jr _


THE ANNALS
OF THE
AMERICAN ACADEMY
OF


POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE
ISSUED BI-MONTHLY
VOL. XXI, No. 2
MARCH, 1903.
EDITOR: EMORY R. JOHNSON
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: SAMUIEL McCUNE LINDSAY, JAMES T. YOUNG
PHILADELPHIA:
AMIRICAN ACADEMY OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE
1903


Copyright, 1903, by the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
All rights reserved.




r



THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT OF CUBA


The Situation Which Confronted the Military Government
The purpose of the Military Government was to prepare the
people of Cuba for self-government and to establish conditions which
would render the establishment of a Cuban republic possible and
its orderly and successful maintenance probable. The occupation of
Cuba began with the occupation of the city of Santiago and extended
rapidly over the province of the same name. The territory occupied
by the military forces of the United States prior to the general transfer of the island, January I, 1899, was limited to this province.
( Conditions in Santiago at the time of occupancy were as unfavorable
as can be imagined. Yellow fever, pernicious malaria and intestinal
fevers were all prevalent to an alarming extent. The city and surrounding country was full of sick Spanish soldiers, starving Cubans
and the sick of our own army. The sanitary conditions were indescribably bad. There was little or no water available and the conditions were such as can be imagined to exist in a tropical city following a siege and capture in the most unhealthy season of the year.
The first work undertaken was feeding the starving, taking care
of the sick, cleaning up and removing the dangerous material in the
city. In addition to correcting these local conditions, it was necessary
to send food and medicine throughout the province, maintain order,
re-establish municipal governments, reorganize the courts, and do
the thousand and one things incident to re-establishing the semblance
of government in a stricken and demoralized community. The
actual difficulties were increased by the fact that the people with
whom we had to deal spoke a foreign language with which few of
us were familiar. The death rate among our own troops was heavy
and the percentage of sick appalling. The regulars and volunteers
engaged in the siege and capture of the city were withdrawn late
in August and their places filled with one regiment of regulars and a
number of regiments of volunteers. The arrival of these green troops
in the height of the unhealthy season was a cause for grave anxiety
and their care required unusual precautions. By this time the city had  -
been cleaned; the death rate greatly checked; food had been sent by
pack train to the interior and by sea to the various seaport towns
[I53]




i


2           The Annals of dhe American Academy
of the province and couriers had been sent through the country to
inform the inhabitants where they could procure food and medicine;
custom houses had been established at all the ports and with the funds
collected from this source public works had already been undertaken.
The first public works were carried out in the city of Santiago
to drain certain unhealthy surroundings of the city, improve the
water supply and render the place more habitable. The purpose of
the public works was not only to improve conditions, but to give
occupation to the thousands of idle people, including disbanded
soldiers of the Cuban army. Some were paid in money and some
in rations. Every effort was made to get the people out to their
homes in the country and with this in view, men were furnished with
a few necessary agriculture implements and food enough for a
month and sent out to their homes. In this way thousands of idle
people about the city were disposed of and placed upon their own
property, and surrounded with those members of their families who
had survived the war and its consequences.
A rural guard composed of Cubans was rapidly organized for
the maintenance of order in the rural districts. During this period,
troops were also used for this purpose. As soon as conditions of
actual starvation had been done away with, and the worst features
of the sanitary situation improved, steps were taken to organize
municipal government in the various towns. There was no time
to write an electoral law and put it in force. The method adopted
was to go to a town, assemble from sixty to a hundred men representing all classes of the people and ask them to name municipal
officers and to present their list as soon as completed. In this way
the officials of all the municipalities of the province were in time
appointed. Temporary regulations were drawn up covering local
taxation. Stores and business houses were divided into classes and
were required to pay so much per month to the municipal treasury.
Under the means so procured, municipal governments were started.
Expenses were kept at the lowest figure.
As soon as a municipal government was organized, steps were
taken to temporarily relieve the situation in each municipality, and
medicine, food and assistance were given those most needful of it.
The next step was to establish village schools in all the different
towns.7, In October the Spanish garrison, consisting of some twelve
[1541




The Military Government of Cuba


3


thousand men, was withdrawn from the northwestern portion of the
province. Upon their withdrawal it was found that smallpox was
epidemic in most of the towns that they had occupied and an investigation showed that there were approximately three thousand cases
of smallpox existing in the Holguin district and that the disease
was of a malignant type. Six hundred men of the 2d Immunes under Colonel Hood were vaccinated and re-vaccinated,
under the careful supervision of their surgeons. When this was
completed they were all sent into the infected districts accompanied
by several extra medical officers and charged with the suppression
of the epidemic, a work which was soon completed. Some twelve
hurlred cases of smallpox were treated in hospitals. Small settlements (made up as a rule of thatched houses), where it was most
prevalent, were burned. Settlements containing buildings of permanent construction were thoroughly disinfected, and some thirty
thousand people vaccinated. The efforts taken were effective in
bringing the disease to a summary conclusion, and since this epidemic, Cuba has been free from smallpox. As an illustration of the
efficiency of vaccination, it can be stated that there was not a case
of smallpox among troops sent into the district.
With the stamping out of this epidemic, the worst features of
the sanitary situation were removed, and affairs began to have a
more hopeful outlook, and at the end of the year the province was
orderly and fairly healthy; municipal governments were running,
with rather crude machinery to be sure, but performing the necessary
functions. Nearly two hundred public schools had been established,
and all incurred expenses had been paid from revenues collected,
and approximately one hundred and sixty thousand dollars ($I60,ooo) was on hand for carrying out certain sanitary work in the city
of Santiago, for which arrangements had been made. The superior
court, courts of first instance, and municipal courts had been established throughout the province. Custom houses were in operation,
and starvation had disappeared. A proclamation embodying the
general principles of a Bill of Rights had been published, giving the
people the right to carry arms, to hold public meetings, and, in fact,
to do all those things which people do under free governments. Such
was the condition in the province of Santiago at the time of the
transfer of the island to the United States on January I, 1899.
Conditions were encountered in Havana similar to those in San[I55]




