Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 216, 2 September 1906 — Page 6

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CIIE aborigines , of Torto nico have long since disappeared from the face of the earth. When Columbus discovered the Antilles he found the 13lands peopled by a race which in all probability was an offshot of the Carib Indians of the mainland. The great navigator was Impressed by the timid friendliness of the naked savages, whose peaceful tendencies were proclaimed by the fact that they possessed no sort of weapon. Their country was a terrestrial paradise, blessed with a soft, salubrious climate, free from wild beasts and venomous reptiles, and abounding In the fruits of the earth. Needless to say, the inhabitants of such a region knew nothing of labor or hardship. They lived the lives of happy, careless children until che "white gods" In the "flying ships" came to them from over the sea. Then life changed for the unfortunate In1 dlans. The Spaniards forced them to dig for gold where It did not exist, and slew them when they failed to find it. They were put to nnaceustomed labor in ihe field, and when they rebelled Spanish soldiers slaughtered them like sheep in the shambles. They were slain to give eclat to the ceremonies of a saint's day; they were harried by hounds to afford sport for their conquerors. In short, the process of "pacification," as pursued by the first colouists, was. In fact, a deliberate system of extermination, so that the natives of rorto , Ilico, who. according to I.as Casas, numbered 600,000 at the time of the discovery, disappeared with such terrible rapidity that the Bishop. of San Juan reported to the king in 1543 that there were but 63 Indians In the Island. These figures undoubtedly applied to the pitiful remnant of males, for large numbers of women were preserved as concubines,' from whoia sprang a race of halfhreeds, which haa been gradually absorbed and lost lu the later population. Traces of the miscegenation may occasionally re seen at the prese&t day, but they are so few and so slight that they do not constitute a contradiction of the statement that the aboriginal stock is entirely extinct. The present population of Torto Rico Is composed of the descendants of two distinct classes of Spaniards of negroes and f half castes. With the exception of Cuba and Porto Rico, every sugar producing island of the West Indies contains at least ten times as many colored persons as whites. In Porto Kleo the latter represent 61 per cent, of the total population, and all but one-sixth of the remalcder have more or less white blood In their veins. Porto Iilco was never an extensive slave-owning colony, principally because there were few capitalists in the Island. In fact, until the introduction of the sugar Industry by refugees from Haiti and Jamaica, the number of negroes In Torto R!co was Insignificant. The humane laws promulgated by the Spanish crown for the protection of slaves were widely disregarded In the colonies, but they appear to have been strictly observed In Porto Rico. As a couso, quenre, the negroes In that island enJoyed lenient treatment, and were permitted to secure their freedom upon easy terms. Thus we have In Torto Rico a negro element quite satisfied with their lot la life, and. In some respects, superior to their kin of the neighboring Islands. They are fairly industrious, cheery and respectful. They have none of the Inconsequent vanity of the Santo Domingo Mack, and are less simple and superstitious than the Jamaican negro. It could cot be expected that the Porto Rlcan negro should be tacllned to hard work. Every kind of stimulus Is racking to him. and he has never had an example of energy, for the lnnat..lndolence of the well-to-do Spaniard Is only exceeded .by that of the white peasant cultivator, nowever, the proportion of pure negroes In the population of Porto Rico la only about the same as that of the colored to the total inhabitants of Philadelphia, and they will not be an Important factor in the future development of the Island. The mulattoes present an entirely different proposition. Their Bombers ac

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count for about two-fifths of the total population, and show a decided tendency to Increase, while the full-blooded negro Is, through a process of absorption and by reason of physical shortcomings, disappearing. It Is not Improbable that the mulattoes will eventually form the dominant element In the native population. They are not subject to any handicap on account of their descent In a country where no prejudice Is entertained against the blacks and where no "color line" exists. With the exception of a handful of 'educated whites the mulattoes are the only people In Porto Rico who display any Inclination to better themselves, and they possess more than others the qualities necessary to success. The