THE LIBRARY 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/thirtyyearsinporOOjame 
 
THIRTY YEARS IN 
 PORTO RICO 
 
 A RECORD OF THE PROGRESS SINCE 
 AMERICAN OCCUPATION 
 
 BY 
 
 ARTHUR JAMES, M. A., B. D., (Yale) 
 
 SAN JUAN 
 PORTO BICO PBOOBESS 
 1927 
 
To M-g 
 
 leather ancf Mother 
 
 Copyright 
 AKTHyR JAMBS 
 
F 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter I. — l-ooking Backwards Page . 7 
 
 " II. — Some Personal Characteristics . . "14 
 
 " III. — The Social and Industrial Life . . "21 
 
 " IV. — Religious Conditions " 32 
 
 " V. — Health and Happiness " 43 
 
 " VI. — Educational and Community Work " 50 
 
 " VII.— What the Missions are Doing . . "58 
 
 1403327 
 
CHAPTER i 
 
 LOOKING BACKWARDS 
 
 The second voyage of Columbus while not as auspici- 
 ous as the first, was in many ways, just as important. 
 At the head of a great fleet he sailed majestically along 
 the northern coast of Porto Rico, anxious, no doubt, to 
 join his ill fated comrades he had left behind him. The 
 ships needed fresh water however, and he sailed into the 
 beautiful bay on the shores of which Aguada and Agua- 
 dilla are now situated. His search for v/ater was short. 
 One hundred yards from the beach an underground river 
 belched forth. From this gushing cataract the water kegs 
 were filled and the fleet sailed on to Santo Domingo. 
 
 Porto Rico is the only territory over which the United 
 States flag flies which has had this personal and direct 
 touch of Columbus. The Discoverer, however, never re- 
 turned to the island, but ruled the Spanish Main from 
 the adjacent island of Santo Domingo. There was one 
 member of this first landing party who seemed to be 
 greatly impressed by the beauties and possibilities of Por- 
 to Rico. This was the poetic warrior-explorer Ponce de 
 Leon. He returned on a voyage of exploration, and v/as 
 received hospitably by the islanders. His preliminary in- 
 vestigations and reports warranted Columbus granting 
 him more men. Ponce de Leon was appointed first gov- 
 ernor of Porto Rico. He established his headquarters in 
 the neighborhood of San Juan and set about in the typic- 
 al "conquistador" style of subduing and settling the coun- 
 try. 
 
g THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 For many years the Spaniards were able to bamboozle 
 the guileless natives that they were an immortal race. Un- 
 der this deception much exploitation was accomplished 
 with its attendant cruelties. Doubting Thomases arose, 
 however, among the Indians and a council of war decid- 
 ed to test the theory. A luckless Spanish messenger by 
 the name of Salcedo was chosen for the experiment. As 
 he was bearing a message from San Juan to San Ger- 
 man, the capital of the western end of the island, Salce- 
 do was caught and held under the Anasco river until life 
 was apparently extinct. The Indians then watched over 
 his body until their belief in the immortality of the Eu- 
 ropean was disabused by the unmistakable sign of de- 
 composition. The result of this experiment served to 
 stimulate the Indians. There were two or three formid- 
 able insurrections against the serfdom the invaders had 
 imposed upon them. The Indians, though, with their sim- 
 ple weapons were no match for the Spaniards and in a 
 short while the original inhabitants of the island were ei- 
 ther killed off, or driven to the mountain fastnesses. 
 
 Spain's claim to Porto Rico was often disputed by the 
 other European countries. At one time the Duke of Cum- 
 berland held the island for the British crown. Porto Ri- 
 co might have been today a part of the British West In- 
 dies had not cholera so devastated the rank of the Eng- 
 lish that the Duke abandoned the place and the Span- 
 iards drifted back. In the early years of its history, pi- 
 rates, privateers, and freebooters harassed the island. 
 Towns were burned and sacked along the coast. All the 
 invading parties were driven off, including the great Sir 
 Francis Drake. The last battle of this redoubtable sea 
 rcver wr.s vain attempt to capture the port of San Juan. 
 
LOOKING BACKWARDS 
 
 9 
 
 Attacks from foes and neglect by Spain caused Porto 
 Rico, so thickly inhabited today, to have the appearance 
 of a thinly populated wilderness during the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries. Things brightened up, though, at 
 the end of the eighteenth century. The actual or pro- 
 spective revolution in her overseas possessions made Spain 
 adopt a more liberal colonial policy. In 1815 Porto Rico 
 became a Spanish colony in the true sense of the word. 
 An epoch making degree was proclaimed which removed 
 many of the racial and religious handicaps which had hith- 
 erto prevented foreigners from settling in the country. 
 Beside Europeans many of the citizens of the new repub- 
 lics in the Caribbean area made their home in Porto Rico, 
 evidently prefering the fleshpots of a royal Spanish colo- 
 ny to risking their lives and fortunes in the revolutionary 
 countries to the South and West. 
 
 The nineteenth century brought Porto Rico before the 
 eyes of the world on more than one occasion. In the first 
 half of the century the pirates that infested these seas 
 seemed to make their headquarters here. The depreda- 
 tions made upon the shipping world compelled the United 
 States to take an active part in the suppression of the 
 buccaneers. A fleet under Commodore Porter was sent 
 to clean the seas. Porter did an effective job although 
 on one occasion he almost involved his country in war 
 with Spain. The Commodore was on the point of search- 
 mg the Port of Fajardo when the Spanish officials of the 
 protecting fort threatened to fire on his ships should they 
 enter the port. There was no heroic reply on the part 
 of Commodore — he simply sailed into the port and spik- 
 ed the guns that had been turned upon him. 
 
 In the year 1870 Porto Rico became a Province of 
 
io 
 
 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 Spain with the rights and privileges of a continental prov- 
 ince. The greatest advantage of this act was that Porto 
 Rico could elect delegates to the Spanish Cortes. One of 
 the first things these colonial representatives did was to 
 stir up sentiment in favor of the abolition of slavery. On 
 March 22, 1873 the entire slave population, 34,000, was 
 liberated. For this piece of humane legislation, Porto Ri- 
 co is justly proud. As one of her commissioners to Wash- 
 ington has said. "Porto Rico is the only country that has 
 liberated her slaves voluntarily and deliberately by the 
 will of her own people". 
 
 Just before the Spanish-American war the Mother coun- 
 try granted Porto Rico a very liberal form a government. 
 Without changing the number of representatives in the 
 Cortes the island was given autonomy. An Insular Leg- 
 islative Assembly with a cabinet of five Porto Ricans to 
 act as a consulting board to the Governor was set up. It 
 has always been a bitter pill to the patriotic Porto Rican 
 that this system was never given a fair chance to work. 
 It seemed to them that the goal of all their political agita- 
 tion for a generation had been achieved, that without 
 sacrificing the protection of their powerful motherland 
 they had complete home rule. There are cynics, how- 
 ever, that insist that Spain, with her rather shady record 
 in favor of self government, was compelled to make some 
 such concession by pre-bellum pressure. It is a question 
 that can never be solved and it no doubt will be a sub- 
 ject of discussion for many generations to come. 
 
 After an almost insignificant campaign so far as Porto 
 Rico was concerned the Treaty of Paris closed the Span- 
 ish-American war. There was no animosity on the part 
 of the Porto Ricans towards the northern invaders. The 
 
LOOKING BACKWARDS 
 
 11 
 
 Spanish soldiers were brave, but even they did not seem 
 to have much heart for the conflict. Many of these sol- 
 diers stayed in Porto Rico after the Peace was declared 
 and in time became American citizens. Thirty years af- 
 ter we find the officer who represented Spain and the of- 
 ficer who represented the United States in the stirring 
 ceremony when the keys of the historic city of San Juan 
 were turned over to the conquerors, marching together in 
 the Fourth of July procession ; each at the head of his 
 band of veterans. Under these tropic skies. Time, the 
 great Healer, heals even more quickly than he does in the 
 northern zone. 
 
 Shortly after the Occupation the island was visited by 
 the most terrible hurricane of its history. Crops were 
 destroyed, thousands were rendered homeless and the star- 
 ving multitudes from the country flocked to the city for 
 food half believing that the cyclone was a visitation 
 from God to punish the invader. America rose to her 
 opportunity. Relief work was quickly organized and ef- 
 fectively administered. Uncle Sam's new nephews thus 
 had an early opportunity of learning that whatever they 
 might think of the political motives behind the Occupa- 
 tion the heart of Uncle Sam was in the right place. 
 
 It was not until 1917 that the people of Porto Rico be- 
 came American citizens. The passage of the J^nes Bill 
 happily closed a period in the history of this island— peo- 
 ple that had been the cause of much discontent. Before 
 this date the Porto Rican people were subject to the laws 
 of the United States without the rights and privileges of 
 citizens. So much was this true that a Porto Rican dis- 
 gruntled at this condition could not become a citizen of 
 another country because he had no country to forswear. 
 
12 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 This is now past history and whatever questions th^ 
 Porto Rican may have as to his future his present status 
 is clear and unequivocal. The Jones Bill provided that 
 if by a certain date the Porto Rican people had not in- 
 dicated a desire that United States citizenship would be 
 undesirable to them they would automatically become cit- 
 izens. Only 288 out of a total population of 1,200,000 
 had any desire to remain outside the pale. All the rest 
 seemed glad to take advantage of Uncle Sam's protecting 
 arm. There are probably very few instances in the his- 
 tory of the world where a mass movement of this kind 
 could be paralleled. 
 
 The Jones Bill provided that a plebiscite should be tak- 
 en on the temperance question. To everybody's surprise 
 Porto Rico voted herself dry by a two to one majority — 
 the first Latin American country to board the water wag- 
 on. The passing of the eighteenth amendment took the 
 enforcement problem out of the hands of the insular 
 courts and placed it in the Federal Courts. Prohibition 
 enforcement is peculiarly difficult in Porto Rico because 
 in the first place the molasses from the big sugar facto- 
 ries give the chief ingredient to the poor man for his 
 "Mample" while the proximity of the French, Dutch and 
 English islands make the task of providing the upper 
 classes with their wine and spirits not very difficult. The 
 position of Director of Prohibition in Porto Rico is far 
 from a sinecure. 
 
 Since 1917 Porto Rico has been making history, which, 
 though it lacks the glamour of war and revolution has 
 clearly demonstrated that the Porto Rican is qualified to 
 the respect and confidence of the world. Statistics are 
 not difficult to obtain showing the progress of the last 
 
LOOKING BACKWARDS 
 
 13 
 
 thirty years. More convincing, however, is the fact that 
 
 the new system and program of government instituted by 
 the American government has been so well developed and 
 adapted by the Porto Rican — that today the natives of 
 the island head most of the governmental departments, 
 some of whom were appointed by the President of the 
 United States. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 
 of Porto Rico is a product of his beloved Borinquen and 
 receives the respect and affection of both Porto Ricans 
 and continentals. 
 