4


The Annals of the American Academy


tiago, but not so severe, as the city had not undergone a siege and
had not suffered from the demoralizing conditions necessarily following. Still the condition was exceedingly grave and an immense
amount of work was required to place affairs upon a comparatively
normal basis. The work of straightening out Havana, both in a
sanitary and administrative sense, was performed with singular
ability by General William Ludlow, since deceased. General Ludlow's work was of the highest character, and was carried out by the
exercise of excellent judgment and great ability, and the work
which he accomplished resulted in a saving of thousands of lives
and in the organization of a suitable government in Havana and the
establishment of good sanitary conditions. Similar work, and on a
smaller scale, was carried out by General Wilson in Matanzas, General Carpenter in Puerto Principe, and other officers in various parts
of the island.
The work outside of Havana called for extensive care of country
people in the way of supplying food, medicines, etc., and was carried
out with remarkable ability by our officers. During the year I899,
under the administration of General Brooke and his subordinates,
an organization of the courts inr the four western provinces of the
island was accomplished; municipal governments were inaugurated;
and police forces provided for the rural districts. A rudimentary
school law had been published and preparations were under way for
the establishment of a school system. Custom houses had been
established, under the supervision of General Tasker H. Bliss, and
revenues were regularly collected.
This was the condition of affairs in December, I899, at which
time I was appointed Military Governor of the island. 'A year and
a half of experience in Cuba had shown that the island was in need
of a general revision of the law of public works, beneficence, education, municipal administration, prison administration, etc.; that it
needed an electoral law; and, in fact, that the whole machinery of the
government needed overhauling and readjustment. The general law
was excellent. I shall always feel indebted to Justice White, of the
Supreme Court, for some very sensible advice which he gave me to
the effect that the law was all right, but to look out for the procedure, which needed many modifications. President McKinley's
instructions to me were to prepare Cuba, as rapidly as possible, for
the establishment of an independent government, republican in
[I56]




The Military Government of Cuba


5


form; to arrange for an efficient administration of justice; and a
good school system. Whatever results were obtained, were made
possible by the policy of the President and the Secretary of War in
defining the object to be attained and leaving their representative in
the island to work it out, and he was given entire freedom in so
doing.
Reorganization of the Courts and Prisons
I shall take up very briefly the various departments of the government, pointing out in a general way the conditions existing and
the measures taken to bring about reforms. The department which
demanded immediate attention was the Department of Justice, including the prison system of the island. Hasty investigation made in
December, I899, demonstrated the necessity for prompt action. The
prisons were found to be full of men who had been held in some
instances years awaiting trial. There was little or no evidence
'against them; they had apparently been forgotten, and although the
judges and jailors were Cubans, nothing had been done. The principal officer of the department charged with expediting and pushing
forward the prosecution of cases was doing little or nothing, and
was removed. A mixed commission was appointed and the prisons
gone over thoroughly with the result that in the neighborhood of
six hundred individuals were released on the ground that there was
not enough evidence against them to warrant their being held or
that they had been held awaiting trial for as long a period as they
would have been imprisoned had they been tried and received the
average sentence prescribed by the code. The prison records were
in bad shape and the sanitary condition of prisons was exceedingly
bad. Youth and adult criminals were huddled together; convicts
and those awaiting trial were kept in the same cells. Everything was
in a demoralized condition. As above stated the commission was
formed. It inspected the prisons and prison lists of the island and
recommended the release of the number above referred to. Important steps were taken to provide for a regular and systematic inspection of prisons and prisoners. Forms were printed for reports of
such inspectioiTs which set forth all important particulars concerning
every person detained. Lists of all prisoners with the date of expiration of their sentences were posted in every prison at a point accessible to the prisoners. The Inspector-General of prisons was given
[I57]




6


6The Annals of the American Academy


extensive powers and the result of the systematic and frequent
inspections inaugurated was a great improvement in the condition of
affairs. Separation of youths from adults and the people awaiting
trial from those sentenced; personal inspections of prisons and places
of detention were made whenever possible. General repairs and
renovation of prison establishments was undertaken and every effort
made to improve existing sanitary conditions. Modern prison ideas
were inculcated as rapidly as possible, and attempts made to impress
upon the public and particularly those charged with the care of
prisoners, the necessity for the establishment of measures tending
to reform prisoners. Instruction in elementary education was established in the larger prisons. Clean bedding and decent food were
insisted upon.
Conditions in the prisons resulted directly from indifference and
negligence of the courts; trials were delayed; the procedure was
cumbersome and expensive. Everything pointed to the necessity of
a thorough overhauling of the Department of Justice, and the establishment of new methods of doing business. With this end in view,
very general measures were inaugurated. The fee system was done
away with, and all court officers put upon a fixed salary. Court
houses were extensively repaired, and courts suitably installed. Free
schools of stenography and typewriting were maintained in Santiago
and Havana. Typewriting machines and operators were extensively
supplied to all courts and the Secretary of Justice and AttorneyGeneral, or Fiscal, were charged with the rigid supervision of the
work of the courts. Negligent judges and those whom current
rumor pointed out as dishonest were removed, for the good of the
service. At the same times the officers commanding the troops were
absolutely separated from participating in civil affairs, except by
orders of the Military Governor and in times of serious disturbance
for the protection of life and property, which state of affairs never
arose, and every effort was made to impress upon the officers of the
courts the dignity and responsibilities of their position.  Wellsalaried personnel were supplied them as needed. Police or correctional courts were established in all large towns and eventually
throughout the island. In short, there was a careful overhauling of
the Department of Justice and a careful and painstaking effort made
to re-establish it, not only in respect to the public, but in its own selfrespect. The result was soon apparent in greatly improved adminis[158]




