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ARTICLE 50.
The supreme court shall have the sole power to try the
Governor-General when impeached for his responsibilities as
defined by the Penal Code. The council of ministers shall take
cognizance of his other responsibilities.

ARTICLE 51.
The Governor-General shall have the power, in spite of the
provisions of the different articles of this decree, to act
upon his own responsibility, without consulting his
secretaries, in the following cases:

1. When forwarding to the home government a bill passed by the

insular parliament, especially when, in his opinion, it shall
abridge the rights set forth in Article 1 of the constitution
of the monarchy or the guarantees for the exercise thereof
vouchsafed by the laws.

2. When it shall be necessary to enforce the law or public

order, especially if there be no time or possibility to
consult the home government.

3. When enforcing the national laws that shall have been

approved by the Crown and made applicable to all of the
Spanish or to the colony under his government. The proceedings
and means of action which the Governor-General shall employ in
the above cases shall be determined by a special law.

TITLE VIII.
MUNICIPAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT.

ARTICLE. 52.
Municipal organization shall be compulsory for every group of
population of more than one thousand inhabitants. Groups of
less number of inhabitants may organize the service of their
community by special covenants. Every legally constituted
municipality shall have power to frame its own laws regarding
public education; highways by land, river, and sea; public
health; municipal finances, as well as to freely appoint and
remove its own employees.

ARTICLE 53.
At the head of each province there shall be an assembly, which
shall be elected in the manner provided for by the colonial
statutes, and shall be composed of a number of members in
proportion to the population.

ARTICLE 54.
The provincial assembly shall be autonomous as regards the
creation and maintenance of public schools and colleges;
charitable institutions and provincial roads and ways by land,
river, or sea; also as regards their own budgets and the
appointment and removal of their respective employees.

ARTICLE 55.
The municipalities, as well as the provincial assemblies,
shall have power to freely raise the necessary revenue to
cover their expenditures, with no other limitation than to
make the means adopted compatible with the general system of
taxation which shall obtain in the island. The resources for
provincial appropriations shall be independent of municipal
resources.

ARTICLE 56.
The mayors and presidents of boards of aldermen shall be
chosen by their respective boards from among their members.

ARTICLE 57.
The mayors shall discharge without limitation the active
duties of the municipal administration, as executors of the
resolutions of the board of aldermen or their representatives.
ARTICLE 58.
The aldermen and the provincial assemblymen shall be civilly
responsible for the damages caused by their acts. Their
responsibility shall be exacted before the ordinary courts of
justice.

ARTICLE 59.
The provincial assemblies shall freely choose their respective
presidents.

ARTICLE 60.
The elections of aldermen and assemblymen shall be conducted
in such manner as to allow for a legitimate representation of
the minorities.

ARTICLE 61.
The provincial and municipal laws now obtaining in the island
shall continue in vogue, wherever not in conflict with the
provisions of this decree, until the insular parliament shall
legislate upon the matter.

ARTICLE 62.
No colonial statute shall abridge the powers vested by the
preceding articles in the municipalities and the provincial
assemblies.

TITLE IX.
AS TO THE GUARANTEES FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF
THE COLONIAL CONSTITUTION.

ARTICLE 63.
Whenever a citizen shall consider that his rights have been
violated or his interests injured by the action of a
municipality or a provincial assembly he shall have the right
to apply to the courts of justice for redress. The department
of justice shall, if so required by the agents of the
executive government of the colony, prosecute before the
courts the boards of aldermen or provincial assemblies charged
with breaking the laws or abusing their power.

ARTICLE 64.
In the cases referred to in the preceding article, the
following courts shall have jurisdiction: The territorial
audiencia shall try all claims against municipalities; and the
pretorian court of Havana shall try all claims against
provincial assemblies. Said courts, when the charges against
any of the above-mentioned corporations shall be for abuse of
power, shall render their decisions by a full bench. From the
decision of the Territorial audiencia an appeal shall be
allowed to the pretorian court of Havana, and from the
decisions of the latter an appeal shall be allowed to the
supreme court of the Kingdom.

