Rensselaer Journal, Volume 10, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 March 1901 — Strange Requtrt of Porto Ricans. [ARTICLE]

Strange Requtrt of Porto Ricans.

In view of the congressional policy toward Porto Rico we cannot pretend astonishment at the extraordinary “protest” made to the President by a delegation of islanders representing a mass meeting held at Juan early Id February. The delegates asked the President to direct Governor Allen to call a special session of the territorial legislature for the purpose of repealing a tax law passed only a few weeks ago by that body and signed by Governor Allen. The petitioners had a long list of objections to the law. which imposes a tax on property and on incomes. They and those for whom they spoke prefer the continuation of the old system of insular and municipal taxes, coupled with the customs duties collected under the Foraker act and covered (in part, at least) into the Porto Rican treasury. The new law, they apprehend, will work great mischief. It will withdraw money from circulation by collecting semiannually, in advance, $500,000 or more. It will be neither uniform nor fair, since the only standard of valuation will be the personal opinion of the assessors, who may be appointed by political favor. The amount of the tax is wholly uncertain, since no valuation of property has ever been made in the island. And so on.