164
OVERNXENT FOR :I',HE I LAND Oto' P ERTO RI O.
Ri und r tho enormou . timulu of 1 • bonuo< of~ or ~0 t\ ton goe with ut !!11.\:ing. . ".For httmnnity _AAk ," t m. '<·nn peopl .ha':enlr tLdy r~ponded gt>nerou:h· f r rclwf of tll'rl 'tlll :<uffer r:< 111 Puerto ~~1co. If more 81d i. nred d it wil he fortht·oming with equnl gc!tero:,~~ty . Tho late t oOkial r~timut i~ that tthout 1 p r '('Cnt of tne mhllbJtants nrc till in wnnt, · • . lt is doubtle . true., bo v \'1'1', that a gn•ntN· number _of p - op~ are in gl'l'8ter m'Cd in the. froud ·it:r o.f N' w York than on tho whol.c i ilnnd of l>u rto Rico~ f thl're wns t.L nu of faO or 140 tL ton to tie obtained b\· "working th \nunnnity tuts " in the' name of tho depeltdcnt ·11\Sl es in the gret\t m tl'Opoli,;, no .clo_u b~ ~ere 'yould be ns mUfb " houtiug for th o~d Ong and nppropnnt1 n u1 thy· behalf ns h! now mad . for Puerto Ri co.• L<>t us hl'lp th :f!uerto Rtcn.ns out of the dL t l'lt cau d by th hurricnnc. n~ wclln gl\·e the!D n f!Lr bett. r gon~l"nmcnt and lightc•· t3xation than tw~r _befor • hut 11! domg this ret Uil not 0\'Crthrow th fm dtuuent.ILI prmt•Jple of AtllCI'Il'all go\· I'll· ment. · . Nor b uld thi>~ be mt\d an l'X us for compelling out· .farmer and oth r. w rker:l to compete with th Puerto Ricun , who. priml\t·y and inl'A'J>Cillli\· m th.od of lif . is thu de ·rib d in the r port of tho pe.cialaget.l t. nt to Pu rto Ri<·o b • t\1 l nited t.ILtos Depltt'tm nt of Agrirult~re:
0" r o11e-hall of th i nlmbitn11t~ ol Pnrrto Ric• li\' 011 5 c• •nts a cluy or less, esti· titatcd in Amcrit~m money and in thi clMR nre h I found the people who p<lr!onn the tlnilv toil ' or the i lund: h1tl ••I. th •rl' are muny who lin• from one week' s end t anullicr on ·s·o l!imple llll urti~e o;o ~il!,'llr cu ne and thlti l'IIUO i~ ~ lrl in ~he tn~rkcts for that \'e n · purpoi'O. lK'OIUlUt~ CBn be· bou~tht for l ·cnt uplet·e. 1 mvcsttgat~ tb wage scjl le of th e snl!llT, tohu<•c , nrl <' fkoe itullll'tries, nn•l thes• arc the clue£ · ones of th i;olunrl . . A ~treat many hoy from 10. to 15 years of ng' nro employee!. · Th y get from 15 t\) 35 ~'tmls1t tiny nly , ptmi~h money, .o! from ~ to 18 •·ent;o, Amer1: can 1n nl'y. The un. kdled udulr Inborer rt.'t'l'l\'00 from .lh to 63 cnts, o~ nn •werngc O\'Or th e ii!lantl of liO t-ent~, Rpimi~h 111011 . y. This qua is 30 COI~t;o , A111er•cnn ~on~y. It i e:otimnt :1 ~- th · • fumiliur with the rc~urc!'!' ol Put>rt o Rwo-.nntl on tlus pomt tb agreem ntis ne rnl-thut Pt exportut10n f 8UgRr I'Ollltl bo mcreMcd 100 per nt.
•
~a king for th e f~tt't'n r ,; of th
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lnit d tate:;, I sl\y that our fundamentai·Ob] rtion t free trnd with Puerto Hiro i t~nt, iti al\ probn· bility, it will in Yitabl)· I foliowed hy fr e tmd wr.th uba and the Philippine. nnd l11ter withal\ th countl'i ~ to th outh of~ . AU .th~e • ttoplml co mtri s are grt>at ngri ulturnl producer . Thl'tr ca1 n •tty Ill that direction i Blm t unhmited. Th v nr ~mall con. um r of manufi\Ctured.product . Fr trnd with tbeTropic. would thu introdu entirel,~ new conomic ondition . D m tic fnrm r s CO';'ld n?t c0mpet with the Tropi · in producing ugur, tobacco, em~troptc · frujt~, l'llrly ,. g tabl . t . Our cigar make r ';tnd mannfactu~1·s c uld n t compete with that indu str~· in th Troptc ope!'ated by J.ts cheap labor. Under such a policy. ther fo re, th . Am r t<;a!l farm er would .be_ ubjected 'th. I w t f?rm. of fre. -trnd competttJO~. Thnt .. would rum ht mo t profitabl pe mitt . , whtl h . would be obhged to pa,· protection· pric ,; f r all th mnnufiU'tur he con umeQ. . . . '.rlie cli8 thus . pre~ nt · entit· l.r ne:w phll!le in our ·on~mtc pohcy. H retofore protecti If and 'tariff ha,·e been de igned t~uLmly to pro· teet the Am rican workingman and th runnufa.cturer ngamst the cheap
lai>O• of Ehrope. But Europe, iududiug tho Uuit drngdom, '
GOVERNMENT Io'Olt THE I
AND Oto' :PUERTO .RICO.