glbaro the white peasant Is not to be reckoned with. Under the Spaniards the facilities for education were very limited, and Porto Rico labors under the unenviable distinction of having a greater degree of Illiteracy than any other West Indiau Island, and this despite the larger proportion of the white population. More than 80 per cent, of the inhabitants are unable to read or write. It may be expected that the mulattoes will be the chief beneficiaries of the educational system under American rule, for the glbaro can conceive of no future for his Children more desirable than the happy-go-lucky existence of their father. In which educational attainments find no place whatever. Whatever process of social evolution takes place In Porto Rico In the future must be worked out without the Influence of Immigration, for the Island Is already fully populated. Although It would be In many respects an Mdeal field for the small American "farmer or planter, there Is no room for him. There Is already a population of 2G4 to the square mile, and the greater part of It Is rural. The center of population and the center of area are both within five or six miles of the town of Barros,. in the southeastern district of the Department f Arecibo. There Is, however, an ample field In Porto Rico for capitalists, large and small, or, rather, there will be when the absurd restrictions against corporate enterprise are removed. ' The Torto Ricans as a community are poor. According to the last census the entire wealth of the Island was estimated at $150,000,000, with an offset of about $70,000,000 of mortgage and other Indebtedness, leaving a per capita wealth of about $S0. The development nd prosperity of the country must be dependent upon American capital, and would doubtless have derived a great Impetus from that source ere this bnt for the mistaken ' policy; that prohibited Its introduction. The legislators whose paternal protection of the fancied Interests of the Porto Ricans led them to amend all effectiveness out of the Foraker Act have proved themselves tne worst enemies of our needy colony. The early Spanish colonists were soldiers and adventurers men whose knowledge was limited to the art of arms, with, perhaps, a smattering of navigation. Gold was the magnet that drew them across seas from their distant fatherland. In quest of the precious metal, they were willing to face all manner of danger and to undergo the most severe hardships; but they had no stomach for the tame pursuits of husbandry. It was not until a later time that they learnt to appreciate the slower but more snre road to wealth by way of the plantation and the farm. With the diminution of the aborigines urgent need arose for tillers of the soil. The lack of agricultural laborers often brought the colonists into the most critical straits. Living In a land which, with little aid from man, produced foodstuffs In abundance, they depended largely upon, supply ships, and when these, prevented by contrary winds or captured by enemies, failed them, the Spaniards were reduced to the verge of starvation. To relieve this condition emigration from the provinces of the mother

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te' country to Porto Rico was encouraged. The class that was Introduced by this movement was composed of penniless peasants. When they arrived they found the land all parceled out In grants to cavaliers, who, although they made no use of it, declined to give- aDy of It to the newcomers. The latter were forced to become renters or squatters. In the former case they Incurred debts that they were seldom able to liquidate, and as the law transferred these from father to child, many generations lived under a system of peonage which was virtually slavery. Thus the glbaro was denied at the outset the opportunity to lead an Independent life, and the Incentive to better his condition and lay the foundation of a future for his children. When we concede this much excuse, however, we are probably treating the case of the gibaro In an over-liberal manner. It is doubtful whether he would have cut much of a figure In the world under the most favorable circumstances. As It Is he Is the most useless and the most picturesque person In Porto Rico. The love of dolce far nlente which characterized the emigrants from "sunny Andalusia has been fostered by their descendants until It has developed Into the most Insouciant laziness ever attained by white man. God made the country for the glbaro, and condemned to the town restless beings who do not know how to appreciate his gifts. Such Is the glbaro's creed. He accepts with a comfortable 1 gratitude the all-sufficient provision of a bountiful Providence, and asks no more. He is the most contented creature In existence. His little banana patch and cotfee grove provide ample means of subsistence, and leave a small margin of profit, so that he may Indulge his ardent passion for gambling wnen he goes Into town on a saint's day to sell bis produce and attend mass. On such an occasion he may be seen mounted behind the bas