 Furthermore, as a proof that the period of apparentiship 
 is over is President Coolidge's recent statement to the ef- 
 fect that he saw no reason why a Porto Rican could not 
 be appointed as Governor of the Island — a post that dur- 
 ing the past 435 years has been held by either a Spaniard 
 or a Continental American. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 SOME PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 The Porto Rican is the embodiment of hospitality, 
 courtesy and tact. The poorest peon in the country pos- 
 sesses a native social ease that is seldom found among 
 Anglo-Sasons. The stranger can always be sure of an 
 unaffected welcome even to the most humble country hut. 
 
 This courtesy is not confined to the social life. It per- 
 meates and influences every phase of living. In the busi- 
 ness world, for example, although the Porto Rican has few 
 equals when it comes to shrewdness, he does not depend 
 upon the complicated efficiency systems of his northern 
 brother. He has a way of ingratiating himself into the 
 confidence of his customer and establishing a personal 
 friendship. Instead of a monthly statement, when he is 
 in need of money, he will hand you a signed receipt. A 
 more subtle method could hardly be devised to raise the 
 necessary cash. By way of contrast an American grocery 
 store on the island prints some such legend as this at the 
 bottom of its bills and statements : ' ' This is not a bank. 
 Bills are payable promptly the first of every month. In- 
 terest will be charged on all overdue accounts at legal 
 rate." This method no doubt works well with the Ameri- 
 can clientele Avhich the store serves, but it will not work 
 with the Latin element. If the American business man is 
 sincere in his desire to win the confidence of Latin Amer- 
 ica from a commercial standpoint he must, as other nations 
 have already done, accommodate himself to this element 
 of courtesy. 
 
SOME PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 15 
 
 The courtesy of the Porto Rican often runs to the ex- 
 tremity — and outcome of exaggeration. We must not take 
 him too literally. On the announcement of his new-born 
 babe will appear the startling statement, "He is yours." 
 Express the slightest interest in a thing and the proprie- 
 tor will tell you that you are welcome to it, even though 
 it be the house which has lodged him and his family for 
 generations. One of the favorite stories both among the 
 Porto Rican and the resident Americans is that during a 
 visit to the home of a cultured Porto Rican, a northern 
 tourist expressed his admiration on a beautiful picture — an 
 heirloom of the famil}^ With his customary courtesy, the 
 host made the formal reply that the picture was the prop- 
 . erty of his guest. The literal American, however, took 
 his friend at his word and next morning sent a man to 
 bring away his newly acquired work of art. Needless to 
 say the man returned empty-handed, but with a positive 
 opinion as to the prosaic nature of the northerner's 
 make up. 
 
 Another marked characteristic of the Porto Rican is his 
 love of the beautiful. This trait manifests itself in every 
 walk of life. It is seen in the language itself — the chief 
 index of the life and feeling of a people. Good Spanish 
 is not so much a matter of good grammar as it is "the 
 way it sounds." Art for art's sake means a great deal to 
 the Porto Rican. Far removed from the great metropili- 
 tan centers, the women of the inland towns appear in 
 dresses of the latest Paris and New York styles which some 
 native dressmaker has made from a picture in a current 
 magazine, without either patterns or instructions. 
 
 An outstanding need is direction for this artistic sense. 
 Where it does not have direction and where the artistic 
 
16 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 sense is not tempered by the practical we oftentimes get 
 a pitiful affectation and much useless labor. A girl will 
 work for months on a piece of drawn work and will shed 
 innumerable tears because she cannot dispose of her work 
 on account of the poor quality of the cloth on which she 
 has put her labor. The cabinet maker, not content with 
 the native beauty of the mahogany, cedar or satin wood 
 will, unless he has very specific instructions to the contra- 
 ry, work days and weeks carving these woods in imitation 
 of some piece of cheap States furniture that may take his 
 eye. Where work of this nature has had the oversight of 
 a trained teacher it results in that type of beauty charac- 
 teristic of the Spanish-Moorish civilization. 
 
 The Porto Rican shares with his other Latin American 
 brethren his characteristic idealism. In this respect we can 
 note one of the chief differences from the more practical 
 northerner. The South American possesses a fine ideal- 
 ism, but he seems to lack the ability to put his ideals into 
 reality. This trait is offset by a fatalism which so often 
 saps his energy and initiative. The constitutions of some 
 of the Latin American Republics surpass even the work 
 of Thomas Jefferson in their advocacy of justice and 
 brotherhood; yet in many of these countries we find a 
 revolution with almost every rainy season. 
 
 It is refreshing to find a people whose standard of suc- 
 cess is not accumulation of material property, and who 
 will put up with all kinds of political inconvenience prov- 
 ided they are able to live in comfort with family and 
 friend; yet, on the other hand, it is disappointing to see 
 so few native leaders develop. Of good ideas and theories 
 there is no dearth, but the will to put them into effect is 
 laclung, It is the absence of this practical side of their 
 
SOME PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 17 
 
 nature that justifies the Anglo-Saxonized courses of study 
 in the educational institutions. Whatever weakness the 
 people may have along these lines, the riglit training has 
 done much to offset it, as is evidenced in the trained, na- 
 tive ministry and public school teacher. 
 
 Tlie Porto Rican has a decided taste for purely intellec- 
 tual questions. At a railroad station, in the drug store, 
 or wherever men are wont to congregate we are always 
 sure of a keen discussion on any religious or philosophical 
 question if we but take the trouble to start it. An ap- 
 preciation for the abstract seems to be inherent with these 
 islanders. A teacher in the first year high school had 
 finished a course in Franklin's Autobiography. In quiz- 
 • zing a fifteen year old freshman on this pragmatic book 
 as to what he liked best about it, the teacher was startled 
 with the reply "the author's philosophy of life." This 
 was her first experience in teaching on the island. Later 
 she was not so much surprised to find that over 90% of 
 the same class elected "Sin and penance" as a subject to 
 write on, following a study of the "Rhyme of the Ancient 
 Mariner" when they might have chosen, "The plot of the 
 story," or some such subject. 
 
 Manual training and similar branches in the school cur- 
 riculum are popular, but they do not answer the purpose 
 for w^hieh the emphasis has been placed on them in the 
 course of study. It is probably just as difficult now to 
 get a fairly well educated young Porto Rican to take up 
 some form of manual work for his livelihood as it was 
 twenty years ago. Recently a missionary was instrumental 
 in putting one of the island adolescent in touch with an 
 American — the object of the boy being to go to the States 
 to foilow this man's line of business. In the course of his 
 
r 
 
 18 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 correspondence, the boy was very careful to state that he 
 did not need the ordinary ground-work of the American 
 youth; but that he was quite willing to do anything that 
 would call forth the diplomatic ability for which the Latin 
 race was noted! 
 
 With all this intellectual interest, the Porto Rican can 
 hardly be said to be up to date in his philosophy. He is 
 a follower rather than a leader in this direction. The 
 greatest opponent of the evangelical religion today is not 
 so much Roman Catholicism as it is the kind of free think- 
 ing that swept the United States more than fifty years 
 ago. The great modern and purifying philosophies of 
 Bergson and Eucken do not seem to have found these peo- 
 ple yet. It is to be hoped that their insular position will 
 not permanently keep these forces out. 
 
 It is doubtful if there is a more kind and generous per- 
 son to be found anywhere than the Porto Rican. In spite 
 of the abject poverty of a large percentage of the popula- 
 tion orphan asylums and similar institutions do not seem 
 to flourish. If one or both parents die, the children are 
 divided among the neighbors to share the trials and for- 
 tunes of another meager existence. During the war all 
 philanthropies connected with the conflict were enthusi- 
 astically supported. People who had never given to any- 
 thing outside their town oversubscribed to the Red Cross 
 and in Liberty Loans — often without a clear knowledge of 
 what the money was for or where it was going. One inci- 
 dent which occurred in an interior country district will 
 serve to show the spirit of the people. A planter was ap- 
 proached to subscribe his share of liberty bonds. He had 
 been used to the periodical swindles of Spanish days, but 
 could not be thought to be ungenerous. He subscribed for 
 
SOME PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 19 
 
 $500.00 worth of bonds, but even after he had the United 
 States' receipt he firmly maintained that the money would 
 not reach San Juan, the capital of the island, much less 
 the boys on the western front. We have not seen him since 
 he has been clipping his coupons, but certainly he must be 
 one of a great company whom the fair treatment on the 
 part of Uncle Sam has convinced that there is at least one 
 government which does not exploit their generosity. 
 
 Like all good traits these of generosity and sympathy 
 have their abuses. The hundreds of professional beggars 
 that infest the island thrive principally because it is easier 
 to make an immediate appeal to the Porto Rican, than it 
 is for the reformer to appeal to his sense of social justice 
 with its more remote alleviation of the trouble. These 
 mendicants make their rounds twice a week and receive 
 food and money from their clients. It is a good business 
 to those who play the game well and many of the parasites 
 prosper. One well known beggar whose principal assets 
 are cataracts on both his eyes has supported a large fam- 
 ily and is now owner of a small farm which he has bought 
 from his "earnings." He frequently receives alms from 
 his wife as she comes from mass in her finery ! A mission 
 doctor a few years ago offered to remove the cataracts 
 from his eyes so that he might resume his former occupa- 
 tion as carpenter. He firmly refused this help with a 
 string of 'belligerent language and charged the missionary 
 with the offense of seeking to take away his employment ! 
 
 Mendicancy has been the object of many attacks, but it 
 persists in spite of all agitation. The remedy must come 
 from the island itself. Should the American interfere he 
 would be regarded as cold-blooded. It is gratifying to 
 note, however, that the Porto Rican is meeting with sue- 
 
20 
 
 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 cess in the suppression of this custom. The victorious 
 compaign against the liquor traffic and the successful 
 fights against social impurity and kindred vices are strik- 
 ing at the root of the evil. 
 
 We may write of these various characteristics, yet after 
 all they are but manifestations of a more fundamental dif- 
 ference between the Porto Rican and the North American. 
 These islanders, like the rest of their race are fundamen- 
 tally emotional while the continental is unemotional. By 
 his virtues and his vices, we find that the Porto Rican is 
 far more influenced by the great emotional instincts of 
 life, — love, hate, fear, joy and sorrow than the American. 
 They are an impulsive people. In one small town there 
 have been within a year, three attempts at assassination, 
 two of which were successful. In one instance an in- 
 furiated brother sought to give expression of his disap- 
 proval of his sister's sweetheart by shooting him as he 
 came from the theatre. A second case was that of a young 
 man who shot and killed his best friend over a dispute 
 as to the merits of their revolvers. The other case was that 
 of a boy who fatally stabbed his opponent in a game of 
 dominoes in which a wager of three cents was at stake. 
 