1G5
forced to buy henvily 'of out fam1 roducts, wh eth r .they wh;h to or not. Now 1 in th Tropics th Ctlll i xnctly tb opposite. The. trop- . icnl countrtc htwo or 'viii htwe un unlimit d ugt•tcultuml urplus for .export while JLffording a comp!Lmti·v ly 1'11111111 mnrk t for food· or manunteturcs. In view of thcs n w condition. tho Amerimn fm·mcr r new 1md ><fund more firmh· than 'cn r in th position tlmt hu:; be n 'I!O often t-eittlrated by'. th ·Nntiotml Omnge of Putt·on~; of H~t><lmndry-~hat o long a th r e i'i a tnri~ th~ farm~r :;hould h!"vo htll shnr.e o~ _tt, an.d pnrtic~•lat·l.'' when• protccttv dut~eli would du·r ·tly brnefit hun, _n-s t the m with twnr, tohtlt'('O, fnn ~, wgctnhle , ctt'. lf thl're IS to be nnv tm;itf r'du~tion ·let it appl y to tunnuflll·tur·t'llCQtmlly wi.th tLgricultuiul produ ·t,;. J f · ,·ou arc to r •chtt·' by :l(l prr c nt tho dutiell on wool htde suwlr, ft:uit ' tobnc ·o, ete .. from the \\ l'St Indies the Philif'pinc , ~r outh·Atucriea th n reduce hy 20 pot· t·cnt tho duties on nJ it.numt fnl'turc:; .o f wool iron. and oth t• good!l. \ I)on't dceein' yoar~< If into thinking thnt. ) 1ou t•t•n tnke nwn,y the fn.nncJ·:.;' protr~tiim " lhilc lrn,·ir_g ~~ upon the m!Lrl'!•facturcr. 9ur ftu·nu•r·,; hnv<'n't tlw moll( y to ma1nttttn tnlentcd lohhyt. ·t. nt 'Vn~hlllg· · ton hut thl' .' hnn tb yotes with whit·h to nmi11tai11 th it· in tcr c.·ts. t El:etioll ot'18!)ti l'itc.J Tr(fnt our f"rmt•r·s j11~;;t n:dnir·ly nntH10nestlv n · you trcrtt t)w man\rfnetuJ'<'l', 6t· ."'' will <'I t· ~ a Uongr·cs:; thrtt will ~tive •1 ~ ~ ueh trcntnt<'llt. " ' c• hrwe. CY rv nmlidmu·u, howov<'r, th t 0 "l once this whole t•n,;c• is fully undl'rstood h.r., t I1e hc.mom( II > o. ' ennton; a}' J,lf'pre.bt· n~ttlvr>< i11 th q P!'~'· 011~ Uong-~:<'""' tbc ~wtu he~"'· of both pru·tws will vtt' wtth l'neh othr •· tn ·,..,tfl'guat·clmg th o frmu •t·:; r11tcro:st:s. E.igh~y -th·e pt' l' c:e n.t of Pu ttl~ lti<·o ",expo!'~S llt'l) uoU'ce and. ,.;ugatl'. Cotlt•c a:; afreadr nclllllttccl dut r fr·e '. l<ot\r-liftb s of hl'r >~ugru· · nnd rtll · of her mulns"t'~ hnn\ hprn eoining to tho lnill'tl Ht:tt«'s, hecnuso evC"n ' :iftcr pn\"ing om d11til':< this i,; a much hcttcr mnrk,ct thrm ~pain, wh' ·h ' took onir Ollr-tclll"ll of lwt· "H"'tu·and non • of h >t·nw.ln:;ses. Shnll we · jeopnrdize AmPricnn principl~" to din•rt to thi" t.rmrltrt ~hr. onc-t~nth, of P•.:erto Rico'll stwat .. expurts that h:w bct'll g-olllg to pntn I ·The UHAJRi\IAN . "'Till y o11 plcnsc gh·c n~ a\ :;tntt•fhe llt ns to 'yhnt you de. ·ire? • ' . . . . . I 1\'Ir.: MYRJCl<. The :o~twnr hu;; IIH'" , 110w, fov 111:<t.ILnor, 111 the '"land of Pu.erto ltico, is alrcnd.r 1 rofibtlilc, so nHt ~h .so that fum-lifthll ~f thnt ,sugn.r rome. ~o · this ma rket now, :tml tt t>< _lll'l'l'.'>'n ry · .t? wmrt duti son Pu rto Hu·n11 ,.: ugnr to ully d ,- t'~op the •ndu,.;try. llwn we WE:'re also a: ur d that tht• Pu rto Rimn su~ar pt•oduut l'IUl 110t he incrensfltl. The lli\IIH' thing wa.:· said of Hawllti. · ·The ~HAIRMA . On th e contmry cv rybodv hns f<atitl it would he increased up to perhaps 1"70,000 tons·, it:; mitximiun _Poiut of pmduetion. Mr :Mnn K. Th stntc ment hru: bt• u made tn th11 pnper., ,. ry widel ~ that jt c uld not be inm· rr.:· d. J Mr. bEl'BW. 'l'h b<' t- ngar fau1nrr must r co.i\ what, in the Now York nmrket, to rcmuncmt him for mising ;; •gtLr ; l<ir1 MYRICK. 'L'h llttgar should n,· rtl'-! t'eut:; ILbout-! c nt.<; .at th e fa ·torr I shotlld . ~Y· We ar al~o a~kcd to , help the:e ~co ~e becnu ·e of the destnt ttOn du to th hnrntanc. Our contcntron 1: tbnt we hould denl ver,v {l' nrrou,..ly with them nnd help them out <?f that disaster, but iu . o dotllg w do not n , d to ovel'lo?k our cconomte policy- and I quot her to llhow you: "'Ih'e p opl ltve for 5 cent a duy a~d the 'vag s t~r .hom 10 to 30 eent n dny. ' In conclu. i@n,