under oiy liag, thty are making rapid progvess along tho path of orderly liberty. Suroly wo should show our appreciation of them, out pride In what they havo dono, and our pleasure In extending recognition for what has thus been done, by granting grant-ing them full Amorlcnn citizenship. Under tho wise administration of the present governor nnd council, marked progress has been madu In tho difficult matter of granting to tho pcoplo of the Island tho largest measure or self-government thnt can with Bafety bo given ut tho present tlmo. It would have been a very serious mistake to have gono nny faster than wo havo already gono in this direction. Tho Porto Rlcans havo complete nnd absolute-autonomy absolute-autonomy In nil their municipal governments, gov-ernments, tho only power over them possessed by tho Insular government being thnt of removing corrupt or Incompetent In-competent municipal odlclals. This power has novor been exorcised save on tho clearest proof of corruption or of Incompetence such ns to Jcopar-dlzo Jcopar-dlzo the Interests of the pcoplo of tho Islnnd; nnd under such circumstances it has been fearlessly used to tho tin-menso tin-menso benefit of tho people. It Is not a power with which It would bo safo for tho sako of tho Island Itself, to dispense dis-pense at present. Tho lower houso Is absolutely elective, whllo tho uppei houso Is appointive. This scheme It working well; no Injustice of any klui results from it, nnd great benefit ti tho island, and It should certainly no-bo no-bo chnnged nt this tlmo. Tho mncliln cry of tho elections Is administered en tlroly by tho Porto Rlcan people thorn selves, the governor nnd council keep Ing only such supervision ns Is needs snry In order to Insuro nn orderly elec tlon. Any protest ns to electoral frauds Is Bottled In tho courts. Hero again ll would not be safe to mako any change In tho present system, Tho elections this year wcro absolutely orderly, unaccompanied un-accompanied by any disturbance; and no protest has been mado against the managcincnt of tho elections, nlthough threo contests aro threatened whero tho majorities wcro very small and orror was claimed; tho contests, of course, to bo settled In tho courts. In short, tho governor nnd council aro cooperating co-operating with nil of tho most enlightened enlight-ened nnd most patriotic of tho peoplo of Porto Rico In educating tho citizens of tho Island In tho principles of orderly order-ly liberty. They aro providing a government gov-ernment based upon each citizen's self-respect, self-respect, and tho mutual respect of all citizens; that Is, based upon a rigid observnnco of tho principles of Justlco and honesty. It has not been easy to Instill Into tho minds of peoplo unaccustomed unac-customed to tho excrclso or freedom tho two basic principles of our American Ameri-can system; tho prlnclplo thnt tho majority ma-jority must rule, and tho prlnclplo that tho minority has rights which must not be disregarded or trampled upon. Yet real progress has been mado In having these principles accepted ns elementary, ns tho foundations of successful suc-cessful Bclf-govcrnment. I transmit herewith tho report or tho governor or Porto Rico, sent to tho president through tho secretary of state. All tho Insular governments should bo pluced 111 ono bureau, either In the department or war or tho department or stato. It Is a mistake not so to arrange ar-range our handling or theso Islands nt Washington ns to bo able to tnko nd-vantw;o nd-vantw;o ot tho exporlonco gained la one, when dealing with tho problems thnt from tlmo to tlmo nrise In another. an-other. In conclusion let mo express my admiration ad-miration ror tho work dono by tho congress con-gress when It enacted tho law undor which the Island is now being administered. admin-istered. After seeing the Islnnd personally, per-sonally, and after flvo years' exporlonco exporl-onco In connection with Its administration, adminis-tration, It Is but fair to thoso who devised de-vised this law to say that It would bo well-nigh Impossible to hnvo dovlsed any other which In the uctiinl working would havo accomplished bettor results. re-sults. TIIISODORH HOOSUVHLT. Tho Whlto House. Dec. 11, 1900. |