The Military Governzment of Cuba


7


tration of justice and in general indications of a return of popular
confidence.
The police courts established were like our own in most states;
the trials were oral and summary. In cases where the offence called
for punishment above a certain limit the judge impaneled a jury of
five men, all qualified electors, residing within the jurisdiction of the
courts, and on a finding by them of guilty could impose a sentence
of one hundred and eighty days or a fine of five hundred dollars
($500). In case the fine was imposed and not paid, imprisonment
could be imposed at the rate of one day for each dollar of fine, but
the total imprisonment was limited to six months. The judge sentencing without the finding of a jury could impose confinement for
thirty days, or a fine of thirty dollars ($30), or both. These courts
relieved the Audiencias, or higher courts, of a great number of unimportant cases, and did much to avoid the long detention of prisoners
charged with minor offences. Eventually these courts were extended
to all towns of any size. Where the cases were few in number the
judge of first instance acted as correctional judge in addition to performing his regular functions. Lawyers were provided by the
courts for the defence of the poor, and many additional protections
were thrown around the accused. The old system of "incommunicado" had already been done away with. The general measures were
those giving access to the accused of the details of the accusation
filed against him; and the right to summon witnesses at the expense
of the state. In short, all the protection afforded the defence that
is granted in our own courts.
Court records were found, in many instances, in absolute disorder, piled up in heaps in empty rooms. A large force of employees
were engaged for over a year in the straightening out of these
records, and all records more than thirty years old were assembled in
the general archives established in Havana, for the purpose of preserving as much as possible the documentary records of the island.
The remaining records were carefully arranged, indexed and stored
in suitable apartments in the courts. This work of straightening out
the court records was a long one, and surrounded by many difficulties.
The courts as transferred to the Cuban republic throughout
the island were established in good quarters, thoroughly well
equipped with abundant well-trained personnel and material. The
[I59]




8


The Annals of the American Academy


administration of justice was prompt.  Complaints and charges
against judges had ceased and the administration of justice was more
rapid than in most parts of our own country. Excluding police
court cases which would have considerably reduced the average
period, the average length of all criminal cases tried from the date
of arrest until the date of final disposition of the case was approximately three and one-half months. Courts sat throughout the year
and criminal trials were held before tribunals composed of three, five
or seven judges. Jury trials were unknown in Cuba except for a
time in the police courts which were referred to above. The trial
before a number of upright judges, while it may have disadvantages,
certainly has in many ways advantages over the jury system. I
maintained the jury system in the police courts for approximately a
year and a half, but found it to be a failure and it was abolished upon
the unanimous recommendation of the judges throughout the island.
The Cuban citizen had not reached the point where he was willing to
sit in judgment upon his fellows, especially in cases involving lotteries, gambling, cock fighting and other weaknesses of the people.
Again, with a high percentage of illiteracy, and the elimination of
professional men from juHies, it was extremely difficult to obtain well
qualified jurors. I believe that the Department of Justice, as we
left it, had the respect and confidence of the Cuban people. I had
occasion to observe its workings very closely, and at the date of
transfer it was, in my opinion, honest and highly efficient. The
trouble in the system as we found it was due to the demoralizing
political conditions existing in Cuba for many years out of which
the custom had grown of the courts' feeling that they must follow
the policy of the government in dealing with cases rather than
deal with the cases strictly upon their merits. In other words
those conditions existed which naturally must have existed in a
country where the courts represented the government and tried to
carry out its policy; and the people were either conspiring or in
actual revolution.
Elections
Early in the year I9oo a General Election Law was prepared
and promulgated governing elections throughout the island. This
law resembles many of our electoral laws. The Australian system of
voting was employed; suffrage was limited. The requirements were:
[I6o]




The Military Government of Cuba


9


The voter must be a Cuban, twenty-one years of age; antecedent record free from crime; and in addition to these general qualifications, must have one of the following:
The ability to read and write; the possession of at least two
hundred and fifty dollars' ($250) worth of property or an honorable
discharge from the Cuban army, showing services prior.to the
seventeenth day of July, the date of surrender of the city of Santiago
— practically the end of the war.  General elections were held
throughout the island in the month of June. Municipal Alcaldes,
Municipal Councils and Municipal Judges were elected. This was
the first real general election ever held in the island. Nearly all the
work had to be done at headquarters in Havana; ballots prepared;
ballot boxes distributed; an immense amount of general information
sent out; and thousands of questions answered. In short, the bulk of
all the work incident to the holding of a popular election under the
conditions existing in Cuba was thrown upon the office of the Military Governor and his subordinates. Much of it, of course, was taken
up by the Civil Governors and the more intelligent Alcaldes, but all
cases in dispute eventually came to headquarters.
Municipal Goversnnments Made Self-supporting
At this time the state. was paying the Alcaldes and their necessary clerical assistance a moderate salary. As soon as the municipalities were organized, this allowance by the state ceased and they were
called upon to pay the salaries of their own employees.  The same
situation existed in regard to the municipal police. The state paid
the salaries of these officers up' until the middle of the year I9OI.
The general policy pursued by the state in reference to municipalities was to place the burden of taxation upon them gradually. To
give an idea of the work connected with the organization of the,
municipalities, it is only necessary to say that there had to be a
re-assessment list of property made for the whole island. Municipal
boundaries had to be straightened out. Out of one hundred and
thirty-eight municipalities fifty-six were eventually suppressed on
the ground that they had neither the resources nor population sufficient to maintain a well organized municipality. It is impossible to
cover in detail all the various measures inaugurated. Every branch
of municipal administration had to be overhauled and the regulations modified to fit new conditions. At the time of evacuation, the
[i6i]




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The Annals of the American Academy


state was maintaining only the public schools, and certain municipal
hospitals and carrying out sanitary engineering work principally in
the cities of Santiago and Havana. The municipal charges had been
largely placed upon the municipalities. Another year would have
seen municipalities paying all their expenses, with the exception
of public schools. This system should, I believe, continue in the
hands of the insular government in order that it may be uniform
throughout the island.
Schools
The public school system in Cuba prior to the occupation was)
so far as could be learned from existing records and from observation, a system in name only. The island did not own a single school
building, and little evidence was found of school books or school
equipment. There had been what was called a public school system,
but it had been apparently of little or no value. The children who
received any education of value received it in the private schools.
During the early-part of I899 an allowance of $50 per school
room was made to the different municipalities by my predecessor,
General Brooke, for temporary establishment of such municipal
schools as it was possible to establish prior to the inauguration of
the new system. Late in I899 and early in Igo900, I took up the question of public schools. A new school law was prepared under the
direction of Lieutenant Matthew E. Hanna, a young man at that
time twenty-seven years of age, a graduate from West Point, who
had taught school in Ohio several years prior to going to the Military Academy. After a careful examination of the school laws of a
number of different states, it was decided to adopt, with certain modi-,fications, the school law of Ohio. The substance of this law was put
into Spanish.  Blanks and forms were prepared and the work of
educating the people in the principles of the new school law commenced. The island was divided into school districts; a school
census was taken, and an electoral law for local school officers was
provided. The school system was established independent of the
municipal political administration. The people held their own elections for school officials entirely distinct from the elections for their
town officers. The public school system was controlled and directed
by the state.
[I62]