kets on his unkempt pony, who thanks Fate for a master of such delightful leisurely habits. Our friend has a devil-may-care air and an honest eye, with a twinkle in It that distracts the attention from his homely garments and bare legs. The long sword stuck through one of the baskets Is traditional appurtenance. As a weapon it Is needless and useless, and probably could not be drawn from the scabbard. Having sold his fruit or berries In the market, he will repair to the church, say his prayers and deposit bis mite in the poor-box, although there are none more poor than he. He may spend a peseta about 20 cents at a wine shop, but he Is an abstemious fellow by nature and never drinks too much. The afternoon will be spent at a cockfight or a dance, and toward evening he will wend his way homeward, singing or whistling, not one whit depressed if he happens to be returning with empty pockets. The life of the gibaro Is one of careless ease. He Is not troubled by taxcollector or landlord. His ground needs but little attention and his wife and children divide the labor of Tilling and picking with him. His cabin is a crude contrivance, bat' admirably adapted to his requirements. A few simple agricultural implements and articles of. furniture supply, all the needs. A bolt of cotton clothes the family, the children " wearing the scantiest attire consistent with decency. Aside from the Inconvenience and additional work entailed by an occaslonal hurricane the gibaro has no troubles. The greater part of his life Is spent swinging In a hammock puffing a long home-made cigar or perhaps twanging a guitar. Hla neighbors are kindred spirits, whose code for the conduct of life Is the golden fule. They live together peacefully and with free unconventlonality. True sons of the soil, they abhor the cramped conditions of the town.; and would a soon be doomed to death aa to

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- - if ' r Is f life in a city. The authorities entertain hopes that the extensive educational facilities now offered to the glbaro may be the means of raising him to the status of the American farmer. Such expectation must fail Vo take Into account the Inborn prejudices and characteristics of these people, carried unchecked through a long line of ancestors, who lived the same free, lazy life close td nature, with, no desire for other conditions. It Is possible that two-generatIons of schoolgoing glbaros might produce a third of ambitious and energetic farmers, but the difficulty Is precisely the same as that which lies in the way of salting the tail of a sparrow. You have got' to catch your "leedle glbaroons." as a Teuton friend affectionately called them, and. far from receiving any aid from their parents, you are likely to meet with obstruction. The situation would not be so deplorable If the glbaro could be Induced to do efficient" work as an agricultural laborer. With a rural population 90 per cent, of the whole, the Porto Ricani planter's everlasting plaint Is that he rannot secure sufficient field hands. If the gibaro Is persuaded to hire out he Is worth little to his employer. He Insists on doing his work la his accustomed manner. Neither driving nor coaxing will Induce him to put more energy into it. " After a few days of steady labor he deems a rest well-earned, and will lay off for a week or two. The proceeds of four days work will support him and his family In easy comfort for a fortnight, and he does not believe In unnecessary exertion. There ycu have the problem that Is worrying the authorities in all our insular possessions. Perhaps la our nervous, energetic way' we are exercising ourselves unduly about the matter. At any rate. It la morally certain that the more we wake the natives np the more trouble we shall create for ourselves. Terr few countries are aa evenly set-

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tied as Is Porto Rico. Almost every rood of its area is capable of supporting man. The entire face of the land Is dotted with the cabins of the peasantry, white and colored, who live together in goodfellowshlp. There are no large towns In the Interior, but pueblos or villages are numerous. Each of these is the center of a scattering agricultural community which depends upon It for the simple conveniences of civilization. Each village has Its church, town ball, plaza and shops. The society of the place consists of the cura always an Important' member the doctor,' a lawyer, or notary, and perhaps one or two well-to-do tradesmen. They pass their days in somnolent, contentment. There Is nothing in which they could busy themselves If they would. A casual traveler is a godsend. There la no hostelry in the hamlet, but the