Emmet Montgomery Reily - Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

In 1921, President Harding nominated Reily as Governor of Puerto Rico. During his time in office, he was a strong supporter of "Americanism", the introduction of some aspects of mainland United States culture and their advancement over native Puerto Rican culture. During his inauguration address, he insisted that the United States flag ("Old Glory") should be the only flag used over the island. Additionally, he placed several mainland politicians in prominent positions in the Puerto Rican government.

Although Reily was a strong proponent of "Americanism", he reportedly saw Spanish culture—such as that of Texas, Florida, and California—to be part of this culture. During his term as Governor, Spanish Renaissance Revival became the "official" architectural style of the territory for public buildings and the new Puerto Rico Capitol Building was erected in that style.

During his time in office, Reily advocated reducing the use of Spanish in schools in favor of teaching exclusively in English.

Reily was an extremely unpopular governor. A common nickname for him, given by the Puerto Rican populace, was "Moncho Reyes", a name closely resembling Reily's and giving the impression ("Moncho" being a common countryside nickname for the name "Ramón") that Reily was an uncivilized hick. He became involved in disputes with numerous political factions in Puerto Rico, some of which called for his removal from office. Reily reported, in a letter to Harding, that he had received death threats. He was also the subject of corruption allegations and an investigation by Puerto Rican local officials.

Under pressure to leave office, and suffering from an illness he had contracted during a return visit to the continental United States, Reily resigned as Governor in 1923. He was succeeded by U.S. Representative Horace Mann Towner, the Chairman of the House Committee on Insular Affairs, which had jurisdiction over Puerto Rico.

A collection of original correspondence between Reily and President Harding is archived in the Manuscripts Division of the New York Public Library.