 It need not be said that this emotional nature has its 
 outlet in other ways than in gruesome incidents such as 
 these. It is responsible for their social ease, for their love 
 of the beautiful, for their idealism, for their generosity 
 and sympathy. It is this element in their nature that has 
 made the Spanish type of courtesy the standard of all 
 polite conduct, "out of the heart, come the issues of 
 Life." 
 
CHAPTER ill 
 
 THE SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LIFE 
 
 The most recent estimate of the population of Porto 
 Rico is 1,500,000 and the composition of the population 
 as 60% white, 35% mulatto and 5% negro. Most of the 
 whites are descended from Spanish colonists. In politics 
 or in business, the amount of color a person may have is 
 no drawback. In the lower classes, where there is no am- 
 bition for a social career, intermarriaije between the white 
 
 ■ o 
 
 and the black is of frequent occurrence. There is no law, 
 or even a positive opinion against the practice. In the high- 
 er states of society, there is a well-defined color line ; in- 
 termarriage of the races is strictly prohibited by custom. 
 Membership in the casino and other recreational institu- 
 tions is denied the man of color. 
 
 Porto Rico is the Spanish for "Rich Port". Its natur- 
 al wealth attracted the Spanish colonists of the 16th cen- 
 tury. Today, from many points of view, the name is still 
 descriptive of the island. The budget for the present year 
 is a bigger budget than tvrenty-three of the States of the 
 Union. The borrowing capacity of the island is $33,- 
 000,000. 
 
 In spite of these facts, poverty and its attendant evils 
 are very pressing problems. All the wealth of the island, 
 we are told, is in the hands of 15% of the population and 
 in spite of such a good trade balance the pre-war per capi- 
 ta wealth of the island was $182 compared with a per ca- 
 pita wealth in continental United States of $1,123 and of 
 $1,442 in Great Britain. Ten cents a day is the estimated 
 
22 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 per capita Porto Rican wage. Doctors Ashford and Gu- 
 tierrez who, since the Occupation have done such valiant 
 service in the eradication of Uncinariasis, the "hookworm", 
 know intimately the countryman, or "Jibaro" of Porto 
 Rico who comprises such a large proportion of the pop- 
 ulation. They give this description of the daily diet of 
 this unfortunate class : 
 
 "He rises at dawn and takes a cocoanut dipperful of 
 'cafe puya', — coffee without sugar. Naturally, he never 
 uses milk. With this black coffee he works until about 
 twelve o'clock, when his wife brings him his breakfast, 
 corresponding to our lunch. This is composed of boiled 
 salt codfish, with oil ; and has one of the following vege- 
 tables of the island to furnish the' carborate element ; ba- 
 nana, platano, name, batata, or yautia. 
 
 "At three in the afternoon he takes another dipperful 
 of coffee, as he began the day. At dusk he returns to the 
 house and has one single dish, a kind of stew, made of 
 the current vegetables of the island, with rice and cod- 
 fish. At rare intervals, he treats himself to pork, of 
 which he is very fund, and on still rarer occasions he 
 visits the town and eats quantities of bread, without but- 
 ter, of course. 
 
 "Of all this list of country foods there are only three 
 elements that are bought — rice, codfish, and condiments. 
 Rice is imported from the United States and codfish from 
 Nova Scotia. The bread he eats on his visit to town is 
 made of American flour... 
 
 "Only a few cents difference in wages will cut out the 
 small proportion of animal proteids he obtains, the cod- 
 fish, and a cyclone will drive him in desperation to the 
 town." 
 
THE SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LIFE 23 
 
 Many have been the remedies brought forward to re- 
 lieve this distressing poverty. The more recent, that of 
 emigratioiji, has received a great deal of attention. Dr. 
 Fleagle, formerly dean of the University of Porto Rico, 
 and a keen student of the social life of the island, writ- 
 ing of th's method says that Porto Rico could support 
 twice the population that she now has with comparative 
 ease, providing some means is found to relieve the econo- 
 mic situation of the greater part of the people and to pre- 
 vent the a:cumulation of wealth in the hands of a com- 
 parative small number. 
 
 Of the other proposed solutions, the elimination of the 
 absentee landlord and the establishment of a system of 
 small farms in the place of the great plantations that now 
 exist and iominate the agricultural life of the island has 
 strong adlerents. Many of the best friends of the island 
 see in this peasant proprietorship with a system of rural 
 co-operation similar to that of Denmark, the salvation of 
 the island from the pall of poverty. It is probably the 
 best solution offered, but the Porto Rican is notoriously 
 indi vidua istic and the co-operative part of the scheme is 
 likely to fail unless it is preceded by years of education 
 and experiment. 
 
 One ot the outstanding results of the American Occu- 
 pation cf Porto Rico is the bridging of the gulf that di- 
 vides tie extremely v/ealthy from the peon classes. The 
 creation of a middle class seems to be one of the contri- 
 but'ions of the Anglo-Saxon to the social life of the is- 
 laid. The personnel of most of the distinctively Amer- 
 ;can institutions consists of members of the "Segunda 
 Oase", people, who, before the occupation, were without 
 my social standing and are now teaching in the public 
 
24 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 schools, occupyingf government offices and preaching in 
 many of the evangelical pulpits. In this new democratic 
 arrangement, there are many instances where this virile 
 element of Porto Rican life has thrust the so-called "pri- 
 meras" from places of responsibility which faipily and 
 
 wealth had given them for centuries. ; 
 
 / 
 
 It has been said that the English word "hom^" has no 
 equivalent in the Spanish language. In its larger mean- 
 ing, this may be true but whatever significance this fact 
 has in the Spanish character the family and fimily life 
 has as great a part in Hibernian civilization as in our 
 own. 
 
 For the honor of his family the Porto Rican ^vill make 
 any sacrifice. There are dozens of young men in Porto 
 Rico today who were trained in the States and l ad start- 
 ed in some promising professional career ; yet hey quit 
 their profession to return to the land of their biith in or- 
 der to satisfy one or both parents who could notlbe sepa- 
 rated from their "ninos". \ 
 
 If one is a member of a "buena familia" — a gold fami- 
 ly — he is likely to be forgiven a multitude of ans and 
 weaknesses. What the family wealth will do for llie pro- 
 digal in the States, the family name will do for thfe Porto 
 Rican scapegoat. Quite recently within the writer'slnotice, 
 a member of one of the most honored families in tht com- 
 munity committed what, under other circumstances, Woi^ld 
 have been an unpardonable breach of etiquette. Pie ttrai 
 too much of the forbidden juice, and in a drunken arive 
 insulted his host at a ball. The matter was hushed uj 
 and the fellow is apparently in as good a social standing 
 as before all because of his "buena familia". 
 
THE SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LIFE 25 
 
 In a recent church entertainment in assigning the parts, 
 the Porto Rican director paid more attention to the fam- 
 ilies of the actors than she did to their dramatic abihty, 
 evidently with an eye to the box office receipts and to 
 future criticism of the play. 
 
 According to the census of 1910, 16% of the males and 
 15.7% of the females were consensually married. That 
 is, one-sixth of all the people over 15 years of age are 
 living together without the benefit of a civil or ecclesias- 
 tical marriage. In a recent social survey conducted by 
 the Presbytery of Porto Rico out of families visited 18% 
 reported that they were living together without the sanc- 
 tion of marriage. In some centers, the percentage went 
 as high as 38%. 
 
 There are two reasons advanced that are supposed to 
 be responsible for this state of things. The first is the 
 loose living of the Spanish colonists. Unlike our Pil- 
 grim fathers who came to America with their families, 
 these Spaniards were mostly adventurers who left family 
 ties behind them and entered into this consensual mar- 
 riage with the native women Because of the lack of 
 moral resistance of the partially civilized islanders this 
 practice became an accepted custom. The other reason 
 advanced is that of the extortionate and prohibitory fees 
 charged by the Church. In war days the draft laws sent 
 thousands of couples to the priest, minister and magis- 
 trate to legalize their unions, in order to qualify for the 
 government allotments in case the men were called to the 
 colors. 
 
 The most deplorable phase of these unions is that the 
 children who are born are denied a real home. In the 
 
26 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 eyes of the law, there is the "natural" child, and the il- 
 legitimate child. The "natural" child is a child born out 
 of v/edlock but recognized and registered by the father. 
 This child has a legal standing. The father supports it 
 and grants it a minimum percentage of his estate. As a 
 rule the child lives with its mother. Later should the fa- 
 ther marry, the natural child has the humiliation of see- 
 ing his half brothers and sisters enjoying social recogni- 
 tion and prestige in which he too ought to share. As 
 one of the native legislators in advocating better and fair- 
 er laws for the natural child has said : "The natural child 
 abandoned by its father needs the law to protect him more 
 than the legitimate child, because society rejects him. If 
 it accepts him at all it is on an inferior level when re- 
 ferring to his rights. Frequently his father turns his back 
 upon him and pretends that he does not know him." 
 
 The illegitimate child is another outcome of these loose 
 sexual relations. The last census figures gives the num- 
 ber of illegitimate children in Porto Rico as 155,249, a 
 slight decrease over the previous census. The evil results 
 of illegitimacy in Porto Rico are the same as elsewhere. 
 Many of the children are abandoned by both parents and 
 owing to lack of sufficient orphanages and children's 
 homes, it is estimated that today there are 10,000 home- 
 less children on the Island under twelve years of age. 
 The children live on what they can earn, beg or steal. 
 They sleep in the waiting room of a railway station, in 
 the comfortable branches of a tropical tree, or on the 
 porch of some residence. They are entirely illiterate and 
 form the class from which come the beggars and thieves. 
 "They constitute a danger to the community, and if it 
 were not for the relatively high death rate that is found 
 
THE SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LIFE 27 
 
 among people of this class, the island would soon be over- 
 run by citizens brought up under these criminal-forming 
 conditions." 
 
 In the abandon of their play we are much more likely 
 to get a true perspective of Porto Ricans than in their 
 more self-conscious moments. "Palms, Patios and Plazas" 
 has been used to describe Cuba. For the recreational life 
 of Porto Rico, although at the sacrifice of the alliteration, 
 we could substitute "Casinos, Plazas, and Fiestas". 
 
 The Casino is the apex of the social life of the Island. 
 Every town, even though it be not more than a group of 
 huts in the mountain, will maintain its casino. To be a 
 member of this group is the social ambition of the youth 
 of the town. It is however exclusive, by reason of its 
 color line and by its prohibitory fees, and is really the 
 only institution in the Island's social life that does not 
 recognize the social equality of the negro. In spite of 
 protests from one or the other excluded parties the casino 
 maintains its exclusive feature and sets the pace for the 
 smart set of the community. 
 