ARTICLE 65.
The redress of grievances which Article 62 grants to any
citizen can also be had collectively by means of public
action, by appointing an attorney or representative claimant.

ARTICLE 66.
Without in any way impairing the powers vested in the
Governor-General by Title V of the present decree, he may,
whenever he deems fit, appear before the pretorian court of
Havana in his capacity as chief of the executive government of
the colony, to the end that said court shall finally decide
any conflict of jurisdiction between the executive power and
the legislative chambers of the colony.

ARTICLE 67.
Should any question of jurisdiction be raised between the
insular parliament and the Governor-General in his capacity as
representative of the home government, which shall not have
been submitted to the council of ministers of the Kingdom by
 petition of the insular parliament, either party shall have
power to bring the matter before the supreme court of the
Kingdom, which shall render its decision by a full bench and
in the first instance.

ARTICLE 68.
The decisions rendered in all cases provided for in the
preceding articles shall be published in the collection of
colonial statutes and shall form part of the insular
legislation.

ARTICLE 69.
Every municipal measure for the purpose of contracting a loan
or a municipal debt shall be without effect, unless it be
assented to by a majority of the townspeople whenever
one-third of the number of aldermen shall so demand. The
amount of the loan or debt which, according to the number of
inhabitants of a township, shall make the referendum
proceeding necessary, shall be determined by special statute.

{180}

ARTICLE 70.
All legislative acts originating in the insular parliament or
the Cortes shall be compiled under the title of colonial
statutes in a legislative collection, the formation and
publication of which shall be entrusted to the
Governor-General as chief of the colonial executive.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES.

ARTICLE 1.
Until the colonial statutes shall be published in due form,
the laws of the Kingdom shall be deemed applicable to all
matters reserved to the jurisdiction of the insular
government.
ARTICLE 2.
When the present constitution shall be once approved by the
Cortes of the Kingdom for the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico,
it shall not be amended except by virtue of a special law and
upon the petition of the insular parliament.

ARTICLE 3.
The provisions of the present decree shall obtain in their
entirety in the island of Porto Rico; they shall, however, be
ordained by special decree in order to conform them to the
population and nomenclature of said island.

ARTICLE 4.
Pending contracts for public services affecting in common the
Antilles and the Peninsula shall continue in their present
shape until termination, and shall be entirely governed by the
conditions and stipulations therein made. As regards other
contracts already entered into, but not yet in operation, the
Governor-General shall consult the home government, or the
colonial chambers, as the case may be, and the two governments
shall by mutual accord decide as between themselves the final
form of such contract.

TRANSITORY PROVISIONS.

ARTICLE 1.
With a view to carry out the transition from the present
regime to the system hereby established with the greatest
possible dispatch and the least interruption of the public
business, the Governor-General shall, whenever he deems it
timely and after consulting the home government, appoint the
secretaries of the executive office as per Article 45 of this
decree, and with their aid he shall conduct the local
government of the island until the insular chambers shall have
been constituted. The secretaries thus appointed shall vacate
their offices as soon as the Governor-General shall take his
 oath of office before the insular chambers, and the
Governor-General shall immediately appoint as their successors
the members of parliament who, in his judgment, most fully
represent the majorities in the chamber of representatives and
the council of administration.

ARTICLE 2.
The manner of meeting the expenditures occasioned by the debt
now weighing upon the Spanish and Cuban treasuries, and the
debt that may be contracted until the termination of the war,
shall be determined by a law fixing the share that shall be
borne by each treasury, and the special ways and means for the
payment of the interest, and the sinking fund, and for
refunding the principal in due time. Until the Cortes of the
Kingdom shall decide this point no changes shall be made in
the conditions under which said debts were contracted, nor in
the payment of the interest, nor provisions for a sinking
fund, nor in the guarantees which they enjoy, nor in the
actual terms of payment. When the Cortes shall have
apportioned the shares, each of the two treasuries shall take
upon itself the payment of the share allotted. In no event
shall the obligations contracted towards the lenders on the
faith of the Spanish nation cease to be scrupulously
respected.
Issued in the Palace,
Madrid, November 25, 1897.
MARIA CHRISTINA.
The President of the Council of Ministers,
PRÁXEDES MATEO SAGASTA.

