t A NV I e>, POKTO RICO Porto Rico Information in Regard to the Island and Our Church Work Theie BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES H. VAN BUREN, D.D. Missionary Bishop D)STANgE? . N.Y. to HAVANA.I IQOm. ,, to PUERTORICO .. . I580n,, Location and History AN JUAN, the capital city of Porto Rico, situated on the north coast of the island, is 975 miles sontheast of the city of Havana, Cuba, and 1,380 miles south by east from New York. When Columbus discovered the island in 1493, on his sec¬ ond voyage, he gave it the name of San Jnan. The harbor where now the city of that name stands was called Porto Rico—the rich harbor. It appears that the names afterwards became confused in some State papers, and were allowed to remain so, the island thereafter being called Porto Rico, and the city, San Juan. Queen Isabella is said to have asked Columbus to give her a description of the island, and in reply, it is related that he took his handkerchief, crumpled it up and threw it on the table, saying, “It looks like that.” Whether the incident occurred or not, a better description of the variegated mountainous view that meets the eye on every side could hard¬ ly be devised. The island is 135 miles long by about thirty miles in breadth, and is almost a rectangle in shape, its greatest dimension extending from east to west. It contains 3,600 square miles, being three-quarters the size of Con¬ necticut. Inhabitants Copper-colored Indians, similar to those of North America, lived here when Columbus landed. Many of the Indians were massacred by the Spaniards who took possession of the island; negro ( 3 ) HAVANA to PUERTO RICO... 900 m COLUMBUS MONUMENT AND FORT CRISTOBAL, SAN JUAN ( 4 ) VIEW ON THE MILITARY ROAD slaves were brought here; and from the Spanish, the negro and the Indian races the present population is descended. The population of Porto Rico, by the United States Census of 1900, is 953,- 000, or nearly 50,000 more than Con¬ necticut contains, in a territory three- quarters that of the state where the population is perhaps the most dense in the Union. Four hundred years of Spanish rule served to make many a fortune for Span¬ ish grandees, but left the natives in great poverty and ignorance. early morning. Vital statistics show a very favorable state as regards health¬ fulness. Education According to the reports of the Com¬ missioner of Education of 1901, there were about 25,000 children in the Porto Rican schools in 1898, when the Ameri¬ cans took possession. Of these about half were in the public schools, and the rest in private or parochial schools. But there are 350,000 children of school age on the island, and eighty per cent, of THE EXECUTIVE MANSION Climate The climate, with seven degrees of dif¬ ference, only, between winter and sum¬ mer, is almost a perpetual June. With never a breath of frost, every fruit and vegetable known to the tropics and many that are familiar to the tempyerate zones may be grown in abundance. The prin¬ cipal products are sugar, coffee and to¬ bacco. The mean temperature of the winter months is 72°, that of the sum¬ mer, 79°. At noon the thermometer reg¬ isters about 90° every day in the year, with some 65° to 75° in the night and the population could neither read nor write when the Americans came. To-day, after nine years of American possession, there are upward of 70,000 children in the public schools alone. And beside the public schools there are many private and parochial schools, making possibly an attendance of some 100,000 out of the 350,000 children. It is a record to cause some satisfaction, but not a de¬ gree of achievement to be accepted as final. Government Porto Rico has a government framed under the provisions of the Foraker Bill, as follows: A Governor, appointed by (5) the President of the United States. There are six heads of departments, also appointed by the President. These are Americans, and are as follows: Secretaiy, Attorney-General, Treasurer, Auditor, Commissioner of the Interior, Commis¬ sioner of Education. These six, to¬ gether with five Porto Ricans appointed by the President, make up the Executive Council. The Legislative Assembly is elected The only qualifications for casting the ballot are those which obtain in the States, ability to read and write, or pay¬ ment of tax. The revenues of the island are raised by property taxation, and amount to about $2,500,000 a year. Of this sum about half is used for the expenses of the insular government, and the rest for roads and schools. Municipal govern¬ ment is supported by its own taxes. THE PRINCIPAL PLAZA, SAN JUAN by the people, and is composed of thirty- five members, five from each of the seven districts. A measure may originate in either house, the Executive Council or the Legislative Assembly, and must re¬ ceive the concurrence of the other house, and the signature of the Governor, in order to become a law. Either house may defeat a bill, and the Governor may veto a bill that has passed both houses. Every