Page 8 University Daily Kansan Thursday, Oct. 18, 1962
Island's Population To Vote On Status
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—(UPI) The island of Puerto Rico—often cited as a showcase of American benevolence—will submit its relationship with the United States to the voters early next year.
with support from the Kennedy administration. Gov. Luis Munoz Marin has called for a plebiscite to determine whether Puerto Rico should:
- Apply to become the 51st U.S. state.
- Seek more home rule under a revised, permanent commonwealth constitution.
- Ask to sever all formal ties with the United States and become completely independent.
The governor's surprise announcement of the plebiscite three months ago has touched off turbulent arguments among the nearly 2.5 million inhabitants of Puerto Rico. Opposition parties say they will not participate in the voting.
THE PLEBISCITE, tentatively scheduled for February or March, will be watched with interest in both Washington and Havana, for this sunny island is, in its way, a cold war battlefield.
For the United States, seeking to bolster Democratic governments in Latin America, Puerto Rico is a "Showplace of Democracy" in the Caribbean. To the Fidel Castro government, it is a "colony of the imperialists."
Munoz called the plebiscite partly to silence the "colony" charges which Cuba raises almost annually in the United Nations. The principal architect of the unique common-wealth status that Congress granted Puerto Rico in 1952. Munoz is still its foremost champion.
Under the present commonwealth arrangement, Puerto Ricans elect their own local government but are not entitled to vote in U.S. presidential elections. They receive protection from U.S. armed forces but are subject to draft.
FROM WASHINGTON has come a steady flow of aid: about $37 million a year in federal aid for roads, schools, hospitals and public welfare; permission to travel freely to the mainland, without passports, and the same federal services — postal and agricultural and the like — that the states receive.
There is no price tag for these services. Puerto Ricans pay no federal income or corporation taxes on money earned on the island.
In the past 10 years, more than 800 firms have built plants in Puerto Rico. The island's per capita income has shot up from $318 a year to $621.
But the present commonwealth arrangement still has its shaky moments. In the recent session of Congress, for instance, a bill aimed at taxing U.S. profits abroad would have included Puerto Rico as a "foreign country" had it not been for the prompt intervention of Munoz's Washington lieutenants.
EVEN AFTER A SUMMER of public hearings and nearly three months of closed-door political negotiations, Munoz has not yet spelled out his ballot proposal for the "culmination" of commonwealth status. There has been speculation that the Munoz proposal will include greater home rule and a presidential vote for Puerto Ricans in return for some form of payment to the federal treasury.
The opposition statehood Republican party claims the culmination proposal is "spurious." Its leaders say that Puerto Rican voters may go along with Munoz, but Congress is not necessarily bound to do so.
JOE'S BAKERY Open 24 Hours Night Deliveries 412 W.9th VI3-4720
The statehood party, which is boycotting the plebiscite, won 32 per cent of the vote in the 1960 elections, an eight per cent boost over its showing in 1956. The party feels the statehood movement is growing.
State Farm Insurance
Paul E. Hodgson
Local Agent
Off. Ph. VI 3-5666 530 W 23rd.
Res. Ph. VI 3-5994 Lawrence, Kan
Sunday, Oct. 21, 8:30 p.m.
University Theatre, Murphy Hall
The University of Kansas
MARC ET ANDRE
Admission $2.40, $1.80, $1.20
Phone Viking 3-2700, Extension 591 Write Murphy Hall Box Office
HOF, Germany — (UFI) — Pensioner Adam Mueller, 86, applied today for a patent, for his automatic card shuffler he says is "cardshark proof". The machine consists of a vibrating box which drops cards one at a time into a slot at the bottom.
Cardsharks Dealt a Blow
Don't Prepare a Hot Meal! Phone for Kentucky Fried Chicken VI 3-8225 BIG PHY
Patronize Your Kansan Advertisers
BIG BUY
YELLOW CAB CO.
VI 3-6333
24 Hour Service Owner
Radio Controlled Ward Thompson
When You're In Doubt, Try It Out—Kansan Classifieds
CARCOATS GALORE!
American Junior and Petti
Suedecloths
Corduroys
Cottons
Fur Trims
Pile Linings
Come in and See!
Higley's
935 Mass.
Attend Big Pep Rally-Dance Big Barn, Friday 9-12 p.m.
KU Cheerleaders Will Lead Yells
Music by
The Disciples
Tickets $1.50 per couple Soft drinks will be sold
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