CUBA: A. D. 1897-1898 (November-February).

The experiment of autonomy or home rule.

It cannot be said that the Constitution of 1897 was given a

fair trial. In the circumstances, one may doubt whether a fair
trial of its working was possible. It came too late for
advantageous testing or unprejudiced judging of its
practicability. The autonomist party, which might once have
been able to make Cuba a constitutional dependency, like
Canada, had been discouraged and broken up. Weyler's policy
had excited a feeling in the United States which was too
impatient to wait for new experiments in Spanish dealing with
Cuba to be worked out, or to estimate reasonably the chances
of their success. The first showing of results from the scheme
of autonomy was unpromising, as it could hardly have failed to
be, and that was readily taken as conclusive in condemnation
of it. The judgment of General Fitzhugh Lee, Consul-General of
the United States at Havana, had great influence in America,
and he saw nothing to expect from the Constitution. In an
article contributed subsequently to the "Fortnightly Review,"
June, 1898, he wrote:

"It [the Constitution) was an elaborate system of 'Home Rule'

with a string to every sentence; so that I soon became
satisfied that, if the insurrection against the Spanish throne
on the island ceased, the condition of the Cubans would
speedily be the same as it was at the commencement of the war.
I gave the reasons therefor in a paper now on file in the
State Department which clearly proved that the Spaniards could
easily control one of the legislative chambers, and that
behind any joint action on the part of both was the veto of
the Governor-General, whose appointment was made from the
throne in Madrid.

"This system of autonomy, however, was gravely proceeded with.

An Autonomistic Cabinet was seriously formed, composed in part
of Cubans who, though at one time in favour of a government of
the island free from Spanish control, had given satisfactory
intimations that, if they were appointed to cabinet offices,
their former opinions could be modified to suit existing
circumstances. Blanco's Autonomistic Government was doomed to
failure from its inception. The Spanish soldiers and officers
scorned it, because they did not desire Cuban rule, which such
autonomy, if genuine, would insure. The Spanish merchants and
 citizens were opposed to it, because they too were hostile to
the Cubans having control of the island, and if the question
could be narrowed down to Cuban control or annexation to the
United States, they were all annexationists, believing that
they could get a better government and one that would protect,
in a greater measure, life and property under the United States
flag than under the Cuban banner. On the other hand, the
Cubans in arms would not touch it, because they were fighting
for Free Cuba; and the Cuban citizens and sympathizers, or the
non-arm-bearing population, were distinctly opposed to it also;
while those in favour of it seemed to consist of the
Autonomistic Cabinet, General Blanco, his Secretary-General
and Staff, and a few followers elsewhere."

{181}

Fitzhugh Lee,
Cuba and her Struggle for Freedom
(Fortnightly Review, June, 1898).

CUBA: A. D. 1897-1898 (December-March).

Condition of the Reconcentrados.

On the 14th of December, 1897, General Fitzhugh Lee,

Consul-General of the United States at Havana, reported to the
Department of State as follows:

"I have the honor to report that I have received information

that in the Province of Havana reports show that there have
been 101,000 'Reconcentrados,' and that out of that 52,000
have died. Of the said 101,000, 32,000 were children. This
excludes the city of Havana and seven other towns from which
reports have not yet been made up. It is thought that the
total number of 'Reconcentrados' in Havana Province will
amount to 150,000, nearly all women and children, and that the
death rate among their whole number from starvation alone will be
over 50 per cent. For the above number of 'Reconcentrados'
$12,500, Spanish silver, was set aside out of the $100,000
appropriated for the purpose of relieving all the
'Reconcentrados' on the island. Seventy-five thousand of the
150,000 may be still living, so if every dollar appropriated
of the $12,500 reaches them the distribution will average
about 17 cents to a person, which, of course, will be rapidly
exhausted, and, as I can hear of no further succor being
afforded, it is easy to perceive what little practical relief
has taken place in the condition of these poor people."

