ACLU Hays Report on the Ponce Massacre (1937)

The Hays Commission Report — named for ACLU attorney Arthur Garfield Hays who led the investigation — was the independent inquiry into the March 21, 1937 Ponce Massacre. Its findings constituted a damning indictment of colonial repression.

Key Findings

1. The March Was Legal and Peaceful
The Commission found that the Nationalist Party march had been legally permitted, then the permit was revoked at the last minute by the colonial police chief, Colonel Enrique de Orbeta, under orders from Governor Blanton Winship. The marchers proceeded peacefully.

2. Police Opened Fire Without Provocation
"The facts show that the weights of the evidence is that the police, without being provoked by the Nationalists, opened fire upon them." The report documented that police had surrounded the marchers on three sides, creating a kill zone.

3. Fleeing Civilians Were Shot in the Back
Multiple victims were shot in the back while trying to flee. Bystanders who were not part of the march were also killed and wounded.

4. The Massacre Was Planned
The Commission concluded that the police action was not a spontaneous response but a planned suppression ordered by the colonial governor: "Governor Winship bears the ultimate responsibility for the order to stop the Nationalist parade."

5. No Police Accountability
Despite the Commission's findings, no police officer was ever charged, disciplined, or held accountable. Governor Winship was eventually recalled to Washington in 1939 but faced no legal consequences.

Historical Significance

The Hays Report is one of the few instances where an independent American organization documented colonial violence against Puerto Ricans. The ACLU's willingness to investigate — and the U.S. government's refusal to act on the findings — illustrates the gap between American democratic ideals and colonial practice.

The report established that the Ponce Massacre was not a 'riot' or a 'clash' but a massacre: planned, executed, and covered up by colonial authorities.