 There is no parallel or counterpart in Anglo-Saxon life 
 to the plaza in Spanish-American life. What the casino 
 is to a selected class, the plaza is to the masses. It is 
 the real community center. When night falls the boys 
 and girls, young men and maidens, husbands and wives 
 congregate in the plaza or public square of the city. The 
 older people sit on the side and chat, while the young 
 folks begin to parade ; the girls circle one way and the 
 young men the other. So great is the power of custom 
 and so carefully chaperoned are the young ladies that if 
 a girl should circle with a young man it would be almost 
 tantamount to an engagement. Then would follow the 
 
28 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 balcony flirtation, the serenade, and the formal betroth- 
 ment. Within a year or so, this girl will be seated at 
 the fringe of the procession watching her sister take a 
 similar step. How do these girls so closely chaperoned 
 ever get an opportunity to express a preference for their 
 "novios"? These difficulties vanish with one's acquaint- 
 ance with these people. Love laughs at locksmiths and 
 at chapcrones in Porto Rico as elsewhere. As Professor 
 Ross has recently said: "It is needless to point out that 
 v/ithout opportunity of speech the young people become 
 marvelously skilled in the language of the eyes. What 
 a senorita looking over the edge of a fan can express 
 with her dark eyes would rouse a poet from the dead." 
 
 The fiesta is another thing that is essentially a part of 
 the Porto Rican life. It is something more than a social 
 gathering; it is a state of mind that grasps at any ex- 
 cuse to turn from the serious things of life to the more 
 entertaining. Hardly a v/eek passes that does not have 
 a holiday or some saint's day to celebrate. Nothing 
 brought about by the American Occupation v.-as so un- 
 animously adopted by the Porto Ricans as the American 
 holidays. George Washington meant nothing to the sim- 
 ple mountaineers, but the 22nd of February was an im- 
 portant fiesta of the "Americano", and so now with vim 
 they celebrate the birthday of the "American patron — 
 Saint George !" 
 
 Christmas day in Porto Rico did not mean much to the 
 children. The youngsters have their festival on the 6th 
 of January, Three Kings Day. This holiday celebrates 
 the coming of the Wise Men. Before retiring the chil- 
 dren will fill baskets with grass and place them in con- 
 spicuous places so that the Wise Men in their search for 
 
THE SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LIFE 29 
 
 the infant Jesus will see them and in return for fodder 
 for their beasts, will leave presents for the children. The 
 roming- of Santa Claus with the Americans did not oust 
 this custom by any means ; he was welcomed as an ad- 
 ditional friend and now these two days as well as New 
 Year's are duly celebrated. It does not have to be em- 
 phasized that the religious significance of the fiesta is 
 very great. 
 
 One might think that to this fiesta-loving people Amer- 
 ica could not introduce much in the way of amusement. 
 In this direction, ho\\'ever, we have made one of the most 
 notable contributions to the life of the people. The Por- 
 to Rican V\'hen it comes to team vvork is lacking in what 
 the Anglo-Saxon considers the first element of a rood 
 sport. Prof. Ross in his South of Panama, quotes a Brit- 
 ish diplomat "who knows the continent from Panama to 
 Patagonia" as saying, "Distrust is universal here. No 
 South American will put his faith in another South Amer- 
 ican." In his sport the end is likely to justify the means. 
 A little cheating is all right, if you are not found out. 
 American base ball has done more to rectify this fault 
 t!:an perhaps any other factor. The public school has 
 been the great agency in teaching the national game. It 
 is now impossible to go into the remotest "barrio" and 
 not find a base ball diamond. As one travels through the 
 country on a Sunday, he frequently comes across an ex- 
 cited crowd yelling themselves hoarse. The English words 
 "Foul", "Play ball", "Strike" will arise from a jargon of 
 incomprehensible Spanish. 
 
 Porto Rico, small as it appears on the map, is one of 
 the largest sugar producing countries in the world. This 
 on the surface would indicate an economic prosperity for 
 
30 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 the island but the real facts reveal a most desperate strug- 
 gle for existence for at least 85% of the population. 
 
 The cultivation, manufacture and exportation of sugar 
 is responsible for the favorable balance of trade that al- 
 ways greets any investigator of the industrial status of 
 Porto Rico. It is this fact that gives the appearance of 
 prosperity to the island. The truth about this trade bal- 
 ance is that the money made in the sugar business is 
 made by outside investors. Little but the meager wages 
 of the laborers stay in Porto Rico. The huge profits go 
 to the Continent, the marketing is for the most part done 
 abroad, and even the banking in many cases is transact- 
 ed in New York City. Porto Rico suffers from Absen- 
 tee Landlordism in its acutest form. 
 
 No good is done by sentimentalizing about the situation 
 nor belaboring the sugar corporations, which, after all, 
 are the result of economic laws and not the cause of them. 
 All friends of Porto Rico agree that the needed adjustment 
 v. ould come with the establishment of new industries, thus 
 absorbing the large surplus of employable Porto Ricans. 
 Porto Rico offers several advantages to the prospective 
 investor. It is, in the first place, American territory and 
 is free from all tariff restrictions in its relations with the 
 mainland ; it is in the tropics and is able to produce much 
 of the necessary raw material for m.anufacturing purposes ; 
 it has an abundance of intelligent labor. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this booklet to enter into a de- 
 tailed examination of the industrial opportunities of Por- 
 to Rico. This phase of the subject will be much bettered 
 handled by the enterprising Chamber of Commerce and 
 Economy Commission. One illustration will suffice to 
 
THE SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LIFE 
 
 31 
 
 show the opportunity that lies at this, the front door of 
 the United States. 
 
 Durino- the World War the New York Garment man- 
 
 o 
 
 ufacturers found it impossible to obtain their needleework 
 Irom Flanders and other European countries. They turn- 
 ed to Porto Rico with its immense population. These is- 
 land people, without previous experience in this kind of 
 work, adapted themselves so easily to the industry that 
 the needlework now gives employment to tens of thou- 
 sands of people. In many places it is displacing Coffee 
 as second in the list of exports. Last year the total busi- 
 ness was represented by some $10,000,000. It is no un- 
 common sight to see every member of a family in some 
 humble home working at needlework — the men doing 
 their bit by drawing the threads for the drawn work and 
 jiemstitching ! ! 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 
 
 "In no other part of the world has the Catholic Church 
 been so protected as in South America," says Prof. Ross 
 in his South of Panama. In practically all of these Latin 
 countries, the Roman Church is supported by the State, 
 and the Church controls and directs the educational poli- 
 cies of the State. Porto Rico was probably the most im- 
 mune of any of these countries to Protestant influence. 
 If the Catholic Church ever had an opportunity to prove 
 its saving power it was in this island. From 1493 to 1898 
 — over 400 years — it had no competition. With the single 
 exception of a small Episcopal Church for the English 
 colony in the city of Ponce, no other religious body but 
 the Roman Catholic Church was permited to work among 
 this island people. 
 
 The effect of this isolation, this "closed shop" policy, 
 may be fairly judged by the statements of Father Sher- 
 man, son of General Sherman and chaplain to the Amer- 
 ican army of occupation in Porto Rico. To a Catholic 
 paper he writes, "Porto Rico is a Catholic country with- 
 out religion whatever. The clergy do not seem to have any 
 firm hold on the native people, nor have the}^ any lively 
 sympathy with the Porto Ricans or Porto Rico." In his 
 report to General Brooke he said, "Now that the priests 
 are deprived of government aid, many are leaving the 
 country. The Church was so united with the State and 
 so identified vv^itli it in the eyes of the people that it must 
 share the odium with which the Spanish rule is commonly 
 
I 
 
 RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 33 
 
 regarded. The sacrament of confirmation has not been 
 administered for many years in a great part of the island. 
 Religion is dead on the island." 
 
 So far as statistics can bear any light on the subject, 
 about 50% of the people are nominally Catholic, though 
 the Church claims 60%. Membership in the Catholic 
 Church, however, is quite a different thing from member- 
 ship in the Protestant Church. If a person has been bap- 
 tized in infancy, that person from the standpoint of Rome 
 is a member of the Church. The life he subsequently leads 
 has little to do with his church affiliation. A comparison 
 of the Catholic and Protestant churches by membership, 
 then, would be very misleading. The Protestant churches, 
 whose membership is the result of a mature decision and 
 is supposely dependent upon a moral life, need a different 
 basis of comparison. A more fair method of judging the 
 influence of these two religious organizations was inau- 
 gurated a few years ago. In a large section of the island 
 the people who attended the Catholic and Protestant 
 churches were enumerated and it was found that on this 
 Sunda}^ the Catholic Church held 80 services in towns with 
 an attendance of 7,731 persons and eight services in the 
 country vv^ith an attendance of 363 persons, a total attend- 
 ance for the Catholics of 8,094. On the same day, and in 
 the same district the Protestants held 70 services in towns 
 with an attendance of 4,796 while in the country they held 
 102 services v/ith an attendance of 4,074, a total for the 
 Protestants of 8,870. Had the census not stopped with 
 attendance at Sunday services, but continued through the 
 week the result would have been a great deal more favor- 
 able for the Protestants. For in the eighty towns and cen- 
 ters enumerated there would easily have been fifty Pro- 
 
34 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 testant services each day of the week while the Catholic 
 midweek services — unless there is a special fiesta — are 
 practically nil. 
 
 From an evangelical point of view the principal reason 
 that Roman Catholicism falls short of ministering to the 
 spiritual needs of the Porto Rican is because of the su- 
 perstitious practices it sanctions in the name of religion. 
 The Catholic Church in Porto Rico has always opposed 
 anything in the way of popular education and consequent- 
 ly ignorance and superstition have for four centuries pre- 
 vented the creation of an enlightened public opinion. Dur- 
 ing the recent series of earthquakes, even the American 
 priests led the rogativas — candlelight processions — to ap- 
 pease the wrath of the Devil who was said to be the cause 
 of the disturbances. In many places the priests explained 
 that the earthquake came as a result of anti-Catholic pro- 
 paganda. In one city in particular, where the damage had 
 been exceptionally heavy the American priest insisted that 
 the people of the town had brought it on themselves by 
 persisting in the removal of his predecessor for grossly in- 
 moral conduct. At the ancient town of Aguadilla, where 
 the tidal wave did so much damage and where the Catho- 
 lic Church was demolished, the priest hit upon the plan 
 of placing the Patron Saint of the town on the balcony of 
 a house facing the sea. So great was the power of this ef- 
 figy that in spite of shocks and rumors of shocks, the sea 
 did not invade the town again! 
 