On the 8th of January, 1898, General Lee made another report

on the same subject as follows:

"I have the honor to state, as a matter of public interest,

that the 'reconcentrado order' of General Weyler, formerly
Governor-General of this island, transformed about 400,000
self-supporting people, principally women and children, into a
multitude to be sustained by the contributions of others or die
of starvation or of fevers resulting from a low physical
condition and being massed in large bodies without change of
clothing and without food. Their houses were burned, their
fields and plant beds destroyed, and their live stock driven
away or killed. I estimate that probably 200,000 of the rural
population in the Provinces of Pinar del Rio, Havana,
Matanzas, and Santa Clara have died of starvation, or from
resultant causes, and the deaths of whole families almost
simultaneously, or within a few days of each other, and of
mothers praying for their children to be relieved of their
horrible sufferings by death, are not the least of the many
pitiable scenes which were ever present. In the Provinces of
Puerto Principe and Santiago de Cuba, where the 'reconcentrado
order' could not be enforced, the great mass of the people are
self-sustaining. A daily average of ten cents' worth of food
to 200,000 people would be an expenditure of $20,000 per day,
and of course the most humane efforts upon the part of our
citizens can not hope to accomplish such a gigantic relief,
and a great portion of these people will have to be abandoned
to their fate."

A little later, Senator Proctor, of Vermont, visited Cuba, for

personal observation of the condition of things in the island,
and, on his return, made a statement of what he had seen and
learned, in a speech to the Senate, which made an impression
on the country much deeper than any previous testimony on the
subject that had reached the public eye or ear. The following
is a part of the account that he gave:

"My observations were confined to the four western provinces,

which constitute about one-half of the island. The two eastern
ones are practically in the hands of the insurgents, except
the few fortified towns. These two large provinces are spoken
of to-day as 'Cuba Libre.' Outside Habana all is changed. It
is not peace nor is it war. It is desolation and distress,
misery and starvation. Every town and village is surrounded by
a 'trocha' (trench), a sort of rifle pit, but constructed on a
plan new to me, the dirt being thrown up on the inside and a
barbed-wire fence on the outer side of the trench. These
trochas have at every corner and at frequent intervals along
the sides what are there called forts, but which are really
small blockhouses, many of them more like large sentry boxes,
loopholed for musketry, and with a guard of from two to ten
soldiers in each.

"The purpose of these trochas is to keep the Reconcentrados in

as well as to keep the insurgents out. From all the
surrounding country the people have been driven in to these
fortified towns and held there to subsist as they can. They
are virtually prison yards, and not unlike one in general
appearance, except that the walls are not so high and strong;
but they suffice, where every point is in range of a soldier's
rifle, to keep in the poor reconcentrado women and children.
Every railroad station is within one of these trochas and has
an armed guard. Every train has an armored freight car,
loopholed for musketry and filled with soldiers, and with, as
 I observed usually, and was informed is always the case, a
pilot engine a mile or so in advance. There are frequent
blockhouses inclosed by a trocha and with a guard along the
railroad track. With this exception there is no human life or
habitation between these fortified towns and villages, and
throughout the whole of the four western provinces, except to
a very limited extent among the hills where the Spaniards have
not been able to go and drive the people to the towns and burn
their dwellings. I saw no house or hut in the 400 miles of
railroad rides from Pinar del Rio Province in the west across
the full width of Habana and Matanzas provinces, and to Sagua
La Grande on the north shore, and to Cienfuegos on the south
shore of Santa Clara, except within the Spanish trochas.