The Military Government of Cuba


I I


Mr. Hanna's predecessor, Mr. Frye, during the period of his
incumbency as president of the Board of Island Superintendents of
Schools, had charge of the work of establishing the first schools
throughout Cuba. This establishment of schools was not at first a
very formal proceeding or one well regulated or on a firm basis.
The various school officials in the different municipalities were
authorized to engage teachers and see to the enrollment of pupils.
In this way, some three thousand eight hundred schools were established in a short space of time. There was at first a great deal of
confusion. It was found that the number of schools in the districts
did not correspond to the number of school-going children; in short,
it was soon discovered that the school system as established was in
a somewhat chaotic state and without any well-defined plan of
administration.
This was the state of affairs when the new school law, drawn
up by Mr. Hanna, was put in force, and he, acting under the general instructions of the Military Governor, straightened out the
tangled condition of affairs, and organized the school system in Cuba
as we transmitted it to the Cuban government, with nearly three
thousand eight hundred public schools and with a total enrollment
last year of 256,ooo pupils. By total enrollment I do not mean that
256,000 children were constantly on the rolls, but that the total number of children availing themselves of the school system during the
year was 256,000. Some were present for a few months only, and
others took their places. The average enrollment was I6o,oo0 and
the average attendance approximately 78 per cent of the average
enrollment.
To equip these schools, a large sum of money was required, for
books, school furniture, etc., and the first order given was for Ioo,ooo complete sets of school equipment; such as desks, chairs, fastenings, etc., together with school books, blackboards, etc., amounting
to three quarters of a 'million dollars in all. This purchase was
rapidly supplemented by others, and with a revenue of $17,000,000,
approximately $4,000,000 per year was put into the school system.
In the early days, there was a great deal of discussion about the
employment of American school teachers. Such action on our part
would have been very unwise, as the people were rather suspicious
of our motives and of the sincerity of our declaration that we were
to ultimately withdraw from the island, and they would have con[163]




