At all events, these extracts serve to show the trend of public opinion.
"Mr. Morrisey in speaking of the Ponce of to-day says that 'the city is in a horrible sanitary condition, and I wondered how the United States troops stood it. I learned there had been an improvement since the soldiers' arrival, but there is room for considerable more, I think. I went to the Hotel Ingleterra, which is considered the best one in Ponce, and engaged a room. My first meal there was breakfast, which was served at 11 o'clock. My meal consisted of rice, black beans and coffee, all of which was fair. At dinner, which is always served at 6 o'clock, I had the same fare. I tried to get eggs after the first day, but was successful on only two occasions, and then had to pay 7 cents each for them. I learned that the soldiers had made a corner in eggs and had bought nearly all of them, which, of course, made them scarce at the hotels and eating places. All the water used in the hotel is filtered through a huge block of brownstone and even then it is pretty poor.'
"Mr. Morrisey visited the place known as the market in the heart of the city of Ponce, and saw some very interesting scenes. A few of the better class of the natives visited the market several times during the day and made their purchases. There are no butchers in the city, and it is a queer sight, Mr. Morrisey said, to see the way the merchants deliver meat to the purchasers. This article is bought by the penny and a piece about as long as one's finger is sold for 2 cents. The meat is not cut into steaks but in huge lumps. Another thing in reference to the meat is that it is all killed the day before used, which, of course, makes it very tough. The beer on the island is kept in a warm place without any ice and is served in that state. Most of the beer is imported from Germany, and it is only recently that American beer has found its way in the country. This is kept in bottles and when it is served to a customer a small piece of ice is dropped into it. The beer drinker may imagine the rest. The natives do not use much of the beer, but are satisfied with the black coffee and wine.
"The money question has not assumed any large proportions in Porto Rico. Very little money is in circulation on the island. The better class of the natives who are supposed to have some money, spend most of their time and money in Spain, and the stores and merchants, as a result, do not get much of their money. These stores are plentifully supplied with goods, but there is no one to buy them. As soon as the United States soldiers arrived on the island the shopkeepers saw visions of money rolling into their pockets. The price on every article in the stores was increased, and what a native would buy for ten cents the American would be compelled to pay one dollar for the same article. The fare on the railroad running from Ponce to Playo, a distance of about three miles, is one dollar for an excursion trip. The natives make the same trip for twelve cents. Every scheme that can be thought of is practiced by the natives in order to get money from the Americans. In the street and at the entrances to the hotels numerous beggars can be found, all asking for money. Nearly all the inhabitants seemed to be engaged in this sort of work, and the sight of them lounging around, even inside the hotels, is disgusting, says Mr. Morrisey. It is a hard matter to get them to work, and their appearance in scarcely any clothes on the streets is a sight.
"The women go about the roads and plantations smoking large cigars, and are not affected in any manner by the weed. Children of both sexes up to the age of twelve years are permitted to roam about the streets naked, while their parents are not much better off. Nothing but a skirt is worn by the women and the men wear ragged shirts and trousers. Shoes are rarely seen in Porto Rico and a native who is lucky enough to have them is the cynosure of all eyes. The women do not know what silks and satins are, and, it seems, are not desirous of knowing. When night comes the men prepare themselves for bed. This is not hard work, and takes very little time. They tie their heads up in large towels to protect them from the sting of the mosquito, and then lie down in the streets or roads and sleep. These people live mainly on the milk from the cocoanut. Bread is a stranger to them, and very little food is consumed by them, except the wild fruits and vegetables which abound in the outskirts of the cities.
"Mr. Morrisey said the soldiers at Ponce were in a fairly good condition, but it is his opinion that it is no fit place for them under the present condition of the country. He said when the soldier is taken down with typhoid malaria or dysentery he loses flesh rapidly, and he can never regain it as long as he stays in that climate."
All this, although it is in some respects different from some of the opinions we have quoted, is very interesting as it is from a recent eye witness, and shows how Porto Rico of the present impressed a very intelligent man.
The fourth town to surrender, previous to the news of the armistice and therefore the general capitulation of the island, was Juan Diaz. There was a report that there were some Spanish soldiers there, and four companies of the Sixteenth Pennsylvania were sent to find them. Couriers announced the coming of the Americans to the people of the town, and a brass band came out to meet them. The vast majority of the citizens assembled on the outskirts of the town and as the American volunteers appeared the band played "Yankee Doodle" and other patriotic American airs, while the people cried: "Vivan los Americanos."
A large number had presents of cigars, cigarettes, tobacco and various fruits which they loaded upon the soldiers, and many insisted upon taking the visitors to their homes. Everywhere, the American flag was waving. In the public square the mayor made a speech, in which he said that all the people of Juan Diaz were Americans now, and the crowd shouted:
"Death to the Spaniards!"