"There are no domestic animals or crops on the rich fields and

pastures except such as are under guard in the immediate
vicinity of the towns. In other words, the Spaniards hold in
these four western provinces just what their army sits on.
Every man, woman, and child, and every domestic animal,
wherever their columns have reached, is under guard and within
their so-called fortifications. To describe one place is to
describe all. To repeat, it is neither peace nor war. It is
concentration and desolation. This is the 'pacified' condition
of the four western provinces. West of Habana is mainly the
rich tobacco country; east, so far as I went, a sugar region.
Nearly all the sugar mills are destroyed between Habana and
Sagua. Two or three were standing in the vicinity of Sagua,
and in part running, surrounded, as are the villages, by
trochas and 'forts' or palisades of the royal palm, and fully
guarded. Toward and near Cienfuegos there were more mills
running, but all with the same protection.
{182}
… All the country people in the four western provinces, about
400,000 in number, remaining outside the fortified towns when
Weyler's order was made were driven into these towns, and
these are the Reconcentrados. They were the peasantry, many of
them farmers, some landowners, others renting lands and owning
more or less stock, others working on estates and cultivating
small patches; and even a small patch in that fruitful clime
will support a family. It is but fair to say that the normal
condition of these people was very different from what
prevails in this country. Their standard of comfort and
prosperity was not high, measured by ours. But according to
their standards and requirements their conditions of life were
satisfactory. They lived mostly in cabins made of palms or in
wooden houses. Some of them had houses of stone, the blackened
walls of which are all that remain to show the country was
ever inhabited.

"The first clause of Weyler's order [renewing that of February

16, 1896] reads as follows: 'I Order and Command. First. All
the inhabitants of the country or outside of the line of
fortifications of the town shall, within the period of eight
days, concentrate themselves in the towns occupied by the
troops. Any individual who, after the expiration of this
period, is found in the uninhabited parts will be considered a
rebel and tried as such.' … Many, doubtless, did not learn of
this order. Others failed to grasp its terrible meaning. Its
execution was left largely to the guerrillas to drive in all
that had not obeyed, and I was informed that in many cases the
torch was applied to their homes with no notice, and the
inmates fled with such clothing as they might have on, their
stock and other belongings being appropriated by the
guerrillas. When they reached the towns, they were allowed to
build huts of palm leaves in the suburbs and vacant places
within the trochas, and left to live, if they could.

"Torn from their homes, with foul earth, foul air, foul water,
and foul food or none, what wonder that one-half have died and
that one-quarter of the living are so diseased that they
cannot be saved? … Deaths in the streets have not been
uncommon. I was told by one of our consuls that they have been
found dead about the markets in the morning, where they had
crawled, hoping to get some stray bits of food from the early
hucksters, and that there had been cases where they had
dropped dead inside the market surrounded by food. These
people were independent and self-supporting before Weyler's
order. … I went to Cuba with a strong conviction that the
picture had been overdrawn; that a few cases of starvation and
suffering had inspired and stimulated the press
correspondents, and that they had given free play to a strong,
natural, and highly cultivated imagination. … I could not
believe that, out of a population of 1,600,000, 200,000 had
died within these Spanish forts, practically prison walls,
within a few months past from actual starvation and diseases
caused by insufficient and improper food. My inquiries were
entirely outside of sensational sources. They were made of our
medical officers, of our consuls, of city alcaldes (mayors),
of relief committees, of leading merchants and bankers,
physicians, and lawyers. Several of my informants were Spanish
born, but every time the answer was that the case had not been
overstated. What I saw I cannot tell so that others can see it.
It must be seen with one's own eyes to be realized. …

"The dividing lines between parties are the most straight and
clear cut that have ever come to my knowledge. The division in
our war was by no means so clearly defined. It is Cuban
against Spaniard. It is practically the entire Cuban
population on one side and the Spanish army and Spanish
citizens on the other. I do not count the autonomists in this
division, as they are so far too inconsiderable in numbers to
be worth counting. General Blanco filled the civil offices
with men who had been autonomists and were still classed as
such. But the march of events had satisfied most of them that
the chance for autonomy came too late. … There is no doubt
that General Blanco is acting in entire good faith; that he
desires to give the Cubans a fair measure of autonomy, as
Campos did at the close of the ten-year war. He has, of
course, a few personal followers, but the army and the Spanish
citizens do not want genuine autonomy, for that means
government by the Cuban people. And it is not strange that the
 Cubans say it comes too late."

Congressional Record,
March 17, 1898.

CUBA: A. D. 1898 (February).

Destruction of the United States Battleship Maine in Havana harbor.

See (in this volume)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (FEBRUARY-MARCH).

CUBA: A. D. 1898 (March-April).

Discussion of Cuban affairs between Spain and the United States.
Message of the President to Congress asking for authority
to intervene.

See (in this volume)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (MARCH-APRIL).

CUBA: A. D. 1898 (April).

