in this senate, where I am the floor leader of the party-they want to apply the interpretation-as the lawyer you are, you know there are two ways of interpreting a statute. One is in the light of the legislative history of the statute, which should be the strongest one. There is also the departmental interpretation which leads to the fait accompli.

They have always stated, Mr. Aspinall, not that they want a new act where we should not be considered a definite Territory or possession. They debate with me-and we have debated hours and hoursthat we are no more a Territory.

Mr. Trias Monge testified before me in the committee of which I was a member that it was so, that we are not a Territory because of contemporaneous and department interpretations, the Department of State who went to the United Nations. They even impute to you, Mr. Aspinall, you have accepted that theory. They impute that to you in this memoradnum of law that I have here, and I can show you the page where they do that. Therefore

Mr. ASPINALL. They may impute it to me but I do not have to accept it.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. No; of course not.

Mr. ASPINALL. I do not want to take any more time. I just want to ask you if we should not be thankful we can discuss these matters in open debate like this.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Absolutely. Maybe you have not the time yet, but you made a wonderful question to Governor Muñoz when he was testifying on this bill.

Mr. ASPINALL. Of course, because I happened to agree with you. [Laughter.]

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Fine. The thing is it was forgotten that also the bill eliminates the incompatibility with Law 447, and that was the act by virtue of which you approved the constitution. And you amended section 5, paragraph 3, saying that any new laws or new amendments would have to be compatible in Law 600 with Law 447, with the Federal Relations Act, and with the constitution. And in this bill they eliminate not only Law 447, which already expressed that it has got to be compatible with these four things, but this also eliminates the Federal Relations Act.

More than that, I should say that act is amended in order to give the impression it is no more a Territory. Why? Why? Because, as I said before, the constitution is the creature and Congress the creator, and the Constitution gave Congress the delegation of power, saying that Congress shall dispose of and approve rules and regulations for the Territories.

All they are doing is to slyly eliminate any connotation of a Territory so that they can later on say, on the basis of the theory of fait accompli, "We are no more a Territory and Congress has no right to apply any of these powers to Puerto Rico."

I have to be very, very careful because I have been all the time. fighting for this. Not because I do not want the Government of Puerto Rico but because it is of a transitory nature. Commonwealth is a step to statehood, to something permanent, something with the character of a pact by consent, which is a word they say to create confusion.

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. O'BRIEN. May I say that we have an hour and 15 minutes more of testimony exclusive of questioning this afternoon. I think we should get along.

Do any of the members have questions?

Mr. POWELL. Inasmuch as the Governor yesterday said he was in favor of the plebiscite and his party controls the legislature, then I assume that there will be no difficulty in a plebiscite being held. Is that correct?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. A plebiscite approved by the legislature of Puerto Rico or one authorized by Congress?

Mr. POWELL. By the Legislature of Puerto Rico.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. I state that we want a plebiscite authorized by the Congress of the United States.

Mr. POWELL. It does not matter who authorizes it as long as you have one, does it?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Oh, no. There is a great difference, Mr. Congressman. The difference is that the way they do it is just to give a show but never with the implicit offer of Congress, and then they say Congress will never give statehood, statehood is suicide.

Mr. POWELL. With regard to the economic feasibility of statehood, that is a big question posed by every witness of the administration of the Commonwealth, would it be possible for your colleague, Mr. Ferre, when he testifies on another day, I think in Ponce, to go into that question? Not now.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Well, Mr. Congressman, I want to tell you this: The matter of the $188 million, which has been displayed with the $1,000 ad in the papers by the government and the Popular Party; first, it is not correct

Mr. POWELL. Does your party favor the national anthem and the salute to the flag in public schools?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Absolutely, because if we are American citizens, we are to be full-fledged, first-class American citizens.

Mr. POWELL. In this ad which you have given to the committee, which is now a part of our file, who paid for this ad?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. I would not make the assertion it was the government or the Popular Party but the government paid for many of those things.

Mr. POWELL. Would it be possible to find out from the financial files of El Mundo who paid for it?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. I will be glad to submit that to the committee.

Mr. POWELL. The next thing I would like to ask you, have there not been States admitted to the Union that were not territories?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Absolutely.

Mr. POWELL. How many were there?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Not less than five. Vermont, Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. West Virginia, of course, was a separation of the State of Virginia.

Mr. POWELL. You bring up in your statement the Civil Rights Commission. Is there a Civil Rights Commission in Puerto Rico? Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. There is.

Mr. POWELL. Is the Civil Rights Commission in Puerto Rico temporary or permanent?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. That is correct.
Mr. POWELL. Temporary or permanent?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. It is permanent now.

Mr. POWELL. Is it appointed?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. By the Governor of Puerto Rico, yes. Mr. POWELL. And in their report, they point out that there are election irregularities?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Yes, I said that, Mr. Congressman.
Mr. POWELL. I just wanted to find out the official status.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. I have it here.

Mr. POWELL. Thank you.

That is all, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. O'BRIEN. Unless there is objection, it has been requested by a member of the committee that Senator Garcia Mendez and Mr. Trias Monge within 1 week, if they desire, amplify their statements within

reason.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Within reason, yes.

Mr. O'BRIEN. Because it is entirely possible that some matters were raised by each that the other might want to answer.

Unless there is an objection, that will be so ordered.

Hearing no objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. Ullman?

Mr. ULLMAN. Senator, is it true that your party is the leading party of opposition here?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Yes, sir, it is.

Mr. ULLMAN. And you are offering the people one plat form, that is, statehood?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Correct.

Mr. ULLMAN. Is it not true that you are offering them a platform that you cannot deliver on?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Would you kindly explain, repeat the question?

Mr. ULLMAN. Is not the main source of statehood the Congress of the United States of America?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Absolutely, yes.

