VoL LX. No. 2694. 
NEW YOliK, SEPTEMBER 14, 1901. 
*1 PER YEAR, 
PORTO RICO FOR AMERICANS. 
A CLEAR STATEMENT OF CONDITIONS. 
Climate, Crops and Soil. 
The question is often asked: Are there any profit¬ 
able business openings for Americans in our new 
West Indian possession? The writer will endeavor 
to outline the general situation there, so that the 
reader may balance the pros and cons and judge for 
himself. Porto Rico is a land which has until very 
recently been under an oppressive form of govern¬ 
ment. The laborers, or peons, are extremely poor, 
and live in a most primitive way. There is no large, 
influential middle class as in the United States, where 
diversity of occupation, free schools, and a govern¬ 
ment whose basic principles, at least, are democratic, 
furnish favorable opportunities for the average man. 
These conditions, and the dense population, close the 
door for the American laborer in Porto Rico, The 
average wage of the peon is 50 cents per day on the 
sugar estates, and 40 cents in the interior. The man 
of small means, especially if unacquainted with the 
climate and the Spanish language, to succeed in Porto 
Rico must possess skill in some line which the Island 
lacks. It is safer for such to find employment and be¬ 
come acquainted with local conditions and values be¬ 
fore investing in land. The opportunities for invest¬ 
ment, especially for the cultivator who can afford to 
wait a few years for full returns, are now exceptional, 
as foreclosures on mortgaged lands are beginning, 
after having been held up since the American occupa¬ 
tion. For the first time in the history of our country, 
we have a purely tropical territory, open for settle¬ 
ment, under stable American government, a region 
where oranges, pineapples and other tender fruits and 
vegetables can be grown without a check from frost 
or cool weather in the Winter months, as the mercury 
usually stands in the sixties, during the nights of 
January and February. These conditions Insure a 
rapid growth, whereas in Florida at the same time 
wide fluctuaitions of temperature occur. Involving 
enormous loss. 
Free trade with this country, which takes effect 
March 1, 1902, is practically a bounty upon all the 
products of Porto Rico which pay a duty when im¬ 
ported into the United States, over the same products 
when imported from Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico and other 
tropical countries, which is suflScient to make a hand¬ 
some profit in itself. At present 85 per cent of the 
duty has been removed. Porto Rico has good ship¬ 
ping facilities, as the fine five-days’ steamships of 
the Red D Line and the New York and Porto Rico 
RAPID TRANSIT IN PORTO.RICO. Fig. 274. 
Steamship Company together supply an excellent 
weekly service both ways between Ponce and San 
Juan and New York. Labor, while uninstructed in 
modern methods of tillage, is quick to learn; it is 
much superior to the negro labor of Jamaica, being 
a mixed blood, largely Spanish. It should be said, 
however, that Porto Rican labor, to be effective, must 
have supervision which is continuous and intelligent, 
or it is dear at any price. 
The climate of the Island is more healthful than 
that of most tropical countries. It is hilly, there are 
but few swamps; there is a large number of streams 
of pure water, and the trade winds prevail throughout 
the greater part of the year. The most marked char¬ 
acteristic of the climate is the steadiness of the tem¬ 
perature. The average at sea level is about 75 de¬ 
grees for January, and about 83 degrees for July. A 
northern man can live and work out of doors in the 
tropics if he observes such rules of health as are re¬ 
quired in our warm Summer weather, which is strict¬ 
ly tropical for weeks at a time. There are no oppres¬ 
sive nights in Porto Rico in a properly-ventilated 
sleeping room. Among the hills the nights are quite 
cool; there is a very heavy dew, and blankets are 
required. The first floor of houses should be raised 
A PORTO RICAN HOME. Fig. 275. 
several feet from the ground, to allow free circulation 
of air below. Persons working in the field should 
push their work early and late, taking a long rest at 
noon. There has been remarkably little sickness 
among the Americans—soldiers and other residents 
on the Island. The sickly appearance of many of the 
natives, especially in the interior, is due to poor diet 
and unsanitary conditions of living. There are a few 
localities subject to malarial fevers. These are 
swampy sections, and particularly when care is not 
taken to use rain water for drinking purposes. In 
most parts of Porto Rico, however, the water from 
the small streams is good when filtered. Ice is only 
obtainable in the larger towns. The water is cooled 
in a large porous jar, which stands in the air upon 
the balcony and receives it as it drops from the filter. 
To maintain full vigor a northern man should return 
to the North for a few weeks once a year or once in 
two years, it is said, as the continuous warm weather 
becomes wearing in time. A liberal and appropriate 
diet and the practice cf taking a daily shower bath, 
the writer believes, as the result of his own experi¬ 
ence, will go far toward combating the depleting ef¬ 
fects of a tropical climate. 
The political situation Is satisfactory and encourag¬ 
ing. There is no party opposing American sov¬ 
ereignty, although the wealthy mercantile and landed 
class strenuously object to the tax law passed by the 
A GIANT FERN. Fig. 276. 
recent session of the Legislature, a law which Is based 
on the principles which prevail in our States. This 
law was passed by the popular party, and was origi¬ 
nated by Dr. Hollander in the Executive Council. The 
business outlook is vastly better than it was a year 
ago, the marked improvement dating from the Civil 
Government law which went into effect the first of 
last May, and fixed the tariff status of the Island. 
Municipal affairs are still carried on in much the 
same way as in Spanish times, and Americans com¬ 
plain that they do not get justice in the courts of the 
alcaldes or mayors—at least in many places; but the 
larger affairs of the Island are being rapidly Im¬ 
proved. Under the progressive Superintendent of In¬ 
struction, Dr. M. G. Brumbaugh, rural schoolhouses 
are being built, each with its acre of land for a school 
garden. They will be equipped with garden tools, 
and instruction given in practical work. This man¬ 
ual training is especially important in Porto Rico, 
because the natives are behind the times in their 
knowledge of farming and gardening, and there are 
few opportunities open to them in other lines. The 
recent school disturbance in San Juan—which is the 
most Spanish in sentiment of all the Porto Rico towns 
—'was only possible because of the inefficiency of 
municipal officers and police, and their lack of co¬ 
operation with the Department of Education, which 
is under insular and American control. 
At the present, Porto Rico Is not a desirable coun¬ 
try in which to rear a family, as the social and educa¬ 
tional status of the people is low. In a few years 
conditions will be vastly improved. Railways will 
penetrate the rich valleys of the interior. American 
gardeners and fruit growers will bring new indus¬ 
tries, new Implements and new methods. The Ameri¬ 
can public school will have produced a generation of 
young Porto Ricans more intelligent than the present, 
and understanding the English language and some¬ 
thing of American institutions. When that time 
comes, Porto Rico will have much to commend it for 
family life; its balmy Winter, where coal oills and 
heavy clothing are not costs to be considered, and the 
fact that expensive buildings are not required for 
comfort, coolness and not warmth being the desidera¬ 
tum. The cost of living is also immensely reduced 
by the fact that the bounty of nature is such that 
food for man and beast Is produced throughout the 
year, and the husbandman can market his crops In 
every month, and is not limited, as under the exacting 
conditions of northern agriculture, to a few months 
of production. The charming climate and picturesque 
scenery of Porto Rico are attracting many American 
visitors who desire to escape the vigors of our north¬ 
ern Winter months, and some of these remain as set- 
