xed in several different ways. There is an impost duty on flour of
$4 a barrel. I think that will be knocked off at once. As you know, this
island paid no direct money to the former government of Spain.
Everything in the way of salaries, pensions, etc., is paid directly out
of the Custom House. The commander of the military forces on the island
is a lieutenant-general, sent here from Spain. He gets an enormous
salary. Many Spanish pensioners of prominence and rank have been sent to
the island, and these pensions are paid by the island. Dignitaries of
the church and priests are sent here in large numbers. They are paid out
of the Custom House.

"Only yesterday I had an application from the widow of a Spanish
general, who is pensioned, for the payment of her usual stipend. I had
to take that matter under advisement. The priests here in Ponce applied
for their usual salary for July. This, under the Spanish law, is a fixed
charge. The matter came before me in my capacity of judge-advocate on
General Wilson's staff. I had to report that inasmuch as we were
operating under the Spanish civil law, which made the salaries of the
padres a proper payment from the customs funds, the money was due and
should be paid or else the Spanish civil law in that respect should be
annulled or suspended.

"General Wilson refused to authorize the payment of the priests'
salaries, and the matter went to General Miles, who sustained General
Wilson. Now here is a very interesting and unprecedented question. As a
matter of policy it might be well to pay these salaries for the present.
The padres, of course, the next time they address the congregation will
say: 'Here is this new American Government which you welcomed with such
pleasure refusing to pay your priests. You thought you were going to be
relieved of taxation. We must ask you to go into your pockets and pay
us yourselves. Thus you have an additional tax placed upon you.'"

But still the clergy, as a rule, were in favor of the United States.

Father Janices, a well-known and most intelligent priest, had this to
say in regard to the attitude of the Catholic Church in Porto Rico
toward the United States:

"We are neither cowards nor liars. We do not deny that we have always
been loyal Spanish subjects, but it is the duty of the Church to save
souls and not to mingle in international quarrels.

"With all our hearts we welcome the Americans. Your constitution
protects all religions. We ask