 On Palm Sunday, the natives flock to toAvn and to mass 
 bringing their palm branches with them. So great is the 
 demand for the palm branches that even the Protestant 
 ininister's cpcoanut palms are likely to be injured by his 
 
RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 35 
 
 good Catholic friends begging too many branches ! At the 
 church, the priest blesses the branches and the people take 
 them home and place them in front of their houses to pro- 
 tect the domicile against lightning. Usually the branches 
 are beaten down by the first heavy storm. 
 
 When the young manhood of the Island ^Yas called upon 
 for military service in the past war, instead of devoting 
 themselves and their energy to seme more practical oc- 
 cupation, the ultra Catholic women of the Island made 
 "Corazones de Jesus" — Hearts of Jesus. This piece of 
 needlework was to prevent any bullet reaching the soldiers. 
 In as much as the Armistice was signed two days before 
 the boys had been ordered to leave for France, it may be 
 presumed that the women now claim that their badges 
 were effective in "keeping the bullets away." 
 
 From 10 :00 A. M. of the Thursday of Holy Week until 
 the same hour on Saturday is a peculiarly sacred time for 
 the Catholics of Porto Rico. This time does not simply 
 commemorate the death of our Lord, but to them Jesus is 
 actually dead again and in his tomb. The absurd conse- 
 quences of such a belief indicate the depth of the supersti- 
 tious mire into which the Catholic Church in Porto Rico 
 has been plunged. To Porto Rican Catholics not only is 
 the Lord again dead but the whole physical world suffers 
 the pangs of death with Him. Should a person do any- 
 thing in this period that is not authorized by the Church, 
 he will be doing it to the very body of Christ. Manual 
 work is, of course, tabooed. The poor of both town and 
 country, if they be devout Catholics, must quit their work, 
 for should even a nail be driven to make their rickety huts 
 more secure, they would be driving it into the very body of 
 the Master. 
 
36 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 Cases that illustrate this superstitious nature of the 
 Catholic Church in Porto Rico might be multiplied ad in- 
 finitum. They would only prove that which is evident to 
 the casual observer of religious conditions in Porto Rico 
 — the need of a religion where reason and feeling are so 
 blended that in avoiding superstition a cold intellectual- 
 ism, an intangible mysticism is not established. 
 
 Again, the Catholic Church in Porto Rico is anti-social. 
 The whole hierarchical system is opposed to our modern 
 democratic view of looking at things. To the native, the 
 Catholic Church is the greatest supporter of the caste 
 system that dominates the Island. When a family of some 
 note is interested in the Protestant faith, the greatest ar- 
 gument that the priest thinks he can bring to bear on them 
 is, "Only the poor people are Protestant." He is greatly 
 perplexed when this line of reasoning does not have the 
 desired result. That which is our greatest glory is, from 
 the Catholic point of view, our most vulnerable point. The 
 fact that every spiritual revival, alike in Catholic and 
 Protestant Churches, has had its origin among the lowly 
 seems to have been forgotten by the Porto Rican Catholic 
 protagonists. 
 
 This anti-social nature is shown particulary in move- 
 ments like Prohibition and the Social Purity campaigns. 
 For such movements the Catholic Church shows either an 
 active opposition or a total indifference. 
 
 Even in sacramental matters, the Catholic hierarchy 
 shows this same diffidence to the artificial lines of cleav- 
 age in the social life of the people. It is no uncommon 
 thing for the Protestant minister to have some poor ig- 
 norant woman bring him her child to be baptized because 
 
RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 37 
 
 tlie priest has refused to do so since she has not enough 
 money to pay the minimum fee. 
 
 In funeral services for the peasant who can pay only 
 a few cents, the priest will mumble a few formularies in 
 the church ; for those who can pay a little more, he will 
 take them to the door of the church ; with others higher 
 up in the social and financial scale he will walk dov»-n the 
 steps of the church ; for la huena familia, however, he and 
 his assistants in their finest regalia will go to the grave- 
 yard with the cortege. 
 
 The Catholic Church in Porto Rico does not seem to 
 have awakened to the fact that v:e are living today in a 
 democratic world and that the surest, if the slowest, way 
 to get even political power is to work with the masses. The 
 church, however, plays the game as it did in the time of 
 king and court. If the energy that is used in San Juan, 
 the capital of the island, by the Catholics to pick some 
 political plum or to curry favor with some political ap- 
 pointee were spent in the bettering of the social and moral 
 conditions of the island, Porto Rico v.ould be a far more 
 wholesome place than it is at present. 
 
 A traveler in a Latin land or a student of any Latin 
 literature is bound to be impressed by the occurrence and 
 recurrence of religious phrases. If the phrases convey the 
 same idea as they do to the Anglo-Saxon, the traveler or 
 student may rightly assume that either the people are a 
 very religious or a very profane people. That these ex- 
 pressions have very little to do with their spiritual life is 
 one of the first conclusions of the permanent resident in 
 these lands. 
 
 Professor Ross in his travels through South America 
 tells of seeing the "Butcher Shop of the Holy Spirit" 
 
38 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 over a meat shop, of reading an advertisement for ''The 
 Wine of the Last Supper," and of another announcement 
 of a new brand of cigarettes with the twelve disciples 
 puffing away at them and J udas remarking, "If I had 
 had this kind of cigarette to smoke, I never would have 
 betrayed Him." 
 
 The American influence in Porto Rico has to a great 
 extent done away with this crudeness, yet a newly arrived 
 missionary will be greeted by his compatriots in business 
 or government service by a felicitation that the language 
 will not be hard for him to learn because half the words 
 are cuss words for which the missionary will have no use. 
 A thorough study of the Spanish language and nature 
 would indicate that there was no such thing as swearing. 
 "Ave Maria Santisima" which would literally mean 
 "Hail Most Holy Mary" is translated in a recent gram- 
 mar as "Good gracious." When a Porto Rican cannot 
 express his indignation by the ordinary vocabulary and 
 gesture, he has no cuss words on which to fall back — he 
 simply explodes. 
 
 All of this indicates a most difficult phase of the mis- 
 sionary's work. He has to engender into the sacred words 
 and phrases which are bandied about in ordinary conver- 
 sation a meaning similar to that held by the evangelical 
 Christian in other parts of the world. 
 
 The usual penance inflicted by the Catholic priest on 
 one of his flock who has visited the missionary's house is 
 to have him repeat the Lord's prayer over a number of 
 times, the number depending on how many times the of- 
 fence has been committed. The speed with which these 
 "Padre Nuestros" are rattled off and the fun the misera- 
 ble offenders have in racing through them are only 
 
RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 
 
 39 
 
 paralleled by the absolute lack of any spiritual aid they 
 expect to receive from the exercise. 
 
 Even the names of these people make the missionary's 
 task more difficult. Often a child is named for the patron 
 saint of the day on which he was born and in addition 
 will usually have some Biblical cognomen added. Popular 
 names for the girls are Resurreccion, Concepcion, Asun- 
 cion. During the first few months of the writer's stay 
 in Porto Rico he was engaged in the erection of a mission 
 building in a mountain town. The chief carpenter's name 
 was JesLis while his peon's name was John the Baptist. 
 The new missionary never could get used to sending John 
 the Baptist to look for Jesus even though the Spanish 
 pronunciation helped a great deal. He had to invent nick- 
 names for the men. 
 
 The assignment of an original prayer is a favorite one 
 among the Spanish teachers of the Island. "This kind of 
 composition," they say, "lends itself to the Spanish na- 
 ture." The productions that emanate from the pens of 
 these Porto Rican adolescents are remarkable. Some of 
 the prayers of the village scamp, who has not seen the 
 inside of a church since he was baptized would, so far as 
 lofty diction is concerned, compare favorably with the 
 productions of the Church Fathers. 
 
 One form of belief that has greatly affected the religious 
 life of the Island is Spiritism, the principal doctrines of 
 which are : 
 
 1. A pantheistic idea of God, and that complete absorption 
 with him is the goal of human endeavor. 
 
 2. That this absorption into the infinite is at the end of an 
 indefinite number of reincarnations. 
 
 3. That salvation comes from good works — that the number 
 
40 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 of reincarnations is determined by the good work one has to his 
 credit. 
 
 4. That all will be eventually saved and consequently there 
 will be no future punishment. 
 
 5. That there should be a respect for the Bible, and a belief 
 in those parts which favor spiritism. 
 
 6. That Jesus Christ was one of the world's greatest teachers. 
 
 7. That there is spiritual healing of sickness by medicine pre- 
 scribed by the good spirits. 
 
 8. That it is possible to communicate with the dead. 
 
 9. That Love should dominate all relations of this life, and 
 that Light and Truth should be the aim of all those living on 
 this plane of existence. 
 
 The government of the cult is very loose and simple. In 
 every important town there are spiritualistic centers and 
 these centers are grouped together in an insular associa- 
 tion. There are but few professional preachers, or "ora- 
 tors," as they are called. This phase of worship is left 
 to the prompting of the spirits during the session. There 
 are of course mediums at every center — intermediaries be- 
 tween this material world and the spiritual one. 
 
 In a general way the Spiritists of Porto Rico may be 
 divided into two classes. The intellectual and well-to-do, 
 and the poor and ignorant. The first group are now, for 
 the most part, reorganizing themselves into theosophical 
 societies. The poorer members of this sect, and there are 
 stretches of country and whole sections of towns where 
 spiritism reigns, — practice the cult in its crudest forms. 
 
 That these forms of belief appeal to such a susceptible 
 people as the Porto Rican is not at all strange. A clear 
 cut distinction between the real and the unreal does not 
 exist for the unsophisticated inhabitant. He will relate 
 his dreams as if they were part of his conscious experience, 
 
RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 41 
 
 or he will repeat a neighborhood ghost story without the 
 slightest doubt as to the historical accuracy of the legend. 
 
 In such a fertile field as this the propagator of a belief 
 in which the communication with loved ones is the most 
 distinguished feature has an easy task ; especially when he 
 assumes occult powers to heal the sick, to peer into the 
 future and to restore lost property. Poor people will travel 
 from all parts of the Island on foot to their favorite 
 medium when they are afflicted with some malady. Should 
 the medium fail to restore them, it will be due to some 
 faulty spiritual connection, and should, by chance, the in- 
 valid recover his health the particular medium will claim 
 all the credit, and her fame will go forth throughout the 
 land as a successful intermediary. 
 
 The purely negative side of the religious life of Porto 
 Rico is expressed in the rationalism and indifference of 
 the Island. 
 