I2


The Annals of the American Academy


sidered the appointment of several thousand American teachers as
an effort to "Americanize" the children. Again, I knew that we
were going to establish a government of and by the people in Cuba
and that it was going to be transferred to them at the earliest possible moment; and, I believed that the success of the future government would depend as much upon the foundation and extension of
its public schools as upon any other factor, and that such a system
must necessarily be entirely in the hands of the people of the island.
The original temporary school law, previously referred to, provided
salaries for teachers, higher than we pay in this country, as a rule.
It was believed that by the maintenance of liberal salaries, we could
secure as teachers young women from the best families in the island;
and, as all the schools to be established were of the primary grade,
there would be an opportunity to develop teachers for the higher
grades as we went along. This was the general plan followed.
In the vear Igo900, Harvard University invited one thousand
Cuban teachers to spend the summer at Cambridge. The burden
of preparing them for the journey, paying them one month's salary
in advance and their transportation to the seacoast and aboard the
transport, was upon the Military Government; their transportation
by sea to Cambridge was arranged by the Quartermaster's Department. At Cambridge they were in charge of a committee appointed
by the University to meet these teachers and arrange for their
entertainment during the summer. They were accompanied by Mr.
Frye who was nominally in charge of the party, and by a number of Cuban chaperones. They spent the summer in Cambridge
and returned to Cuba without accident or loss. Their journey
was valuable not so much from what they learned from books as
from what they saw and absorbed by going about in this country.
Of course, they received a certain amount of valuable instruction
also, but this, I have always considered, was secondary.
The school system in I9oo passed largely to the control of
Lieutenant Hanna, and its reorganization and development upon a
sound basis was steadily pushed forward. Teachers' salaries in
~~~/    ~      Cuba were paid throughout the year with certain provisos, one of
which was that those teachers who did not leave the island during
their summer vacation for study, must attend the summer school for
teachers on the island, and during the absence of the teachers at
Cambridge, the summer school for Cuban teachers was organized
[I64]




The Military Government of Cuba


I3


and maintained for those teachers who did not take the northern trip.
In the year IgoI, two hundred carefully selected Cuban teachers
were sent to Harvard, and they did several months' hard work;
while the remaining teachers attended summer schools in the island.
The question of Normal schools has been under consideration
for a long time. The great difficulty has been the absence of suitable
native material for teachers in such a school. With this end in view,
arrangements were made with the New York State Normal School
at New Paltz to receive sixty teachers for a. two-years' course, at
the rate of $30,000 per year; thirty new Cuban teachers were to be
sent each year and thirty to be graduated and returned to Cuba.
Under this arrangement, Cuba would have soon had a corps of
highly trained professional teachers who would have been competent
to take up the work of higher education and also the proper instruction of native teachers. Unfortunately, the contract entered into,
although made under the most favorable terms for the Cuban government, has not been continued.
A great number of school houses have been built in Havana,
and in many other cities and towns large barracks and hospital
buildings of permanent construction have been converted into school
houses, notably one in Havana which contains thirty-three rooms
and accommodates 2,oo000 children daily, and is fitted up with gymnasium, rooms for manual training, kindergarten, etc.
Once the people of Cuba realized that the schools were under
the control of their own people, they began to call for American
teachers in certain lines, principally, in sloyd and kindergarten
work. These were supplied, and kindergarten, manual training,
sloyd, and school city government were introduced in many of the
schools with great success. The school city government idea seems
to be particularly valuable in Cuban schools, for the children are
thus taught the general details of modern municipal government;
and, in addition, the adoption of this plan results in a good condition of discipline in the schools.
Higher education in Cuba was provided for by a university and
six "institutos," or high schools, one at the capital of each province.
I found, upon examination, that the University of Havana had 96
professors and instructors and a total of 406 students. This condition of affairs had been in force for some time. Salaries were very
liberal, judged from our standpoint, while the work accomplished
[I65]




14


The Annals of the American Academy


was little or nothing. There were professors without students, and
the general equipment of the university was almost worthless. The
same was true, in a smaller way, in the "institutes." It was finally
decided as a necessary, but extremely disagreeable measure, to vacate
nearly all of these professorships, abolish some and invite the former
holders thereof and the general public to a competitive examination
for appointment in the reorganized institutions. This procedure gave
rise to a sea of protest, but it was nevertheless carried out and a
competent and efficient personnel appointed, ample for the needs of
these institutions.  Purchasing agents were sent to Europe and
America to equip laboratories with scientific apparatus, instruments,
etc., and hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent in equipment
and renovations.  New laboratories, absolutely up-to-date, were
established in Havana, and equipped with the best obtainable instruments and apparatus; and here, for the first time in the history of the
university, an opportunity was given the students to do up-to-date
scientific work in their own country. This action gave higher education the strongest impetus it has ever received in Cuba. The work
has been exceedingly expensive, but the prevailing idea controlling
all the acts of the Military Government in Cuba was that if the
Cuban republic was to be established and maintained as a stable
government, it must not only have good courts of justice, but a
well-educated body of people from which to draw.
The attendance at the University of Havana and the "institutos"
is rapidly increasing. The university has been transferred from
its former location in the old Convent of San Augustine, where it
has been for several years, to one of the best locations in Havana,
and established in a group of buildings formerly used as an arsenal
by the Spanish government. Approximately $oo100,000ooo has been
spent in adapting these buildings to university purposes. They are
centrally located and have room for expansion. The government
collects a very small fee from students at the university and "institutos" but the public schools are free.
In addition to the school system already mentioned, there were
a 'number of training schools for orphan children, in which public
instruction was also maintained at the expense of the state. Free
schools in stenography and typewriting have been maintained in
Havana and Santiago, as also a school of arts and trades. The
latter school is one of the most useful institutions in the island, cor[i66]




Thze Military Government of Cuba


I5


responding somewhat to our schools of technology, though with
nothing like as complete a course. One of the last acts of the Military Government was to transfer this school io its new building,
completed at cost of something over a quarter of a million dollars.
The university has a school of medicine, a school of law, a school
of engineering, and a school of arts and architecture.
In addition to the public schools, there are a great many private
schools still maintained in Cuba, although the general tendency is
to abandon them and send the children to the public schools. The
Military Government always encouraged the private schools for the
reason that it will be impossible, for some time to come, to take care
of all the children in the state schools. The government exercised
over the private schools the right of supervision to the extent of
requiring them all to show that their teachers were competent to
teach, and that the schools were maintained in a sanitary condition.
Sanitation
The sanitary campaign in Cuba began with the occupation of
the city of Santiago by the Americans, in July, I898, and was continued with unremitting energy up to the date of the transfer of the
government to the Cuban republic. Aside from the general measures
adopted for the cleaning up of the cities and towns to rid them of
dangerous material, the attention of those charged with the sanitary
work was directed toward yellow and malarial fever, as these two
diseases were considered to be the greatest source of danger in the
early days of our occupation of the island; especially was this true
of yellow fever. Tuberculosis, smallpox, leprosy and glanders were
also sources of alarm, but not to the extent of either yellow fever or
malarial fever, and toward the control of these latter fevers our principal efforts were directed, with the result that malarial fever was
soon well under control and ceased to be a serious cause for alarm.
Especially was this true of the pernicious type of malaria, which
