The political situation in Puerto Rico had last week reached such a boiling point that Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes, who carries this U. S. insular possession in his portfolio, was forced to take official notice. In Washington he issued a manifesto :
"The people of Puerto Rico have a perfect right within the limits of the Constitution to seek whatever form of government they deem best for themselves. . . .
"It is obvious, however, that the civil rights and liberties guaranteed by our Constitution will be maintained on the Island of Puerto Rico. . . . The Government of the United States will not tolerate terrorism and murder. The assassination of Col. E. Francis Riggs [TIME, March 2] is evidence of folly and criminality which is abhorrent to all right-thinking people whether in Puerto Rico or in the continental United States. . . . This Administration is resolved to protect [Puerto Ricans] in their lives and in their daily pursuits."
To many a citizen in the U. S. this declaration suggested that his insular fellow-citizens were about to let their political passions spill over in typical Latin-American fashion, with blood and bullets. But such continental observers did not know:
1) That Puerto Rico has a record of far less political bloodshed than the U. S. itself. During four centuries it was the only one of Spain's colonies that never undertook an armed revolt.
2) That although one of the chief issues of Puerto Rican politics is independence, the Liberal (independence) Party is just as peaceful and polite as the Republican (Statehood) Party.
3) Pedro Albizu Campos.
Born about 40 years ago to a Negro mother and a Spanish father, Pedro Albizu Campos was sent to Harvard where he proved himself a brilliant scholar. When the War came, he enlisted in the U. S. Army. His pride of Spanish race was deeply shocked when he was made a lieutenant in a Negro company. Back in Puerto Rico, he dabbled with the Liberal Party, later joined the Nationalists, a political group about as influential in Puerto Rico as the Prohibition Party was in the U. S.
Chief tenet of the Nationalists is that because a 24-hour Republic was set up in Puerto Rico in 1868, Spain could not cede the island to the U. S. in 1898 because it was still an independent nation. In 1930 Albizu Campos became head of the Nationalist Party and "President of the Republic of Puerto Rico." The election of 1932 was a test of strength. The Liberal Party, which had been in power for years polled 170,000 votes and was ousted by a coalition of Republicans and Socialists who together polled 202,000. Nationalists polled 5,000 votes. With this mandate from the people, "President" Albizu Campos picked a Cabinet from among his followers and continued to make fiery speeches declaring that no good Puerto Rican would deign to ask the U.S. for independence since Puerto Rico was already independent. His converts were chiefly high-school students.
The times were bad for Nationalism.
The New Deal began showering Puerto Rico with favors. Puerto Rican friendship for the U.S. grew warmer & warmer. Politics in the island grew bitter, but only over whether the Liberals or the Coalition should control some $43,000,000 of relief money from Washington.