 The rationalists or freethinkers (1 i b r e pensadores) 
 theoretically believe in material conception of the uni- 
 verse. They profess to have nothing to do with anything- 
 that savors of the spiritual. Practically they have very 
 little to show from a constructive point of view. As an 
 organization they are small in numbers, but they have 
 many semi-adherents throughout the Island. Judging 
 from these periodical papers the efforts of the freethink- 
 ers are largely spent in exposing the abuses of the Cath- 
 olic Church. The Protestants, however, come in for their 
 share. Cheap Biblical criticism appears every week. 
 
 The ''libre pensadcr" preach the philosophy with which 
 Tom Paine clarified the atmosphere more than a century 
 ago and with which Eobert IngersoU stirred the American 
 nation last generation. Today we have neither a lifeless 
 
42 THIRTY YEAkS IN PORTO RiCO 
 
 Deism nor a deadening orthodoxy, at least in our evangel- 
 ical world. In making the assumption that these former 
 conditions hold good today, the rationalists are simply at- 
 tacking men of straw of their own manufacture. 
 
 Those that are indifferent to any kind of religious ap- 
 peal form the largest section of the population of the is- 
 land. The shortcoming of the religion of their childhood 
 has left many cold to any kind of religious appeal. It 
 would only be fair to say that many are sincerely puzzled 
 and are seeking for light and guidance in their religious 
 experience. It is among these honest doubters that the 
 Protestant Churches do their most effective work. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 HEALTH AND HAPPINESS 
 
 The death rate of Porto Rico is twice that of Continental 
 United States. This striking fact has been the cause of 
 much missionary and philanthropic work, as well as the 
 incentive for most of the magnificent work of the Insular 
 Department of Health. 
 
 The poverty of the people coupled with the scarcity of 
 medical men make it impossible for a large section of the 
 population to secure medical care. Hence many are driven 
 to the accomodating Spiritualistic medium or some grosser 
 form of superstition. Blood-poisoning and infections of 
 various kinds are very common. For their cure the coun- 
 tryman will drink the soup of boiled ants' nests (eomejen) 
 and place on the infected part a mixture of olive oil, to- 
 bacco and nutmeg. Should the children of the family de- 
 velop colds, the countryman will make bracelets of small 
 unripe lemons and place them on the wrists of his children. 
 For severe nervous diseases the ignorant farmer will take 
 a watermelon, cut a hole in one end and place in it his rings 
 and everything he has that passes as jewelry. He will then 
 cut a smaller hole in the other end and catch the water as 
 it passes through. This water when taken is supposed to 
 quiet the distraught nervous system. 
 
 Half of the deaths occur among children under five years 
 of age. The number equals the death rate of all ages in 
 Continental United States. According to the survey of 
 the Interchurch World Movement the rate of infant mor- 
 tality in Porto Rico exceeds that of India. This is not due 
 
44 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 to the climate. There are no extremes of heat or cold, there 
 are no sudden changes of temperature. It is an almost 
 out of door existence for the youngsters. The conditions 
 which contribute to this heavy mortality are poverty, ig- 
 norance, and lack of medical care. More medical care 
 would soon sweep away the deadly ignorance with which 
 child life is surrounded in this tropical Island, and check 
 the many diseases transmissible from parent to offspring. 
 Tuberculosis ranks second in the mortality table. Again, 
 so far as the Island itself is concerned, there is no reason 
 why the White Plague should cause such ravages. Mal- 
 nutrition, poverty, and ignorance have combined again to 
 overbalance these natural advantages. In an investigation 
 in the city of San Juan a few years ago, it was found that 
 in one street twelve people out of every hundred died of 
 tuberculosis. 
 
 Malaria is not a malignant disease but in Porto Rico it 
 is a constant deterrent to the life of the Island. Although 
 only a little over five per cent of the total mortality is 
 attributable to malaria, few are the families wliich this 
 malady has not attacked. Death rate and illness alone clo 
 not indicate the havoc wrought among the people afflicted 
 As an economic handicap its effect has been shown by an 
 investigation made by Dr. D. L. Van Dine in a large 
 plantation in Lousiana which contained seventy-four 
 tenant families with a total population of two-hundred 
 and ninety-nine. From May to October, 1914, there were 
 nine-hundred and seventy days of actual illness from 
 malaria reported to a doctor. Forty-eight of the seventy- 
 four families were represented. There were also many 
 other cases not reported to the physician. Dr. Van Dine 
 estimated that there were four-hundred and eighty-seven 
 
HEALTH AND HAPPINESS 
 
 45 
 
 work days lost by cases not reported. Three-hundred and 
 eighty-five days were lost on the part of the adults who 
 assisted in taking care of the sick. During this period 
 there were six and a half days lost for every case of 
 malaria. 
 
 The most prevalent disease in Porto Rico is the so-called 
 "Hookworm." The investigating commission from the 
 Rockefeller Foundation recently declared that the Island 
 was "infested by hookworm." "There is more hookworm 
 in Porto Rico than in any other country with the possible 
 exceptions of India and Ceylon." Comparativelj^ few 
 deaths are attributable directly to this malady. Its results 
 are seen principallj^ in the social and economic life of the 
 Island. The power of resistance of the person afflicted is 
 reduced almost to nothing. The great tubercular death- 
 rate for instance, is due largely to this enervating effect 
 of "hookworm." Drs. Heiser and Grant of the Rockefel- 
 ler Foundation in their report say: 
 
 "There can be no question that wide-spread uncinariasis 
 infection is a serious menace to the economic life of Porto 
 Rico and if the people of the Island are to keep pace with 
 their competitors, it is necessarj^ that this unnecessary 
 burden be lifted from their shoulders. Even light infec- 
 tion with hookworm causes serious mental retardation. It 
 is not too much to state that much of the money that is 
 now being provided for schools is lost because of the de- 
 fective mentality produced by the hookworm disease which 
 renders the pupils incapable of assimilating instruction." 
 
 The time for another active and continuous campaign 
 against hookworm is ripe. 
 
 In combating transmissible diseases, the Department of 
 
46 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 Health has had conspicuous success. In different parts 
 of the Island, there are special stations for the treatment 
 of such diseases as tuberculosis, hookworm, and malaria. 
 Against malaria and its mosquito, an active campaign is 
 at present being carried on. The fight against the White 
 Plague is also led by this Department, and although there 
 is still a great deal of apathy to overcome on the part of 
 the general public, much progress has been made. A few 
 months ago $100,000.00 was raised by public subscription 
 to augment the insular appropriation for a tuberculosis 
 hospital. This hospital will consist of at least two hun- 
 dred detached cottages. Each cottage to cost $3,000.00 
 and to accommodate four patients. 
 
 Although the fight against hookworm does not proceed 
 with the same pace as it did during the first years of the 
 occupation this enervating disease is being combated all 
 over the Island. Stations for its treatment are operated 
 in 37 different towns and during the year there were 20,- 
 590 cases treated. With the help this campaign is likely 
 to receive from the Rockefeller Foundation, it is hoped 
 that this disease will be stamped out. 
 
 Every town has its commissioner of health, its sanitary 
 inspector, and its municipal doctor, working under the 
 Commissioner of Health. However, the salary of the mu- 
 nicipal doctor is so small that often he delegates his duties 
 to a subordinate. 
 
 Prompted by a noble impulse, but Avithout the necessary 
 knowledge or money to maintain them, the municipalities 
 built hospitals. Though nominally in charge of the mu- 
 nicipal doctors these hospitals are quite often given over 
 to the care of a "practicante" — a minor surgeon — and the 
 sisters of the local Catholic Church, or convent. This ig 
 
HEALTH AND HAPPINESS 47 
 
 the only recourse the common people have for hospital 
 treatment. The only good that can be said of these muni- 
 cipal hospitals is that they are one or two degrees better 
 than the miserable houses from which most of the patients 
 come. They are used as a last resort and the attitude of 
 the people to them is indicated in a recent Report of the 
 Commissioner of Health. Speaking of the difficulties of 
 getting patients to attend his special malaria hospital in 
 the town of Barceloneta, the Commissioner said, "The 
 stubborn and to a certain extent, natural resistance of 
 the peasants to submit to medical treatment in the hospitals, 
 can be explained by the fact that the hospitals maintained 
 by the municipalities are generally in a deplorable con- 
 dition, and the patient who is unfortunate enough to enter 
 one for the first time firmly makes up his mind upon 
 returning home not to avail himself again of this service. 
 For this reason the physician in charge of the malaria 
 hospital and the sanitary inspector were often compelled 
 to request the assistance of the police to compel malaria 
 patients to enter the hospital." 
 
 It was natural that this lack of medical care should, 
 from the beginning, have touched the heart of the Ameri- 
 can. From the time of the Occupation the people of the 
 United States through the government missionary effort, 
 or through the great Health Foundation have sought to 
 ameliorate the unfortunate condition of the sick folk. 
 
 Cooperating with the Health Department the Rockefel- 
 ler Foundation has spent much time and money combating 
 such diseases as Hookworm and Malaria. Sufficient time 
 has not past to see the full effects of this work but in 
 cleaning up sources of infection of both these diseases the 
 
48 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 Foundation has made Porto Rico a healthier and happier 
 place. 
 
 A most unique experiment is the School of Tropical 
 Medicine recently established under the auspices of the 
 University of Porto Rico and Columbia University of New 
 York. These two universities share the expense of this 
 undertaking. ''The primary aim of the School of Tropi- 
 cal Medicine," says a recent announcement, "is to give the 
 opportunity to study in a tropical environment the cause 
 and prevention of that large group of disorders known as 
 tropical diseases, and at the same time to observe the in- 
 fluence of tropical conditions on disease in general. ' ' This 
 is the first school of its kind in the Americas. Who can 
 predict the immense service it will render Porto Rico and 
 the neighboring countries ? 
 
 Beginning in a most humble way in the year 1901 the 
 San Juan Presbyterian Hospital has developed into an 
 institution that receives both the respect of the medical 
 profession on the Island and the affection of the People 
 of Porto Rico. Its influence is profound. In the most 
 remote barrio it is known and referred to by the affec- 
 tionate nickname of "El Presbiteriano. " The last year's 
 report states that 52,277 patients were treated during the 
 year and in spite of a great deal of charity work $78,025 
 was received from these patients. 
 
 The professional standard of the Hospital will be seen 
 in the fact that it is accredited by the American College 
 of Surgeons — the first hospital in the West Indies to win 
 this recognition. 
 
 The Congregational Churches of the United States in a 
 similar manner heal the sick in Humacao. This hospital 
 is doing excellent medical work among the sick in the east- 
 
HEALTH AND HAPPINESS 
 
 49 
 
 era part of the Island. During the past year 19,194 
 patients have been treated. The staff of this hospital 
 consists of three surgeons, thirteen graduate nurses, four- 
 teen student nurses and an X-ray operator. 
 
