It must be borne in mind that since the cession Puerto Rico has been
denied the principal markets she had long enjoyed and our tariffs have
been continued against her products as when she was under Spanish
sovereignty. The markets of Spain are closed to her products except upon
terms to which the commerce of all nations is subjected. The island of
Cuba, which used to buy her cattle and tobacco without customs duties,
now imposes the same duties upon these products as from any other
country entering her ports. She has therefore lost her free intercourse
with Spain and Cuba without any compensating benefits in this market.
Her coffee was little known and not in use by our people, and therefore
there was no demand here for this, one of her chief products. The
markets of the United States should be opened up to her products. Our
plain duty is to abolish all customs tariffs between the United States
and Puerto Rico and give her products free access to our markets.
As a result of the hurricane which swept over Puerto Rico on the 8th of
August, 1899, over 100,000 people were reduced to absolute destitution,
without homes, and deprived of the necessaries of life.
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