appeared among the troops in the field during and after the siege of
Santiago. General malarial fevers, although a serious cause of
sickness, were gradually becoming less and less alarming.
The method of dealing with malarial fever was the complete
isolation of the patient in premises closely screened with fine wire
screening, in order to protect the patient from mosquitoes, and in
thus protecting him, the inoculation of the mosquito and the subse[I67]




i6


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quent spread of the disease among neighboring individuals was prevented. With yellow fever, the situation was different. The old
theories in regard to the treatment of this dread disease were the
theories upon which we worked in our endeavors to check yellow
fever in Cuba during the first two years of our occupation. We
believed that it was a filth disease largely and due to unsanitary conditions. Practically, the results obtained by this method of procedure were nil, so far as controlling the disease was concerned. It
did result, however, in better sanitation, in reducing the general
death rate, etc., but yellow fever appeared and continued in spite of
our vigorous cleaning measures.
A most virulent epidemic broke out in Santiago during the summer of 1899, and was controlled only by the most extreme measures,
involving the removal of all non-immunes from the city, closing of
all infected houses and liberal cleaning of the city with fire and disinfectants, and the isolation of all persons with the fever. All
infected material was burned, vaults and cesspools were cleaned and
saturated with kerosene and fired. Disinfection was carried to the
extent of sprinkling the streets with a solution of corrosive sublimate. Triple disinfection at suitable intervals was carried out in all
infected houses. Regulations were promulgated to the effect that
all infected houses should be subsequently inhabited by immunes
only. Ships were forbidden to approach the piers, and nonimmune passengers were prohibited from landing in the city. Headquarters and troops were sent to high ground fifteen miles inland.
These measures were effective, as above stated, in removing all
susceptible persons and in checking the disease, which was finally
stamped out. Non-immunes were not allowed to return until the
yellow fever season had passed. When this epidemic broke out,
Santiago was as clean as a town can be kept. There was absolutely
nothing in the condition of the city itself to account for the outbreak
of the yellow fever. Methods such as were employed in Santiago
are feasible in small towns or in cities of 40,000 to 50,000 people,
as in Santiago, in times of great emergency, but they could not be
effectually employed in a city the size of Havana without seriously
and permanently injuring the commerce and industry of such a city.
In the spring and summer of 1899 there were few deaths from
yellow fever in the city of Havana. General Ludlow had inaugurated
a most thorough and efficient system of cleaning the city, and it was
[i681




The Military Government of Cuba


17


believed that such measures would be effective in keeping out the
fever. As a matter of fact, however, the fever was continually
present during this period, but there was in Havana comparatively
little non-immune material.
In the fall, however, Spanish immigration began, and during
the fall and winter approximately I2,000 Spanish immigrants
arrived at the port of Havana, about one-half of this number remaining in the city. The result was that in December there was, for
that period of the year, a serious outbreak of yellow fever which
lasted throughout the winter and increased in the spring and summer
months and, although it was kept within bounds by most thorough
and systematic house to house inspection and careful supervision
of all sick persons, combined with the immediate removal to the
yellow fever hospitals of all persons, without regard to class or position, who were taken sick with the disease, still there were in Havana
approximately I,400 cases of yellow fever during this summer. The
existence of this condition in a perfectly clean city, compelled those
who looked beneath the surface to realize that the spread of yellow
fever could not be controlled simply by cleaning and disinfecting
methods.
During the summer of I900, the fever appeared in the garrisoned
towns of Pinar del Rio and Santa Clara. The sanitation of these
towns was under military supervision, and there was nothing in the
condition of the towns themselves to account for the outbreak of the
fever. Troops had to be sent out into camp and rigid local quarantine measures inaugurated. In this manner the spread of yellow
fever was checked. The loss of officers during these epidemics was
very serious, and there was also considerable loss of life among the
enlisted men and civilians. In short, the situation was one of great
discouragement. It was perfectly evident that we could control the
disease in the small towns by controlling the local non-immunes and
cutting off intercourse with infected districts, or, in extreme measures, doing as has been done in Jamaica, that is, to send the nonimmunes to the mountains above the fever level.
Affairs were in this condition when a systematic investigation
of yellow fever was undertaken by Drs. Reed, Carroll and Lazaer.
These officers took up the work in a very thorough and conscientious
manner, starting at the point previously reached by Dr. Findlay.
They accepted Dr. Findlay's idea that yellow fever was transmitted
[169]




The Annals of the American Academy


by a mosquito. After several preliminary investigations, Dr. Lazaer
submitted himself as a subject for an experiment for the purpose of
demonstrating that the yellow fever could be transmitted in this
way. He was inoculated with an infected mosquito, took the fever
and died. Dr. Carroll was also bitten and had a serious case of
yellow fever but, fortunately, recovered.
The foregoing was the situation when Doctors Reed, Carroll and Kean called at headquarters and stated that they believed
the point had been reached where it was necessary to make a
number of experiments on human beings and that they wanted
money to pay those who were willing to submit themselves to these
experiments and they needed authority to make the experiments.
They were informed that whatever money was required would be
made available, and that the Military Government would assume the
responsibility for the experiments. They were cautioned to make
these experiments only on sound persons, and not until they had
been made to distinctly understand the purpose of the same and
especially the risk they assumed in submitting themselves as subjects
for these experiments, and to always secure the written consent of
the subjects who offered themselves for this purpose. It was further
stipulated that all subjects should be of full legal age. With this
understanding, the work was undertaken in a careful and systematic
manner. A large number of experiments were made. The general
details of these experiments and the results obtained are now matters
of universal knowledge among members of the medical profession
and sanitarians.
The Stegomyia mosquito was found to be beyond question the
means of transmitting the yellow fever germ. This mosquito, in
order to become infected, must bite a person sick with the yellow
fever during the first five days of the disease. It then requires
approximately ten days for the germs so to develop that the mosquito
can transmit the disease, and all non-immunes who are bitten by a
mosquito of the class mentioned, infected as described, invariably
develop a pronounced case of yellow fever in from three-and-a-half
to five days from the time they are bitten. It was further demonstrated that infection from cases so produced could be again transmitted by the above described type of mosquito to another person
who would, in turn, become infected with the fever. It was also
proven that yellow fever could be transmitted by means of intro[I70]




Tlc Military Govzcrnmcnt of Cuba


I9


duction into the circulation of blood serum even after filtering
through porcelain filters, which latter experiment indicates that the
organism is exceedingly small, so small, in fact, that it is probably
beyond the power of any microscope at present in use. It was positively demonstrated that yellow fever could not be transmitted by
clothing, letters, etc., and that, consequently, all the old methods of
fumigation and disinfection were only useful in so far as they served
to destroy mosquitoes, their young and their eggs.
With the establishment of these facts, was inaugurated an
entirely new method of dealing with yellow fever, a method very
similar to that adopted in the treatment of malarial fever cases, only
carried out much more thoroughly.
Yellow fever cases, as soon as discovered, were.carefully isolated in premises inclosed with fine wire screens, and further precautions taken to prevent the mosquito from coming to them. The
houses in which cases had occurred were sealed up and filled with
formaldehyde, or other gases, for the purpose of killing all mosquitoes. The same was done with neighboring houses. The effect
of this method of dealing with the disease was at once apparent.
The fever was checked and brought to an end at a time of the year
when it is usually on the increase. This was accomplished in spite
of the fact that a large number of non-immunes arrived in Havana
and other parts of the island. The disagreeable and costly process
of disinfection formerly in use had been practically done away with.
The means at present employed is much less destructive to property