 The coming of the Americans brought many innovations 
 in the treatment of disease. None more marked than that 
 of the trained nurse. In the old days the nurse was look- 
 ed upon with disdain and nursing was often relegated to 
 women who, besides having no preparation, were tempera- 
 mentally and physical unfitted for the task. With the 
 coming of the modern hospital and modern methods of 
 surgery a group of some 200 registered nurses have been 
 developed. These women are to be found in all parts of 
 the Island and in many of the nearby countries. While 
 in a way they are a by product of the new attitude towards 
 sickness and healing they constitute one of the most pow- 
 erful and effective results. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 EDUCATIONAL AND COMMUNITY WORK 
 
 Neither in the history of the United States, nor in the 
 history of Latin America is there anything that will quite v 
 compare with the educational progress of Porto Rico since 
 the American Occupation. Thirty years ago the school 
 system was church ridden in its operation and mediaeval 
 in its organization. Today it is the most free and demo- 
 cratic thing in the life of the Island. 
 
 When the Americans took possession, they found in most 
 towns school boards composed of the Alcalde (mayor), 
 the local priest, and the heads of three families. These 
 local school boards had practically no funds at their dis- 
 posal, and as a result teachers remained unpaid many 
 months. The subjects taught were reading, writing, ele- 
 mentary arithmetic, catechism, and Spanish grammar. 
 The classification of the pupils was left to the teachers, 
 and as a rule there were only four grades in each school. 
 As to the method of teaching, the invariable rule was for 
 the student to learn by heart the textbook assignment, 
 and the highest mark was given to the student who omit- 
 ted the least words in reciting the lesson. "Corporal pun- \ 
 ishment, abnormal positions, and detention after school | 
 were the most common forms of punishment used." AV^u" 
 good summary of the antiquated methods is given by Dr. ) v 
 Lindsey, the second Commissioner of Education undeix 
 American rule : 
 
 "The work done under the Spanish school system scarce- 
 ly constituted anything worthy of being called a school 
 
EDUCATIONAL AND COMMUNITY WORK 51 
 
 There was no uniform course of study, no attempt at rules, 
 regulations, or order; no thought of the rights of the 
 child ; no endeavor to apply pedagogical principles or to 
 furnish teachers with an adequate equipment for their 
 work. A rural teacher lived with his family in the school 
 house and did as he pleased with his pupils, frequentl); 
 not teaching them at all himself, but hiring a substitute 
 or delegating one of the older and brighter pupils to teach 
 under his general instruction, while he drew his salary 
 and sometimes absented himself from school for consider- 
 able periods. There were but two school supervisors for 
 the entire Island and they made but one visit a year to 
 each school, chiefly for the purpose of examining the 
 pupils in the cathecisni and doctrine of the Roman Cath- 
 olic Church." 
 
 
 1898-99 
 
 1918-19 
 
 Increase 
 
 
 953,243 
 
 1,263,474 
 
 310,231 
 
 
 322,393 
 
 434,381 
 
 111,231 
 
 
 *21,873 
 
 160,794 
 
 138,921 
 
 Of school age not in school . . . 
 
 300,520 
 
 273,587 
 
 126,933 
 
 
 525 
 
 2,984 
 
 2,459 
 
 
 16 
 
 41 
 
 25 
 
 Rural barrios without schools . 
 
 426 
 
 20 
 
 t406 
 
 
 
 
 529 
 
 529 
 
 
 All 
 
 1,195 
 
 
 
 525 
 
 2,923 
 
 t2,398 
 
 
 $288,008 
 
 $2,467,703 
 
 $2,179,605 
 
 For elementary schools 
 
 274,203 
 
 2,077,903 
 
 1,803,700 
 
 
 
 
 128,306 
 
 128,306 
 
 
 
 
 162,232 
 
 162,232 
 
 Expenditure per inhabitant . . . 
 
 $0.30 
 
 $1,94 
 
 $1.64 
 
52 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 Percentage of adult illiteracy: 
 
 1899 79.9% 
 
 1910 66.5% 
 
 1919 54% 
 
 1928 35% 
 
 * One report gives enrollment as 29,182. 
 t Decrease. 
 
 t Includes rented rooms. 
 
 The school system that is responsible for this remark- 
 able development has been built up entirely during- the 
 past thirty years. In less than a generation the educa- 
 tional status of the island has been changed from a feud- 
 alistic system to one that compares very favorably with 
 those of many of the States of the Union ; from a time 
 when educational advantages were enjoyed by a few to 
 a time when they are deprived no child no matter how 
 inaccessable his abode or how low his social position. 
 For this development much credit must be given to the 
 early pioneers in this field who, for the most part, came 
 from the United States. ^For nearly a decade, however the 
 direction of the Department of Education has beea-altnost 
 entirely in the hands of the Porto Ricans. The pres- 
 ent Commissioner of Education, Dr. Juan B. Huyke, a na- 
 tive of Porto Rico, was appointed in 1921 by President 
 Harding. In 1925 he was re-appointed by President Cool- 
 idge. His ideal of an education for Porto Rico is that 
 both English and Spanish should be used with fluency by 
 the rising generation in Porto Rico. By the undeviating 
 insistance on this ideal Porto Rico is becoming more and 
 more bilingual. Without in the least losing his beloved 
 mother tongue the Porto Rican young man and woman 
 has an immense practical advantage over the youth of the 
 neighboring countries; Because of this fact the demand 
 
EDUCATIONAL AND COMMUNITY WORK S3 
 
 for well trained Porto Ricans for the commercial life of 
 these countries cannot be met. 
 
 A quarter of a century ago the foundations of the Uni- 
 versity of Porto Rico were laid. On these foundations 
 the present institution has been built. The University has 
 today over a thousand students and contains a College of 
 Liberal Arts, a College of Agriculture, a College of Lav/, 
 a College of Education, a College of Pharmacy. By means 
 of these departments the University is powerfully affect- 
 ing the life of Porto Rico. This influence is rendered even 
 more potent by the relation it has recently affected with 
 Columbia University in the establishment of the School 
 of Tropical Medicine. Credit for the great strides of the 
 University must be given Dr. Benner, Chancellor of the 
 institution. 
 
 One of the greatest helps the Island of Porto Rico has 
 received from outside sources in its efforts to reduce il- 
 literacy has come from the Polytechnic Institute of Porto 
 Rico located at San German. The Institute was founded 
 in 1912 by Dr. J. W. Harris, a Presbyterian missionary. 
 Its growth has been remarkable. Beginning with a hand- 
 ful of students there is an enrollment today of 400 ; be- 
 ginning in a wooden shack it is today housed in ten mod- 
 ern reinforced concrete buildings whose value exceeds 
 $700,000 ; beginning with grade instruction it has in less 
 than fifteen years graduated its first class from its col- 
 lege of Liberals Arts. Recognition of the worth of the 
 Institute came speedily, not only from the educational 
 authorities of Porto Rico but also from such an organiza- 
 tion as the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of 
 Learning. From this Foundation the Institute received a 
 gift of $250,000 for its buildings and endowment. 
 
54 
 
 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 The basic idea of the Institute is to give the young of 
 Porto Rico a well rounded education — an education which 
 takes into consideration the physical, the intellectual and 
 spiritual phases of culture. It does this by its well equip- 
 ed and well staffed class rooms and laboratory, its reli- 
 gious atmosphere and its insistence on the condition that 
 every student regardless of the course he is taking be re- 
 quired to work at some manual occupation. The last con- 
 dition is a distinct contribution to the educational life of 
 Latin America and has been most helpful in dissipating 
 the Spanish notion that a man or woman by soiling his 
 hands became in some mystic manner uncultured. The 
 young men of the institution help in the construction of 
 the buildings, and roads and the young women help in the 
 kitchen and laundry. 
 
 After twenty years in which the ministerial candidates 
 of the various denominations were trained in small train- 
 ing schools, the Methodist, Baptist, Congregational, United 
 Brethern, Christian, Disciples of Christ, and Presbyterian 
 churches united in establishing the Evangelical Seminary 
 of Porto Rico in which to train their young men for min- 
 isterial work. The Seminary is situated at Rio Piedras 
 and from its beginning has been under the direction of 
 its present president, Dr. J. A. McAllister. Its enrollment 
 has never been less than thirty three. It has trained stu- 
 dents from every section of Porto Rico and from Vene- 
 zuela, Colombia, Santo Domingo and Cuba. Four of the 
 larger denominations each contribute a full Professor to 
 the faculty. The Seminary by virtue of the fact that it 
 is so near the University of Porto Rico is able to combine 
 its work with that of this latter institution. Most of the 
 graduates of the Seminary now arrange their work so 
 
EDUCATIONAL AND COMMUNITY WORK 55 
 
 that they can finish their B. A. degree in the University 
 by the time they graduate from Seminary. 
 
 In the training of the young Porto Rican for the minis- 
 try the Seminary has rendered indispensible help in man- 
 ning the pulpits of the evangelical churches of Porto Rico. 
 Whereas tv/elve years ago these pulpits were occupied by 
 continental American ministers they are today all occu- 
 pied by Porto Ricans who, for the most part have 
 been trained in the Evangelical Seminary. The demand 
 made upon the Seminary by Porto Rico, by the neighbor- 
 ing countries has definitely proved the wisdom of this un- 
 ion effort. Plans are prepared to provide new buildings 
 that will more adequately house the Seminary. 
 
 The nend for women workers in a missionary country 
 with such a social composition as Porto Rico is as urgent 
 as the need for men workers. The different denominations 
 have trained these helpers in slightly different ways. The 
 Baptist Missionary Society at Rio Piedras, maintains "Vil- 
 la Robles" a training school for women. The young wo- 
 men receive expert training under ideal home influences. 
 Many young ladies have been graduated and are doing ef- 
 fective work in different centers on the island. 
 
 Feeling the need of a High School in their section of 
 the island the Baptist last year opened such an institution 
 at the mountain town of Barranquitas. All the students 
 it can possibly accomodate are enrolled. This fact and the 
 enthusiastic support of the community has greatly encoLir- 
 aged those behind this project. 
 
 In the early days of missionary work in Porto Rico the 
 Congregational Churches of the United States established 
 at San Juan the Blanche Kellogg Institute. For several 
 years it has been under the wise direction of Mrs. A. B. 
 
56 
 
 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 McGee. There are 75 girls living- in the Blanche Kellogg 
 Institute. These are pursuing a High School course that 
 is accredited by the Department of Education and at the 
 same time they are sharing in the refining influences of 
 a Christian home atmosphere. The Blanche Kellogg has 
 been called "The Mount Holyoke of Porto Rico" and ful- 
 ly deserves this compliment. 
 
