concerns them, and to give them, to the greatest possible extent, individual freedom, self-government in accordance with their capacity, just and equal laws, and opportunity for education, for profitable industry, and for development in civilization.

The people of the ceded islands have acquired a moral right to be treated by the United States in accordance with the underlying principles of justice and freedom. which we have declared in our Constitution, and which are the essential safeguards of every individual against the powers of government, not because those provisions were enacted for them, but because they are essential limitations inherent in the very existence of the American Government. To illustrate: The people of Porto Rico have not the right to demand that duties should be uniform as between Porto Rico and the United States, because the provision of the Constitution prescribing uniformity of duties throughout the United States was not made for them, but was a provision of expediency solely adapted to the conditions existing in the United States upon the continent of North America; but the people of Porto Rico are entitled to demand that they shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, that private property shall not be taken for public use without compensation, that no law shall be passed impairing the obligation of contracts, etc., because our nation has declared these to be rights belonging to all men. Observance of them is a part of the nature of our Government. It is impossible that there should be any delegation of power by the people of the United States to any legislative, executive, or judicial officer which should carry the right to violate these rules toward anyone anywhere; and there is an implied contract on the part of the people of the United States with every man who voluntarily submits himself, or is submitted to our dominion, that they shall be observed as between our Government and him, and that in the exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution upon Congress, "to dispose of and make all needful rules and regu

lations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States," Congress will hold itself bound by those limitations which arise from the law of its own existence.

The problem of civil government in the islands, yielded or ceded by Spain, presents itself in the simplest form in the case of Porto Rico. That island is fully and without question under the sovereignty of the United States. It came to us not only by legal right, but with the cheerful and unanimous desire of its people, who are peaceful and loyal and eager for the benefits to be derived from the application of American ideas of government. There is no obstacle in the way of our providing for Porto Rico the best government which we are capable of devising for people situated as are the inhabitants of that island.

The questions presented by the consideration of the measures which ought to be taken for the government of Porto Rico are threefold: (1) What form of government shall be established, and what participation in that government shall the people of the island have? (2) What shall be the treatment of the municipal law of the island, and how far shall the laws which now regulate the rights and conduct of the people be changed to conform to the ideas prevalent among the people of the United States? (3) What economic relations shall be established between the island and the United States?

(1) In determining the question as to the form of government, and the participation of the people of the island therein, the most important fact to be considered is that the people have not yet been educated in the art of selfgovernment, or any really honest government. In all their experience and in all their traditions law and freedom have been ideas which were not associated with each other, but opposed to each other; and it is impossible that a people with this history-only 10 per cent of whom can read or write-should ever have acquired any real understanding of the way to conduct a popular government. I do not doubt their capacity to learn to govern

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themselves; but they have not yet learned. There are among them many highly educated and able men, public spirited and patriotic, and these show what their people are capable of becoming; but there are not enough of them to make a working government which would be anything but an oligarchy, and many of them have merely a theoretical rather than a practical acquaintance with the processes of government.

The difficulty does not consist merely of a lack of familiarity with the methods and processes of government; it lies deeper than that in the fact that the Porto Ricans, as a people, have never learned the fundamental and essential lesson of obedience to the decision of the majority. They have had no opportunity to learn and they never have learned. There can be no free government without a loyal, voluntary personal subjection to the peaceful decisions reached by lawful processes.

In the experiments which have already been tried in municipal elections, and toward government by municipal boards, the minority which is voted down almost invariably refuses to participate further in the business. of government.

The attitude of the defeated party is precisely that which causes the continual revolutions in the government of other West India islands and the Central American States in the same latitude. This habit marks a rudimentary stage of political development, and before the people of Porto Rico can be fully intrusted with selfgovernment they must first learn the lesson of self-control and respect for the principles of constitutional government, which require acceptance of its peaceful decisions. This lesson will necessarily be slowly learned, because it is a matter not of intellectual apprehension, but of character and of acquired habits of thought and feeling. It would be of no use to present to the people of Porto Rico now a written constitution or frame of laws, however perfect, and tell them to live under it. They would inevitably fail without a course of tuition under a strong and guiding hand. With that tuition for a time their

natural capacity will, it is hoped, make them a selfgoverning people. A form of government should be provided for Porto Rico which will assure the kind of administration to which we are accustomed, with just as much participation on the part of Porto Ricans as is possible without enabling their inexperience to make it ineffective, and with opportunity for them to demonstrate their increasing capacity to govern themselves with less and less assistance.

I think that some such provision should be made for future government as the following:

That we should first declare definitely, by statute, what general laws of the United States are to be extended to the Porto Ricans, such as, for instance, the postal laws, the banking laws, the customs, navigation, and internalrevenue laws with such modifications as may be deemed advisable, the laws against counterfeiting, the antitrust laws, etc.; and provide for Federal officers to execute these laws just as they are executed in the various States and Territories of the Union; that there should be a provision for a Federal judiciary in the island, with the same kind of jurisdiction which is exercised by the circuit and district courts of the United States, and that jurisdiction to review their determinations should be vested in the Supreme Court of the United States or in a designated circuit court of appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States.

That there should be a form of local insular government provided which shall have complete control over the rights, property, and obligations of the people of the island, substantially covering the field covered by the government of our respective States, and subject to limitations prescribed by Congress of the same character as the constitutional limitations generally imposed upon our State legislatures.

That the framework of this government should be substantially as follows: A governor, to be appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and con

sent of the Senate; the chief officers of state customary under our system, such as secretary of state, attorneygeneral, treasurer, auditor or comptroller, superintendent of public works, and superintendent of education, to be appointed in like manner; and a legislative council, to be composed of the chief officers of state, and a minority selected from the people of the island by the President; that all acts of the council should be subject to the veto power of the governor and to be passed over the veto by a two-thirds vote, and no law should take effect until it has remained without disapproval for thirty days after presentation to Congress or to the President of the United States if passed when Congress is not in session; that there should be a supreme court of the island, composed of judges appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate and having appellate jurisdiction only; trial courts in separate districts, having general original jurisdiction, with judges and officers to be appointed by the governor, and a petty court in each municipality; that the several municipalities now existing in the island, with such consolidations and alterations of boundaries as the council shall prescribe, shall be governed by mayors and municipal councils, to be elected by the people of the municipalities, each municipality to be free from control in the exercise of the powers of local government, except as it shall be controlled by statute, and except as its officers shall be liable to removal by the governor in case of failure to faithfully perform their duties, and with power in the governor in case of such failure to order a new election and to fill vacancies in the meantime.

Such a system as this is not without precedent in our own experience, for the provision of a governor and council was frequently adopted in our early territorial legislation. It would give to the people of the island participation in the government, and would afford them an opportunity both to acquire and to demonstrate capacity for the conduct of government.