Demand of the United States Government for the withdrawal of
Spain from the island, and its result in a state of war.

See (in this volume)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (APRIL).

CUBA: A. D. 1898 (April-December).

Operations of war between the United States and Spain.
Suspension of hostilities.
Negotiation of treaty of peace.
Relinquishment of sovereignty by Spain.

See (in this volume)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (APRIL) to 1898 (JULY-DECEMBER).

CUBA: A. D. 1898 (December).

 Removal of the remains of Columbus to Spain.

The remains of Columbus were taken from the Cathedral in

Havana, on the 12th of December, for transfer to the cathedral
at Seville, in Spain.

CUBA: A. D. 1898-1899 (December-October).

Organization of military government under
United States authority.
Report of the military governor, on conditions prevailing,
measures adopted, and results obtained.

On the 13th of December, 1898, the following General Order was

issued by the Secretary of War:

"By direction of the President, a division to be known as the

Division of Cuba, consisting of the geographical departments
and provinces of the island of Cuba, with headquarters in the
city of Habana, is hereby created, under command of Major
General John R. Brooke, U. S. A., who, in addition to command
of the troops in the division, will exercise the authority of
military governor of the island. Major General Fitzhugh Lee,
U. S. V., commanding the Seventh Army Corps, is assigned to
the immediate command of all the troops in the province of
Habana. Major General William Ludlow, U. S. V., is designated
as the military governor of the city of Habana, and will
report direct to the division commander. He is charged with
all that relates to collection and disbursement of revenues of
the port and city, and its police, sanitation, and general
government, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the
President."

{183}

General Brooke arrived at Havana on the 28th of December and

assumed the command of the troops and the military
governorship of the island. In his subsequent report (October
1, 1899) of conditions then existing, proceedings taken,
events occurring and results attained, he wrote: "It was found
that considerable confusion incident to the withdrawal of the
Spanish troops and replacing them with the United States
troops existed, but no untoward event occurred, however, as
every precaution was taken to maintain order. The gradual
withdrawal of the Spanish troops and the advance of the United
States troops continued, until the morning of the 1st of
January, 1899, found but few Spanish troops in the city, and
these went on board transports, which movement was completed
about 12.30 p. m. Outside of the principal towns the retiring
Spanish army was closely followed by the Cuban army, which
took charge of the towns and country, maintaining order, and,
generally, performing police duty. This state of affairs
continued, substantially, until the final disbandment of that
army. The disbandment of the Cuban army was commenced in
November, 1898, but only such as could procure work, or were
anxious to resume their former vocations, seem to have taken
advantage of the 'licencia' (furlough) which was given to
many. A large part of the army was held together on various
pretexts until the distribution of the $3,000,000 [allotted
for distribution to the Cuban army, to enable the soldiers to
return to their homes], and the giving up of their arms
effected a final disbandment. During the time the army was
held together as an organized body the police duties performed
seemed to be well done and order was preserved. The spectacle
of an army of, according to the rolls, 48,000 men being
peacefully dispersed among the people has for its prototype
the disappearance of the great volunteer army of the United
States in 1865. In neither case has there been any great
disturbance, as was feared in both cases, and particularly so
as regards the Cuban army. The small attempts at brigandage
were quickly suppressed, the lawbreakers placed in prison, and
the courts are now hearing their cases.