representatives of the learned professions will vie, with one another for the pleasure of entertaining the stranger. And If he be a man weary and sore from the hot strife of a northern city a sojourn in one of these peaceful spots will be bliss onspeakable. Here all men are passing rich, for all are perfectly content. Kindness bonhommle Is the keynote of the dally life. Perfect harmony prevails. Man's mood unconsciously reflect the attitude" of nature. It Is all very primitive, but ' therein lies Its chief charm. The vices of these simple, honest folk lose the sinister element in this Innocent environment. The cock fight Is merely the exuberant play of grown-up children. Even the padre will stop in his walk to watch an Important main by the wayside, and he may become sufficiently In T5he Wizard Santos Dumont may be well called the wizard of the air, for all other efforts to construct a navigable and steerable balloon are comparatively puny when compared with the young Brazilian's brilliant achievements. He has only one rival as far as conquering the air Is concerned, and that man Is SIgnor Marconi, with the difference that the latter sends messages through the space, whilst the former sends himself. Santos Dumont was born at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, In 1S73, and la the youngest of a family of 10 sons. Very early In life flying machines and balloons absorbed the whole of his attention, and he determined to devote his life to solving the riddle that has baffled so many and has cost so many lives. In 1ST 3 be visited France, climbed Mont Blanc by way of getting his nerves In good trim, If he ever bad any, and In the same year he visited Paris and ascended from the Jardin d'AcclImatatlon In the smallest navigable balloon ever made. In September of that year he made the first steerable balloon ever driven by a petroleum motor, but unfortunately It was wrecked at the first experiment. Nothing daunted, be set to work to remedy its defects, and by gradual process and experiments at length he succeeded In "launching" a steerable and navigable airship. In which he flew from St. Cloud, near Paris, round the Eiffel Tower and home again, a distance of eight miles. Paris nay. the whole world was amazed and saw in the young inventor the herald of a new era in flying machines. This encouraged the young Inventor and he was tempted to try for the $20,000 Deutsch prize, offered by a generous Frenchman, named Deutsch, to whoever succeeded In sailing In the air from the Aero Club to the Eiffel Tower and home again In half an hour. Dumont accepted the challenge, and a great crowd gathered to see one of the bravest and most extraordinary feat ever attempted by a man. The first time Dumont was unsuccessful, his balloon not answering properly to the controller. Bat on October 20, 1901, he again attempted to gain the Deutsch prize, and after a brilliantly successful trial missed the reward by being only 4-0 seconds over time. Moos. Deutsch, a thoroughly Just but exacting sportsman, would not consider the prize won. "My conditions were to sail from St. Cloud round the Eiffel Tower and home again In 35 minutes," be said. "Santos Dumont has nobly acquitted himself, but Is 40 seconds behind time. He must try again." The President f Brazil presented him $33,000 In recognition f his service and In order that be might devote the spending of It to prosecute further experiments. The same year he made a sensational flight from Hampstead to Harrow and back azaln la his airship, the Sratos Dumont VI. Such an latrenld master of aerial narU

terested to wager a half peseta upon the ' result. If he loses he may linger long enough to deliver a mtid homily upon the sin of gambling; if ho wlna a bene-, diction will not be lacking. In either case, the "father of hU flock" Is followed ,1 by words of warm affection and cheerful j smiles. He Is the dominating spirit ct the place the confidant, adviser and " preceptor of hla people. All this because t he is thoroughly human and one of themselves, poor as they are poor. Joyous and easy-going as any boy among them. . .When, the fagged and fretful man of affairs turns for relief from his business Into the bustling paths of tourist travel he little dreams f the opportunity for " recuperation offered by our lovely garden -spot In the Caribbean Sea. If he be -willing to throw off the barnacles of artl-," flclallty for awhile he may here secure complete rest from his cares under the. most healthful and enjoyable conditions. Should be be an artist by practice or Instinct, he will here find a superabundance of material for the brush, or food for the eye. Nor need the mind stag- -nate. Nature and mankind In onaccustotned aspects afford ample and Interest -lng study. Porto Rico has been little affected by the emigration from the old CastlUIan -families that formed the aristocracy f Cuba. This, to a great