The Porto Ricans (1899)

BY COMMISSIONER HENRY KING CARROLL

THE system of public schools was antiquated, and few improvements seem to have been made. In practice it was decidedly inferior and insufficient. Most attention was given, naturally, to urban schools, and these were inadequate in almost every respect. Less attention was given to schools in the rural districts, where the difficulties were greatest. Something was done for the boys, but little for the girls. Indeed, the first rural school for girls is said to have been established no longer ago than 1880. . . . The school population of the island, as reported by Secretary Carbonell, on the 1st of November, 1898, was 125,695. Of these 27,938 had attended school and 93,757 had not. . . .

The last census does not give returns for literacy and illiteracy except in certain districts. There are no later figures than those of the census of 1860, when the population was 583,181. Of this number 51,250 were literate and 531,931 illiterate. Over 90 per cent were unable to read. The estimates of present conditions vary; some say that 15, others 18 or 20 per cent, of the population are literates. . . .

. . . Porto Rico had a cheap and fairly effective telegraph and postal system, both under Government direction, but its roads, with few exceptions, were bad, and its railroads incomplete and not altogether satisfactory. There exists on paper a plan for a railroad system all the way around the island, but the gaps are much longer than the lines. . . .

The demand for good roads was more general than any other presented to the commissioner. A memorial from Arroyo stated that "without roads the riches of the island can not be developed." Another, from the municipal council of Utuado, said: "Real roads do not exist from the interior to the coast; only tracks, dangerous even to travelers, are available, preventing the development of the country and sapping its life every day." . . .

The policy which has governed in Porto Rico hitherto seems to have been to put all its energy into the production of sugar, coffee, tobacco, and cattle, and import most of its food supply. Its crops, under a system of cultivation not the most advantageous, have been so large that it could pay its heavy bills for foreign goods, meet enormous interest charges on its working capital, and have generally a profit left. . . .

Those who depend upon daily wages for support constitute the great majority of the people. The sources of employment are not numerous. The raising, harvesting, and grinding of cane require many more hands than the care and cure of coffee or tobacco; but even on sugar estates the work is not continuous. Some are kept the year round; others only during the busiest season. The daily wages of the common field laborer range generally from 35 to 50 cents, native money. . . .

The field laborer is usually illiterate and is bringing up his children as he himself was raised, entirely without schooling. This is due in part to the lack of school accommodations in rural districts, partly to the want of suitable clothing, and in some measure to the failure of parents to appreciate the importance of education. . . .

It is evident that the condition of the laboring classes can not be greatly improved unless agriculture becomes prosperous and minor industries are developed. This means practically a revolution in the methods of raising and marketing crops, and it can not be accomplished without the influx of new capital. How this shall be attracted is one of the problems for those interested in the regeneration of Porto Rico. It is manifest that the great object to be gained is the raising of the working classes to a higher level of intelligence, of efficiency as laborers, of power and influence as citizens, and of comfort and enjoyment as social creatures. Give them remunerative work, and all the rest is possible. They will then . . . want better houses, better furniture, better food and clothing, and this in turn will give increased employment to masons and carpenters and to producers of foodstuffs and the various fabrics. The great wheel would turn all the lesser wheels. Laborers are good consumers when their labor is sufficiently paid, and there can be no real prosperity in which they do not share. . . .

All classes of natives of the island welcomed the American Army, American occupation, and American methods, and accepted without hesitation the Stars and Stripes in place of the red and yellow bars. They had not been disloyal to the old flag; but it had come to represent to them, particularly during the present century, in which a class feeling developed between the insular and the peninsular Spaniard, partiality and oppression. . . . Porto Ricans generally complained that the former Government discriminated in favor of the Spaniard, who, in the distribution of the offices, was preferred to the native, and who, aided by the powerful influence of the authorities, prospered in business as banker, merchant, manufacturer, or agriculturist. They also insist that the internal improvement of the island was neglected; that agriculture bore more than its share of the burden of taxation; that the assessments were very inequitable and unequal; that education was not fostered, and that in general the welfare of the people was not the first concern of their rulers. . . .

The question of capacity for self-government lies at the threshold of the whole subject. It may be said, without fear of contradiction, that Porto Ricans have had little opportunity to show their capacity, and such experience as they may have gained in the government of cities and in minor official positions was under a system not the most suitable for developing efficient, independent, impartial, and honest public servants. They, themselves, see this clearly and admit it. They condemn unsparingly the old methods, and say that they want to begin the era of their new relations with better institutions, under sounder and juster principles, and with improved methods. . . .

If the desire to assume the burdens of local self-government may be taken as indicating some degree of capacity for self-government, the people of Porto Rico certainly have the desire. They may be poor, but they are proud and sensitive, and would be bitterly disappointed if they found that they had been delivered from an oppressive yoke to be put under a tutelage which proclaimed their inferiority. Apart from such qualifications as general education and experience constitute, the commissioner has no hesitation in affirming that the people have good claims to be considered capable of self-government. . . .

The unswerving loyalty of Porto Rico to the Crown of Spain, as demonstrated by the truth of history, is no small claim to the confidence and trust of the United States. The people were obedient under circumstances which provoked revolt after revolt in other Spanish colonies. The habit of obedience is strong among them.

Their respect for law is another notable characteristic. They are not turbulent or violent. Riots are almost unknown in the island; so is organized resistance to law; brigandage flourished only for a brief period after the war and its object was revenge rather than rapine.

They are not a criminal people. The more violent crimes are by no means common. Burglary is almost unknown. There are many cases of homicide, but the number in proportion to population is not as large as in the United States. Thievery is the most common crime, and petty cases make up a large part of this list of offences. The people as a whole are a moral, law-abiding class, mild in disposition, easy to govern, and possess the possibilities of developing a high type of citizenship. . . .

They are industrious, and are not disposed to shirk the burdens which fall, often with crushing force, upon the laboring class. Their idleness is usually an enforced idleness. No doubt the ambition of many needs to be stimulated, for their lot has been so hopeless of an improvement that the desire for more conveniences and comforts may have been well-nigh lost. They seem to have few customs or prejudices which would prevent them from becoming good American citizens.

The question remains whether, in view of the high rate of illiteracy which exists among them, and of their lack of training in the responsibilities of citizenship, it would be safe to intrust them with the power of self-government. The commissioner has no hesitation in answering. this question in the affirmative. . . .

Henry K. Carroll, (Washington, 1899), 32–58 passim.