and much less annoying to the people.
Cuba is now free from yellow fever, and has been so for a considerable period. There has not been a case originating in the east
end of the island for three years; and none in Havana for more than
a year. No epidemic of yellow fever has appeared in the southern
states in all that time.
Yellow fever has continued at Brazilian, Isthmian, and Mexican
ports, and against the ports of these countries Cuba has maintained
a rigorous and effective quarantine, with the result that no cases
have gotten into the island from this source. Quarantine stations
have been well provided, and there is every reason to believe that,
with the co-operation of the authorities of other infected areas, it
will be possible to obliterate yellow fever as a disease from the island
of Cuba and from America.
[r71]




20


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The work of the commission, of which Dr. Reed was the president and directing spirit, is of the greatest importance to humanity
at large. No medical discovery of equal importance has been made
since the days of vaccination; and, as time goes on, the immense
value of the work done, principally by this officer and his incidental
associates, will receive that degree of appreciation and recognition
which it so justly deserves.
The following quotation from the last report of the Chief
Surgeon illustrates the sanitary results attained among the troops,
and results almost as good were attained among the people:
"The health of the troops in this department has been remarkably good,
having progressively improved since the first year of the occupation, I898;
the sick report of I898 was very large, giving reason to believe that the
health of the American troops serving in Cuba would be just as bad as that
pictured in the darkest years of the English service in the West Indies in
former times, but the health conditions of the troops have been improving
year by year until this year, when it is believed that the health rate will be
better than that of the army either in the United States or in any of our
foreign possessions.
"The statistics in the report published by the Surgeon-General, for comparison, for the fiscal year ending June 30, I9oI, bring the tables down to
December I, I9oo.
"The admission rate for the fiscal year, in Cuba, ending June 30, I902, if
the rate for the first ten and two-thirds months be kept up, would be 1,575;
that for the whole army for the calendar year ending December 3I, I9oo, was
2,312, and for the Pacific islands 2,622. The cases in Cuba seem to have been
of very much milder character, the total death rate from all causes being only
3.82, while that of the army at large was 22.74, and for the Pacific islands
28.75. In Cuba the total number of deaths for the ten and two-thirds months
ending May 30, I902, was I4. Of these 14, 8 were deaths from violence,
leaving 6 due to disease. This would give a rate for disease of only 1.67,
which is very much lower than that in the territory of the United States in
any other part of the world.
"The army at large has a rate of I5.79, and in the Pacific islands 20.26.
The lowest, with the exception of Cuba, was continental United States, with
a rate of 4.83. This means that the chances of a soldier dying from a disease
in the United States were three times greater than in Cuba.
"Taking the individual diseases, the tables show an equally favorable condition of affairs. In malaria the admission rate for the army at large was
in the neighborhood of 700 per I,ooo; in Cuba I86 per I,ooo. Last year in
Cuba it was 473. This decrease is believed to be due to the measures taken
at the various posts to destroy mosquitoes and to protect men from their
bites. The admission rate for yellow fever last year was 29 per I,ooo. This
year there was but one case. The rat] for typhoid fever was about one-fourth
[1I72]




The Military Government of Cuba


2 1


of what it was last year. The percentage of admission for the fiscal year
ending June 30, IgoI, was.37. Number of deaths, 5. In venereal diseases
there has been a considerable decrease, but not so great as the other diseases
mentioned. Alcoholism has increased from 31 to 44 per I,ooo. Not a single
case of smallpox occurred among the troops during the year, nor, for that
matter, in the whole island."
Hospitals and Charities
The old laws governing hospitals and charities in Cuba had been
drawn upon generous and humane lines, but were inadequate to the
conditions existing at the time of the occupation of Cuba. Not only
was this true, but a condition of inefficiency, bad management, and
careless administration had been established little by little until the
administration of institutoins had fallen into a chaotic and generally
disreputable condition. Those in charge of the charitable institutions
were entirely unfamiliar with the work at hand. Their methods
were primitive and their administration of institutions was devoid
of all those sanitary and hygienic features to which so much attention
is given at the present time. Generous endowments had been badly
administered and revenues were being absorbed by the expenses
of boards of management, attorneys, etc. Filth diseases were the
rule instead of the exception, among the inmates of institutions, in
short, the whole system was unqualifiedly bad. The conditions of
suffering were such that our first efforts were hasty and directed
principally against the correction of the worst abuses and the preservation of life. Large temporary hospitals were established in many
places and put in charge of either surgeons of our army or native
physicians of ability.
A very large number of asylums for children were opened in
all sections of the island.  Orphan and destitute children were
assembled in these institutions, fed, and maintained in a healthy and
cleanly condition and gradually returned to relatives who were able
to properly care for them, or placed out in families. Early in the
occupation a large amount of work was done by the Red Cross
Society, but by far the greater portion by the insular government.
The work of the Red Cross Society lasted only during the first fifteen months of the occupation, and afterwards their establishments
were turned over to the insular government, in some instances, with
considerable debts unpaid.
Little by little the smaller institutions were absorbed by the
[I 73]




22


The Annals of the American Academy


larger ones, with more thorough and permanent equipment, which
had been established in the larger towns. Permanent institutions on
a large scale were established in Havana, Guanajay, Aldecoa, Compostela, and Santiago de las Vegas. Those at Guanajay and Santiago de las Vegas were for boys, and those at Aldecoa and Compostela
were for girls. The schools at Guanajay and Aldecoa are correctional schools; the others are training schools for boys and girls.
These four permanent institutions were thoroughly equipped with
all necessary appliances for teaching useful trades and occupations,
and were established with the intention of maintaining them as permanent state institutions.
In addition to these, there were numerous other institutions
comfortably equipped but with no view to permanency. All these
latter class of institutions have long since been absorbed by the
larger ones or have disappeared entirely, the children having been,
as a rule, placed out in desirable families under conditions which
insure their proper care and education. The inmates of the four
larger schools above referred to represent the children still undisposed of. The measures adopted for the care, protection and disposition of orphan and destitute children have been most beneficial
and have furnished a solution of the problem presented, and the
conditions now existing are very satisfactory. The number of orphan
and destitute children now being cared for by the state is comparatively small, and steadily decreasing. The general principle which
has governed in the disposition of children has been to avoid institutionizing children and the adoption of the plan of placing them
out in families where, under proper supervision, they will become
useful members of the community rather than units in a large institution in which all individuality is lost.
There are also a considerable number of institutions for the
care of the aged and infirm. These institutions have been reorganized and their revenues turned into proper channels.
First class hospitals have been established in the large towns of
each province. Training schools for nurses have been established
upon lines corresponding very closely to our own training schools
for nurses.
The insular government, as transferred, was maintaining
asylums and hospitals having in the neighborhood of 5,500 beds;
all well equipped, carefully adminstered, and thoroughly up to date
[i74]




The Military Government of Cuba


23


in every particular. It can be safely stated that the system of charities and hospitals is fully on a par with the system existing in this
country.
The general law governing charities and hospitals was written
by E. S. J. Greble, Captain U. S. A., with the assistance of Mr.
Homer Folks, of New York State Board of Charities. Under this
law, special attention was given to the protection and care of the
insane, whom we found to be in a most dreadful condition. New
and stringent regulations looking to their protection and proper
treatment were rigidly enforced. All the insane were assembled in
the State Hospital for the Insane in Havana, a large institution
containing some nine hundred inmates. This institution is still far
from perfect, but very extensive improvements have been made
