Momentum for making Puerto Rico the 51st American state has been up and down but the issue continues to be active. The 3.400-squaremile West lndies island has been a United States possession since 1898 and a selfgoveming commonwealth of Uncle Sam since 1952 with three non-voting delegates to the House of Representatives. Puerto Rico’s population of 3.lH7.570 (1980 censusl would rank it Zttb among states between Kentucky and Connecticut. The status of commonwealth confers American citizenship on its people. Spanish is the baslc language, but English also is studied. Agitation for statehood has particular point because independence is another option belng debated in political circles on the island. Soviet-backed Cuba leads the leftist voices in the United Nations calling for a resolution on independence. Puerto Rlco was ceded to the U.S. by the Treaty of Paris (Dec. 10. 18981 which ended the SpanishAmerican War. It was governed by an administration with a Washington-appointed governor until 1946 when the U.S. granted increased autonomy with the rlght of popular electlon of a governor. The commonwealth was proclaimed July 25. 1952. l Evidences of deepening interest in statehood include: – Carlos Romero Barcelo. now in his second term as govemor of Puerto Rico, is an ardent statehood advocate. A – A study group set up by President Nixon in 1973 called for a-new “compact of permanent union” between Puerto Rico and the U.S. – President Ford recommended statehood. – The Republican Party included a plank in its 1980 platform calling for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state a position advocated by thencandidate Ronald Reagan. The Democrats, less positive approved a plank supporting whatever political status Puerto Rico’s voters choose. a position advocated by President Carter. A Vice President George Bush told a cheering crowd in San Juan. Puerto Rico capital on the eve of a 1981 Southern Governors meeting that he favors “statehood now.” The governors themselves also seemed favorable but there was no formal endorsement. – A Star-Telegram poll conducted in the Fort Worth Texas area after the Bush speech. showed 65 percent as favoring statehood. Two years ago a Gallup poll indicated public favor by about the same ratio. Puerto Rico is situated in a strategic position in the Caribbean region. Statehood could have a stabilizing influence in the restive area being stirred up by leftists advised from Cuba. On the one hand. unemployment reportedly is high. On the other. as the ldopuston Post pointed out Puerto Rico with its democratic government free enterprise and the highest per capita income in Latin America is a constant embarrassment to Havana and the Castro regime.” Some Islanders argue that as U.S. citizens thev already enjoy most rights and obligations of mainlanders plus an advantage most of them enjoy of being exempt from federal taxes. Romero is the first Puerto Rico governor reelected in Z0 years and the first protstatehood governor ever to win a second term. His popularity is further indicated by the fact that while mayor of San Juan. he was elected president of the National League of Cities. But Romero scrapped plans for a 1981 plebiscite on statehood because he felt his close reelection victory didn’t give him the mandate for such a step. That was a setback for the g “statehood now” proponents since many contend that the inltiatiz; should come from the Puerto Ricans not from the mainland. Regardless of whether the statehood effort lakes wing soon. U.S. leadership must maintain an active interest in the situation. especially in view of the activity of the pro-independent faction which would like to see the island empire separated from this country.