extent, accounts for Its peaceful history as compared with that of the sister Island. The Island was la the early centurle of Spanish -occupation a military post, . and the . troops by which It was garrisoned were T permanently stationed there. The officerIn most cases man-led Creoles of the island, and settled there for life. descendants of these persons, and of French and Spanish refugees from the neighboring Islands, in the revolutionary times of the nineteenth century, are the , gente llustrada, or aristocrats of rorto Rico. Their numbers .are Insignificant, and are represented In the literacy exhlblts by" one-half of one per cent, of the population, which Is something less than one million. This class supplier the merchants, planters and professional,' men of the Island. They have accepted the change of sovereignty with ready acquiescence, mainly because of their strong love of the aoll and pronounced domestic tendencies. Furthermore, although handicapped by the universal Indolence of their countrymen, they are shrewd and Intelligent., and fully appreciate the prospective advantages of American rule. They are much like the similar class In Cuba well-bred, hospitable, intensely proud and generally prosperous. They are sociable In their sedate fashion, and fond of amusements, such as dancing, the theater, music, and the Inevitable bull fight. Their business men are honorable and honest. If lacking In enterprise. There Is in this class splendid material with which to build In the formation of a new race or nationality, so to speak, but It Is to( scanty to indulge the hope that It may In time leaven the whole. What Is probable, however, is that Intermarriage with Americans will, eventuate In the production of a class possessing the best characteristics of both races, and that this class will In the course of the present century make Torto Rico what It should be, one of the most prosperous, as It Is one of the most inviting countries In the world. C. n. FORBES-LINDSAY.

of the Air. I gation as Santos Dumont cannot hope to escape disaster sometimes, and be has had some miraculous escapes from death. When competing for the Deutsch prize for the first time, in sight of all the spectators, the airship, to everyone'a horror, suddenly and totally collapsed In midair and landed on some bouses near the Eiffel i Tower. Everyone expected that the young Brazilian was killed, but, strange to relate, he received nothing but a e- . rere shaking and a few brnlsea, whilst" the airship was totally wrecked. The accldent was due, the Inventor said, to the ventilator refusing to act at t:.s crucial moment. In 1002, when he was sailing across the Mediterranean, bis airship collapsed and fell Into the Bay of Monaco. The aeronaut was picked t" unhurt by boats, but his "ship" was rendered useless. For the past three jears Santos Dumont has steadily been navigating the air and diligently pursuing bis all-absorbing study and making new invention with which be hopes to perfect a navigable balloon. Indeed, he claims that It is possible tfi reach the North Pole and that he has solved the riddle of giving a new impulse to aerial navigation. As be rightly says, what seemed impossible five years ago neems possible now. , The two great drawbacks to the balloon, he says, are condensation and expansion, and be- ' cause of these defects It Is rot possible for a balloon to stay in the air for a much longer period than 2 hours, though the record is for a little under 36 hours. The higher a balloon goes the colder the gas becomf with which it is lnflateQ and thus condenses. Ballast, therefore, baa to be thrown out to compensate for the descending of the balloon. Even the heat from the sun expands the gas and raises the balloon, and If the valve Is not pened to let some of the gas escape, an explosion would follow. The balloon, again. Is greatly Influenced by atmospheric pressure and has to be treated and regulated accordingly. Now. If the steam, which collects In tie" Interior of the envelope of a spherical -balloon, can be recovered as water in a reservoir fitted to an opening nsed at the bottom, instead of evaporating through the silk, then M. Santos immont declares, a long-studied problem will be solved. He will use petroleum for evaporating the water into steam again, which will, when desired, expand the Walloon and It will rise and fall at the will of the operator. Instead of lightening the balloon by throwing out ballast, by burning petroleum be will transmute the water Into steam, which will expand the gas until It produces the required lifting force. Santos Dumont has Invented a most In- , genlous contrivance, a sort of condenser in a series of aluminum tubes, arranged vertically Inside the balloon, which will throw out the tot steam produced from the water heated by the petroleum, and so will cause the balloon to rise and fail when the steam la turned off.