town on the island has its Mayor, or Alcalde, and its Common Council or Ayuntamiento. These municipal offi¬ cers are elected by popular vote. ( 6 ) There is free trade with the United States. Religion Under Spain, the Roman Catholic re¬ ligion was established as a part of the government, some of the priests hold¬ ing government offices, and all receiving State pay. In every town there is a large parish church, the principal build¬ ing to be seen as one approaches the place. Under the constitution of the United States, religion has no connec¬ tion with the government, and many of A MARKET IN PORTO RICO CARNIVAL TIME ( 7 ) THE NEW CHURCH OP ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, SAN JUAN the Spanish priests left the island Avhen the Americans came. Nominally the en¬ tire population is Roman Catholic; but as a matter of fact great numbers of the people have no religion whatsoever. Among the more intelligent part of the population there is some allegiance to the Roman Church, some bitter oppo¬ sition, and much indifference and agnos¬ ticism. Among the middle class, com¬ prising the skilled laborers and their families, the same is true, while among the lower and poorer classes the vast majority are living in practical heathen¬ ism. They celebrate Christmas and Easter, with the most outlandish noises, and the carnival flourishes as a time of ( 8 ) frolic and frivolity. Superstitious cus¬ toms prevail among them, and proces¬ sions with wax images of the Saviour and His mother are common occurrences. The people of the higher social classes rarely go near any mission, outside the Roman Church. The poorer people hear us gladly. They will come in great numbers to hear anyone who can preach to them in their own language. They are eager to have their children attend our schools. We have 125 pupils in the San Juan schools, and are turning many away for lack of room. Never was there an opportunity more rich in its invita¬ tion and its possibilities than Porto Rico presents to-day. HEAD NURSE AND STAFF OF NURSES INTERIOR OF ST. DUKE S CHURCH. PUERTA DE TIERRA A new and commodious building with basement to accommodate the large school is being erected (1907) ( 9 ) ( 10 ) POUTO UICAN HOYS AND GIULS THE CLARKE MEMORIAL ALTAR, SAN JUAN, P. R. THE MASSACHUSETTS LECTURN AND FONT,” SAN JUAN, P. R. Obstacles Our Plant Difficulties abound, however, as may be easily understood from what has al¬ ready been said; and there are other dif¬ ficulties beside those of language, preju¬ dice and climate. All land in the vicin¬ ity of the large cities is held at a ficti¬ tious valuation. Rents in most places are abnormally high, and building We have thus the Church of St. John the Baptist in San Juan, with school¬ room in a rented house; the Church of the Holy Trinity, Ponce, with school, parish hall and rectory on the lot ad¬ joining; the Church of All Saints, with rectory and parish hall, on the island of Vieques, off the east coast. Our church THE EPISCOPAL RESIDENCE NEAR SAN JUAN material is about double in price what it costs in the States. Land and other property titles are in some cases uncer¬ tain. and where not doubtful it still is necessary to go through a complicated and tedious process, involving consider¬ able expense, to secure a transfer. Hot- withstanding, we have succeeded in ob¬ taining for our work a clear title to what property we possess, and it is all vested in the Domestic and Porcign Mission¬ ary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Lnited States of Ameri¬ ca, as trustees, to hold for the use of the Episcopal Church in Porto Rico for¬ ever. ( 12 ) in Euerta de Tierra, named St. Luke’s, will soon have its own building. ITie Bishop’s residence, six miles from San Juan, has been built and paid for on a two-acre lot; the entire property, within a short distance from the Normal School, having cost about $7,500. The episcopal residence has increased in value as other buildings have been erected in the neigh¬ borhood, and the grounds will provide a place where other Church institutions can be placed, if the need should arise. When I became the Missionary Bishop of Porto Rico, in 1902, I set about raising $30,000 as an Equipment Fund, for the purchase of property for churclies, rectories and schools. That amount lias been given. The Woman’s Auxiliary has given me $3,900 beside. I have the above mentioned property to show for this money, all of it free from debt. But no sooner was this ac¬ complished than I had to turn my at¬ tention to securing a Church Extension Fund. At least $25,000 will be needed for this. It has now reached over come to the source of supplies to obtain the money required for establishing the Church in the land to which he is sent to minister. No one need think a bish¬ op enjoys going about with an appeal constantly on his lips, for the means his work must have. It is true there are many tokens of loving kindness and of sympathy to make his task less irksome. He meets hosts of friends, and often- HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, PONCE, WAS THE OLDEST NON-ROMAN CHURCH BUILDING IN THE SPANISH POSSESSIONS $10,000. Our hospital has cost also a little over $20,000. Our missions have been established in eight principal cen¬ tres—in San Juan, Ponce, La Carmelita, ^Nfa.vaguez, Vieques, Puerta de Tierra, Aguas Buenas, and Santurce. We ought to begin work in a number of other places. This means more men and more money. Other places are waiting for us. Supplies No one deplores the necessity more than the missionary bishop himself, when he is obliged to leave his post, and times the spirit of sacrifice and generous devotion to the cause he has next his heart becomes an inspiration to him, as it both produces and consecrates the money contributed for his Avork. But such appeals have to be made, and there seems to be no other way but for the missionai'y bishop to make them. I need the Church Extension Fund. Ponce is one of the most important cities on the island. The hospital must he well equipped to do its work there. Our school under Hiss Cuddy has been ex¬ ceedingly successful. In its new quarters it ivs doing excellent work. ( 13 ) Appeal The church in Ponce has recently been photographed with its decorations for Easter. Looking at this fair picture, one might be pardoned for thinking there was no need of a new building. But if the kind reader will look closely, he will see two iron rods running through the church. What are they there for? They tell why I am asking for a new church. If they were not there, the church would fall down. The building is of wood, with iron sheathing. Church has erected her splendid temples, it will never impress the people with the fact that we have a better and a purer conception of the Church to give them, if we build poor little temporary struc¬ tures. Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists perceive this, and they are building worthy edifices, and spending far more money in their work than we are in ours. The wisdom of a generous policy in the mission field is nowhere more apparent than in these new possessions, where it might be said, if we were not there to make it impos- THE INTERIOR OF HOLY TRINITY, DECORATED FOR EASTER DAY and it has stood thirty-four years. It is so badly out of the perpendicular, in places, as to be hardly safe, and it would cost more than the building is worth to stop the leaks. And that is your church, my dear fellow-Christian— yours, because it belongs to your brothers and sisters in Ponce, who are not able to build a new’ one. Through me. they ask your help. It might an¬ swer to build a less expensive church than the plans I have in mind, but it would be poor economy, and worse pol¬ icy. In that land, wdiere the Roman (14) sible, that in exchanging Spain for the United States, a religious master, though a tyrant, had been exchanged for a gov¬ ernment that had no religion. In other words, it is given to you and to me to bear witness to the people of Porto Rico that Christ is supreme in the United States of America, and that we mean it when w’e say we believe in the Holy Catholic Church; that we but speak the truth when we tune our Te Deum and sing to Cod. saying, “The Holy Church throughout all the w’orld (loth acknowledge Thee.” THE RIC4HT REVEREND JAMES HEARTT VAN BUREN, S.T.D., BISHOP OF PORTO RICO CONSEC'KATKl), JUNE 24TH. 1902 Some Immediate Needs 1. Three more clergy, Spanish speaking. 2 . Two itinerant missionaries. 3 . Two teachers. 4 . Fifteen thousand dollars, to complete the Exten¬ sion Fund, with which to build a church at Ponce, and open new missions in places that have asked for them. 5 . A rectory at San Juan. 6 . Six thousand dollars to complete the equipment of the Hospital. Some Porto Rico Facts Porto Rico, 1,380 miles south by east from New York, has a million inhabitants, in an area of 3,600 square miles. It was made a missionary district by the General Con¬ vention of 1901 . James H. \^an Buren was consecrated first Bishop of Porto Rico, June 24 th, 1902 . ^Missions have been established at San Juan, Ponce, Puerta de Tierra (a suburb of San Juan), Mayaguez, La Carmelita, Aguas Buenas, Santurce and Vieques. Schools have been opened at five of these places. A new church building has been erected at San Juan, a rectory bought, school and parish house built at Ponce, a church opened in a rented house at Puerta de Tierra, and an episcopal residence erected in the suburbs of San Juan. A new church building is being erected at Puerta de Tierra, and a rectory and parish hall have been built at Vieques. A mission has also been established at Aguas Buenas and another at Santurce, both in rented buildings. /iTOPIES of this Leaflet may be had, without cost, from the Cor¬ responding S E C R E T A R Y, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York, by asking for Leaflet No. 503 ^ ^ ^ ^ Contributions should be sent to M r . George C. Thomas, Treasurer, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York. ^