 Impressed with the great number of parentless children 
 in Porto Rico the Methodist Episcopal Church early es- 
 tablished two orphanages. One of these orphanages is 
 for girls and is situated in San Juan, the other for boys 
 is situated at Hatillo. The San Juan Institution is direct- 
 ed by Mrs. J. C. Murray who has 82 girls under her care. 
 These girls live and study in several well equiped build- 
 ings. At the completion of their studies the girls are sym- 
 pathetically launched into the life of Porto Rico. Many of 
 them prepare for the nursing and teaching professions. 
 The Institution at Hatillo which has 40 boys in attend- 
 ance does a similar work . The boys schooling is com- 
 bined with an industrial training. 
 
 The Presbyterian Board of National Missions maintains 
 in the most needy section of Mayaguez a Neighborhood 
 House. This institution was established 25 years ago and 
 from the beginning has been directed by Miss Clara E. 
 Hazen. The establishment maintains a staff of 14 v\^ork- 
 ers and its activities include a self supporting day nur- 
 sery, a dispensary, a Kindergarten, a primary school, girls 
 clubs and a training school for Presbyterian woman work- 
 ers. All of the activities of the Marina Neighborhood 
 House are coordinated with the work of the local Pres- 
 byterian Church and render a definite contribution to the 
 welfare of the community. 
 
EDUCATIONAL AND COMMUNITY WORK 57 
 
 The San Juan Y. M. C. A. was organized in 1909. It 
 has a membership of 600. Its staff includes a General 
 Secretary, a boys' work secretary a physical director. The 
 Association is housed in a modern well equipped building 
 which beside 28 bed rooms contains a gymnasium, a swim- 
 ming pool, a reading room and opportunity under the right 
 environment for the young men of San Juan to enjoy 
 billiards and pool. The total budget of the association 
 is $22,000 all of which is raised in Porto Rico. Mr. E. J. 
 Simonds is the General Secretary of the Organization. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 WHAT THE MISSIONS ARE DOING 
 
 For the work of evangelization Porto Rico is divided in- 
 to denominational zones of activities. At the outset of 
 Protestant missionary work, each denomination was as- 
 signed a portion of the Island with the understanding that 
 it would not encroach upon its sister denomination's ter- 
 ritory. While this arrangement did not provide for or- 
 ganic union it prevented overlapping and duplication of 
 effort. 
 
 The work of the American missionary has undergone 
 a change in these twenty years of occupation. Porto Ri- 
 co is an ideal example of "the church increasing and the 
 mission decreasing." In the early days the entire church 
 work was done by the continental missionary. As the 
 work developed, it was more and more taken over by the 
 native Porto Rican ministers. This process has been par- 
 ticularly marked during the last five years. The church- 
 es have become increasingly self-supporting while the 
 young Porto Ricans who have been graduated from the 
 Seminary have proved themselves worthy and acceptable 
 leaders among their own people. 
 
 The native ministry is divided into two main divisions. 
 First, the untrained but experienced pastors — who have 
 worked by the side of the continental missionaries for 
 some years, and have received their qualifications in the 
 school of hard knocks. The other the trained pastors — 
 the younger element, many of whom have not only receiv- 
 ed their schooling and special training in missionary insti- 
 
WHAT THE MISSIONS ARE DOING 
 
 59 
 
 tutions, but have been brought up from early childhood 
 in the Church. Men of the first type have charge of some 
 of the most important churches of the Island and their 
 work speaks volumes of praise to the early continental 
 missionaries. By virtue of youth and training the second 
 type of worker is naturally coming to the fore as the years 
 go by. Replacements in the important fields are almost 
 always filled by the young men who have been under the 
 observation of the various churches and missions through 
 their boyhood and youth. Sooner or later this type of 
 minister will dominate the situation. 
 
 The services of the Protestant churches in the cities in 
 Porto Rico are similar to the services in the cities of the 
 north — with one exception. There is no difficulty in 
 Porto Rico in getting people to hear the Message for reg- 
 ular services, and for special services you may be sure of 
 a full church. It is this phase of the work that appeals 
 mostly to visitors from the north. They come expecting 
 to find in the Protestant churches small groups of people 
 brought together by all sorts of inducements. They are 
 greatly surprised to see the enthusiasm, spontaneity, and 
 interest of the Porto Rican in his church. Quite recently 
 one of these visitors attended the prayer meeting of a 
 church in an inland town and after the service she said : 
 "The Wednesday before I left the States I attended pray- 
 er meeting at the First Presbyterian Church of " 
 
 (she mentioned one of the largest suburban churches of 
 New York). "I counted the people and there were just 
 the number you have here tonight." Shortly afterward 
 a minister from a large Philadelphia church was invited 
 to preach in this church. Rather reluctantly he consented 
 and, through an interpreter, preached at a Mother's Day 
 
60 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 service to an audience that crowded the church and to 
 scores of people that were packed around windows and 
 doors. Speaking of it afterward he exclaimed, "What a 
 wonderful experience it was. It was the opportunity of 
 a lifetime." 
 
 The greatest influence of the evangelical churches in 
 Porto Rico is in the country. It is among the people of 
 the rural sections, who form 80% of the population, that 
 the Protestant churches have rendered greatest service and 
 have found their greatest opportunity. 
 
 The country work is organized with the ideal of giv- 
 ing every inhabitant of the Island an opportunity of hear- 
 ing the Gospel periodically. Many preachers make itinera- 
 ries of several days' duration, visiting homes during the 
 day and conducting services at night at some central 
 house. From the seed sown in this manner come surpris- 
 ing harvests. The preacher is almost certain to be invit- 
 ed to repeat his visit and frequently a permanent preach- 
 ing point results. 
 
 The country services of the evangelical churches are the 
 only opportunity for worship the jiharo or peasant has. 
 In many instances people walk over ten miles each week 
 across mountain and stream to some preaching center. 
 Occasionally an incident like the following cheers the heart 
 of a pastor. At Sabbath school in town Sunday morning 
 the minister was surprised to see a man who for some 
 time had been attending every meeting that had been held 
 at a backward place some fifteen miles away. Barefoot- 
 ed he had walked this distance over mountainous paths 
 and across raging rivers. He had come to ask the mis- 
 sionary to establish a permanent preaching point at his 
 home, and to offer himself for membership in the church. 
 
WHAT THE MISSIONS ARE DOING 61 
 
 With such demonstration as this to prove the sincerity of 
 his profession of faith he was received. Today he is a 
 church officer, acting as an under-shepherd to a little band 
 of Christians in that mountain recess. 
 
 The cottage service is very popular, and often is the 
 only kind of service that can be had. With his custom- 
 ary generosity the Porto Rican will offer the use of his 
 house for "los protestantes" even though he is not a be- 
 liever. There are some distinct advantages to this plan 
 — chiefly the intimate contact one gets with the people 
 and their problems. In this balmy land the open air ser- 
 vice is much used. It is inspiring to attend an evangel- 
 istic service conducted at some plantation on the large 
 concrete drying floor. 
 
 In pioneer work such as this there is practically no phy- 
 sical equipment. It is a clear demonstration of the pow- 
 er of the simple Gospel. Some of the workers are using 
 the stereopticon. This makes a forceful method of pres- 
 enting religious truth, especially in the opening of new 
 work. 
 
 Church membership in Porto Rico is a more direct sev- 
 erance from the former life than it it is in most places 
 on the continent. In only a very few cases is it the re- 
 sult of a childhood where church and home have united 
 to make church membership a natural step in the develop- 
 raent of the individual. It is about as opposite a thing 
 to the nominal adherence to the Catholic Church through 
 'nfant baptism as could be imagined. The preparation for 
 Protestant membership differs in forms as the denomina- 
 tions differ in creed and custom. All, however, agree in 
 spirit. Churches with the Methodist form of government 
 find their period of probation very effective in Porto 
 
62 THIRTY YEARS IN PORTO RICO 
 
 Rico. Other churches have their catechism classes which 
 last from three to six months. 
 
 The influence of the evangelical churches is not confin- 
 ed to their members. There are on every hand those 
 people who attend the services regularly, who call them- 
 selves Protestants but do not unite with the church. 
 Taking these facts into consideration an estimate was made 
 about a year ago based on an extensive survey. It gave 
 Protestant population of Porto Rico as 12% of the en- 
 tire population. This does not include such organizations 
 as the Free Masons and Free Thinkers and a host of in- 
 differents who. because of their anti-catholic attitude, are 
 much more sympathetic with the Evangelical point of 
 view than with the Roman Catholic. 
 
 The phase that has most encouraged the workers on 
 the field and the contributing Boards and Societies has 
 been the distinct advance made toward self-support by the 
 different churches. Of course a church independent of 
 outside financial support and direction has been the ideal 
 ever since the work began. 
 
 Most of the stronger denominations have programs and 
 schedules arranged that will render the present organized 
 churches free from outside support in ten, fifteen, or twen- 
 ty years. There will be a need for missionary work in 
 Porto Rico for many generations to come but it is hop- 
 ed, particularly by the native worker, that the central 
 church will soon demonstrate its ability to conduct its own 
 affairs. 
 
 One of the greatest aids to this end is the essentially 
 patriotic spirit of the Porto Rican. "El Sosten Propio" 
 — self support — has come to be the slogan at every de- 
 npminational and interdenominational gathering. 
 
WHAT THE MISSIONS ARE DOING 
 
 63 
 
 Even before self-support is reached the Protestant 
 Christians of Porto Rico are looking- toward the service 
 which they in turn hope to render to their less fortunate 
 neighbors. For within a radius of 1,500 miles, lie the 
 Central American States, and Hayti, Santo Domingo, Ve- 
 nezuela, Colombia and Brazil. Within these countries are 
 literally millions of human beings whose need for educa- 
 tion, health, and the inspiration of a vital religion is vast 
 and urgent. These people are also Latins and the Porto 
 Ricans for that reason have a unique opportunity as well 
 as a responsibility to pass on to them in turn the bless- 
 ings they have received from Protestant Missions. The 
 number of calls for help is increasing as the years go 
 by. The most insistent of these calls just now and the 
 one that constitutes a veritable cry from Macedonia is 
 from the little Republic of Santo Domingo. Since the 
 American occupation of this Island Republic and the open- 
 ing of American industries, Porto Ricans by the thou- 
 sands have crossed the narrow Mona Channel to make 
 their livelihood. A large number of members of the dif- 
 ferent evangelical churches were among the emigrants. 
 These folk missed their church homes. At a big sugar 
 center several of them organized a Protestant Church 
 which is today fighting the fight of all infants for sur- 
 vival. It is appealing to the Protestant Churches of Por- 
 to Rico to help it in the struggle. And the Protestant 
 Churches of Porto Rico are sending what aid they can in 
 money and men. So it is that the Gospel is spread ; so 
 it is that the leaven of the Kingdom works. 
 
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