Mr. ULLMAN. Would you be in an embarrassing position if the Congress decided, after a plebiscite wherein you had voted for state. hood, to refuse to grant it for a period of 10 or 15 years?

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. The Congress might say in the matter of statehood just what it said in the matter of independence for the Philippines. It might say "We are going to grant you statehood, prepare for it, but keep as you are a few years in order to accomodate the territory to the new economy of the State."

Mr. ULLMAN. What I am trying to say is this--and I am not unsympathetic-that I recognize that by your temperament, and I think this is true generally of the Latin temperament, you want things all one way or all the other way. I think one of the reasons for success in democracy is that you do things gradually when you face a long-range problem.

In my opinion, if I judge the people here in Puerto Rico and their political sentiment, it seems to me you are not offering them what they want.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. We are not offering

Mr. ULLMAN. What they want, it seems to me, are policies leading toward statehood rather than statehood per se. That is all you can deliver, all you are in a position to deliver as an opposition party.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. Congressman, may I say this: For 62 years we have been asking for this. When the budget was $3 million the argument was, of course, in addition to that we did not have enough money, the noncontiguity, the difference of culture, the difference of language. But the argument was, one of them, lack of money.

In 1940, when the budget was $18 million, it was again the matter of lack of money. Now that the budget in 1958 was over $300 million, you have the same argument. We are not going to wait until the year 2000. We have got to fight for statehood and ask for statehood because we are prepared to risk, Mr. Congressman, for it.

In Puerto Rico, we are spending more money than in some States of the Union. A tremendous squandering of public funds. And we could be a little more careful in using a different approach to the use of money and practically pay for it.

I want to say this: First, I believe that there is no difficulty at all, economically speaking. Of course, my colleague and vice chairman of the party is going to testify at Ponce.

Second, the imponderables and intangibles of statehood cannot be waited for.

Third, you have to agree with me, Mr. Congressman, that dignity cannot be waited for also. I prefer the dignity of Puerto Rico rather than the checkbook, and if you want to pay, I will pay. I am willing to pay more money providing I get the equality and the dignity of our statehood. Else what is the use of living in this age?

Mr. O'BRIEN. If the gentleman will yield, the question of money was raised repeatedly in our debate on the admission of Alaska. That is one of the things we had to overcome.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. That is correct.

Mr. O'BRIEN. We finally did overcome it but it took 50 years. Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. It has taken 62 years here, Mr. Chairman. Mr. O'BRIEN. They were an incorporated territory.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. You asked me something, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. You would not like it if anybody asked you to be spiritually soft. I do not want to be morally or spiritually soft. I believe we have to endure, I believe we have to sacrifice if we want something. I do not believe we are going to have any sacrifice.

I do believe, Mr. Chairman, that we are going to be able to get that equality that has already been obtained by the Hawaiian Islands because, assuming without admitting it was, I prefer a small sacrifice than to continue in this confusion in which we never know what is going to happen next. A group of people with a lot of machine runs and then we do not know what it is going to be.

Why do we have to be equal citizens? If we are not to be equal citizens, we have to reappraise the situation some day.

Mr. ULLMAN. This is not a question and does not need an answer. I would just like to state that in my opinion the function of constructive opposition should be to offer a constructive alternative in line with the sentiments of the people. It seems to me, as a politician, I would like

to be here to make a case against the Popular Party on the basis of a program leading toward statehood.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. I appreciate that.

Mr. ULLMAN. And present a program. And it seems to me that would offer the people of Puerto Rico a very constructive program you could follow through and live up to.

Senator GARCIA MENDEZ. I appreciate that, Mr. Congressman. But I want to tell you that is our program, and the only thing I have to add is this: You fight in a manner I do admire for equality aiming to avoid racial segregation and discrimination. For the same token, I fight for equality against political segregation and discrimination. Mr. O'BRIEN. I think we will have to move along, Senator. Thank you very much for your statement.

Some of the questions might have appeared sharp but they were only designed to bring out what you think.

The next witness will be Dr. Gilberto Concepcion de Gracia, president of the Independence Party of Puerto Rico.

We will have a short recess.

(Short recess.)

Mr. O'BRIEN. May I say, Doctor, unless there is an objection, and I expect not, that you, too, will have the privilege of 1 week to file supplemental statements for the record if you care to answer any of the other statements or to amplify your own remarks in addition to these.

I might explain that the request for this additional time for all three speakers came from Dr. Fernós, and that explains why Dr. Fernós did not engage in the questioning of the last witness.

Dr. CONCEPCION DE GRACIA. I appreciate that very much.
Mr. O'BRIEN. Thank you.

You may proceed, Doctor.

May I again urge no demonstrations.

STATEMENT OF DR. GILBERTO CONCEPCION DE GRACIA, PRESIDENT, INDEPENDENCE PARTY OF PUERTO RICO

Dr. CONCEPCION DE GRACIA. May it please the honorable members of the committee, Mr. Aspinall, Mr. O'Brien, and other members of the committee, as spokesman for the Independence Party of Puerto Rico, I want to thank Mr. Aspinall, Mr. O'Brien, and the other members of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives, for the invitation to discuss the political philosophy of independence.

It will be best to begin in a historical perspective with a brief survey of the philosophical foundations of the liberation movement.

Puerto Rico is a part of the group of Latin American Nations, to which it is linked by reason of geography, culture, history, language, and the common struggle for independence. Puerto Rico was discovered by Spain in 1493 and colonized by the Spanish "conquistadores." From the time of the discovery to 1897 it developed a solid hispanic culture and a definite ethnic personality. Spanish was, and is, our vernacular.

The struggle for independence goes back to the early part of the 19th century. By that time Puerto Rico had developed into a national