"On January 1, 1899, a division of the Seventh Army Corps,

under the command of General Fitzhugh Lee, General Keifer's
division, was brought to the city, and, with the regiments on
duty in Habana under the command of General William Ludlow,
were so placed as to insure good order during the ceremonies
of the relinquishment of sovereignty by Spain, which occurred
in the Governor-General's palace at 12 o'clock noon, where
were assembled the Captain-General and his staff, the United
States commission with its officers, the American military
governor with his staff, Major General Fitzhugh Lee, Major
General William Ludlow, Major General J. Warren Keifer, and
their staffs, and nine Cuban generals as his guests. This
ceremony was simple in its character, though very impressive,
consisting of a formal speech by the Spanish Governor-General,
which was replied to by General Wade, the chairman of the
United States evacuation commission, who, in concluding his
remarks, turned to the military governor and transferred the
island of Cuba to him, who, thereupon, entered upon the full
exercise of his duty as the military governor of Cuba. Of
course, the gathering into his hands of all the duties of his
office took time. The desire of a large body of the Cuban army
to take part on the 1st of January in the ceremonies of the
relinquishment of sovereignty by Spain was reported verbally,
by General Ludlow, and he was informed that the danger to life
and property was too great, and that the celebration must be
postponed to a time when the excitement had cooled off and the
passions of the people could be under control. This
celebration afterwards took place on the arrival in the city
of General Maximo Gomez, Commander in Chief of the Cuban
forces, on February 24. General Ludlow was directed to meet
General Gomez at the city limits and show him every courtesy
possible. The Quinta de los Molinos, the summer residence of
the Governor-General, was placed at his disposal, and for
several months he, with his staff and escort, occupied the
houses and grounds as the guests of this Government. The civil
bureaus of the Governor-Generalcy were taken over by officers
of the military governor's staff, and held by them until the
proper civil officials could be selected and appointed. …
 "In reaching this stage on the highway of progress toward the
establishment of government through civil channels, many
obstacles have been overcome, the most serious being the very
natural distrust of the people, which was born and nurtured
under the system of the preceding government, and was
particularly the effect of the wars which these people waged
in their effort to improve their condition. It is believed
that this distrust has given way to confidence in the minds of
a majority of the people, and that they are generally
beginning to see that the government, as administered by the
United States, is for them and for their benefit. It is proper
at this time to speak of the condition of the people and the
country as it existed at the time of the relinquishment of
sovereignty by Spain. A large number of the people were found
to be actually starving. Efforts were immediately made to
supply food, which the War Department sent, all told,
5,493,500 Cuban rations, in addition to the 1,000,000 rations
distributed by Mr. Gould, and these were sent into the country
and distributed under the direction of the commanding generals
of departments, through such agencies as they established;
while in the cities the distribution was generally conducted
by an officer of the Army. The result of this action was the
immediate lowering of the death rate, the restoration to
health of the sick, and a general change for the better was
soon apparent. Medicines were also supplied for the sick with
most beneficial results. Employment was given to those who
could work, and they were paid weekly, so that they might have
money to buy food. In fact, no effort was spared to relieve the
terrible condition in which so many thousand people were
found. …

{184}

"Turning to the present conditions, we have in view such a

change that the progress seems incredible. A great part of the
improvement dates from the month of May, when the muster out
of the Cuban army removed a great source of distrust. The
extent to which have been carried the cultivation of the
fields, the reconstruction of homes, the re-establishment of
order and public service, especially in the matter of hygiene
in the towns, is something wonderful. … The question of
finance, as relates to the restoration of crippled and
destroyed agricultural industries, is one which has occupied a
great deal of attention on the part of this government. It is
evident that assistance in the way of repairing the roads and
bridges, as well as to municipalities in their present
impoverished conditions, is a necessity, and the most pressing
wants in this direction have been met by granting money from
the revenues of the island. There is every reason to hope that
the municipal revenues will meet all requirements as soon as
agriculture is again on its feet, and there will, doubtless,
be some changes in the present tax law made. In this
connection, it is well to know that planters and small farmers
in the tobacco growing districts are rapidly recovering from
their forlorn condition. The quick growing crop and the
remunerative prices have enabled them to restore, in a
measure, the lost cattle, mules, and implements necessary to
the farmers. There is, also, a desire to use labor-saving
devices, which are now being slowly introduced. …

"The quiet severance of church and state has been effected by

the fact of the Government of the United States being in
control. Certain changes have already been made in the laws,
and others will follow in due course; this without violating
the legal rights of the Roman Catholic Church, which was the
only religious denomination tolerated in the island, except a
small body of Baptists. The important subject of schools is
now approaching a solution. The present system will be
improved upon, but it will require time to develop fully a
good school system throughout the island. There are no
school-houses, and under present conditions there can be none
built for some time to come. It is hoped that a manual
training school will be opened as soon as certain repairs and
changes can be made in the Spanish barracks at Santiago de las