costing in all between four and five hundred thousand dollars, and
the inmates are well taken care of and humanely and properly
treated.
Public Works
A new law of Public Works was written closely following the
lines of public works administration in the United States. The
department was carefully reorganized and well equipped with
machinery and tools. The whole department was under the direction
of the Secretary of Public Works, an official who was a member of
the insular cabinet. The island was divided into six provincial public works districts, each under the direction of a chief who received
instructions from the head of the department. Under each provincial
chief were numerous subordinates in charge of separate works.
Allotments of funds were made for approved projects, and nearly
all of the work was done by contract. The principal work of the
department was road and bridge building for the purpose of opening
up connection with the rich agricultural districts and transportation
by land and sea; the improvement of harbors, building of lighthouses, construction of school houses and repair to public buildings,
as well as many other necessary works.
Much was also under the charge of the military officers, which
consisted principally of sanitary engineering work; also a large
amount of road and bridge building in the vicinity of garrisoned
towns; construction of school houses; construction and equipment
[i75]




24


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of hospitals, and especially, engineering and sanitary work in the
cities of Havana, Santiago, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, etc.
The total amount of money expended under the head of Public
Works, and sanitation (mostly sanitary engineering work) was in
round numbers, $I5,000,000.
Department of Posts
A thoroughly organized Post. Office Department was established
in Cuba, consisting of 300 post offices with the requisite officials and
employees. The only serious and thoroughly scandalous misconduct
occurring during the military occupation took place in this department. The principal offenders, after many difficulties, were tried
and convicted. The loss to the Cuban government was probably in
the neighborhood of $200,000, but the exact amount will probably
never be definitely known. The trial showed that the whole affair
was deliberate and well planned. The friends of the convicted
officials flooded the island with reports that the pardon of these men
would be acceptable to the people of the United States, and they
were included in the general pardon of American offenders. The
affair was most scandalous and disreputable, but, fortunately for
the government of intervention, the ill deeds of these people were
largely forgotten in the excellent administration given to the department by Mr. M. C. Fosnes, who succeeded in charge of the department, and brought it to a condition of great efficiency. At the time
of the transfer, it was within 10 per cent of being self-supportinga remarkable showing when it is remembered that 70 per cent of
the people are illiterate and unfamiliar with the advantages of a
modern postal system, and that the rates of postage are the low
rates in force in this country.
Telegraph and Telephone Service
An extensive and thoroughly efficient telegraph and telephone
service was built up under the direction of officers of the Signal
Corps of the army serving temporarily on the staff of the Military
Governor as insular officers. This service reached every town of
any consequence in the island, and was connected with many of the
smaller ones by private telephones. An enormous amount of business was transacted by the lines which, although not self-supporting,
yet would have been more than so had the service been credited with
[176]




The Military Government of Cuba            25
the government business it transmitted. It was a great convenience
to business houses throughout the island as well as to the judges and
the rural guard. The total cost of the establishment and maintenance of the lines was approximately $8oo,ooo, for the entire period
of the occupation. The cost to the government, had its work been
done at the current rates charged by private telegraph lines, would
have fully equalled the entire cost of the establishment and maintenance of the lines.
Customs Service
The Customs Service was organized by Brigadier-General
Tasker H. Bliss, and rendered most efficient service throughout the
occupation. Revenues were collected at a price which compares
favorably with the cost in the United States. There were almost no
losses in this service. Costly equipment, in the way of revenue
cutters, launches, boats, etc., was provided, and the system in force
was essentially the system employed by the United States. The
service covered all portions of the island and was most creditable in
every particular. In this department, as in all others, work had to
be commenced at the bottom, and everything bought new.
Accounting and Auditing
A modern system of accounting and auditing was established
and maintained. Payments were made by check, and disbursements
made only through authorized disbursing officers. The work of
this department was difficult and exacting, and called for the establishment of an entirely new system of accounting and auditing, and
the education of the people to use it. I can only refer to the system
here but its results were excellent and far reaching, and the insular
government was able to render to the Congress of the United States
a full and complete statement of every penny collected and spent and
to present the original vouchers for the same.
Church Property
The church property question has been taken up and settled.
This question arose at the time of the transfer of the government of
Cuba to the United States. The situation can be briefly stated as
follows:
['77]




26


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From I837 to 1841 Spain secularized church property in many
of her possessions. This act led to protracted controversies between
Spain and the Holy See, which resulted in the Concordat of I86I,
in which Spain agreed to return the church property which had not
already been disposed of permanently, by sale or otherwise, and
what she held for government or other purposes, she agreed to pay,
and did pay for forty years, a rental which amounted to a little over
$500,000 per annum.
Upon our taking possession of Cuba, we failed either to pay
the rental or to return the property, and the contention of the Church,
briefly stated, was: "Give us our property, or pay us for the use of
it." Extensive and careful investigation, by means of judicial commissions, resulted in ascertaining that the claims of the Church were
substantially as stated, and were just and fair; accordingly, steps
were taken to reach an agreement concerning the property in question. The state purchased outright all "censos" and "capellanias"
(forms of mortgages), and paid for them prior to the withdrawal
of the Military Government. The sum paid for these was $95I,236.97.
An option, for five years, to buy any or all of the real property
was obtained, and the state agreed to pay an annual rental, amounting to 5 per cent of the agreed value of urban and 3 per cent of the
agreed value of rural property. This rental amounts to $91,027.50
per annum.
The attitude of Bishop Sbaretti, representing the Holy See,
was extremely fair and reasonable, and the settlement reached was
for approximately one-third of the original claims, which amounted
to over $7,000,000, or about the same as the property in dispute in
the Philippines. The question is settled, and the Cuban government
has a straight business proposition before it, which it can accept or
reject as it deems best.
Mortgages.-An agreement between creditors and debtors was
reached and put into operation. A great many rural estates in Cuba
were heavily mortgaged, and the time for foreclosure was at hand;
and there seemed to be danger of a general panic. To avoid this,
creditors and debtors were brought together in conference, and
after considerable discussion, an agreement was reached whereby
settlements were to be made on a four-years' basis, and accrued
[I78]




The Militawy Government of Cuba


27


interest was to be gradually paid off. Interest, subsequent to this
agreement, was fixed at 5 per cent as against a previous interest of
12 to i8 per cent in many cases, sometimes more. This agreement
has given general satisfaction and has done much to steady the sittlation.
Railway Law.-A new railway law, on modern lines, has been
drawn up and put into operation. This action was made necessary
because the railroads conducted themselves in a manner prejudicial
to public interests, and the existing law was without means to control
them. The new law was drawn with great care and embodies the
best principles of modern railway law.
Undivided Estates.-Regulations having the force of law and
governing the division of common lands and undivided estates have
been put into operation, with a fair prospect of a gradual settlement
of this vexatious question, which has been before the Cuban people
for over two hundred years.
Marriage Laws.-At the time of my appointment as Military
Governor, I found the entire religious element of Cuba deeply
shocked and grieved over the marriage law which had recently been
promulgated and which recognized as legal only such marriages as
were performed by judges and absolutely threw out of consideration all marriages performed by the clergy.
Steps were taken to correct this lamentable condition, and a
marriage law was drawn up and put in force giving equal rights to
the duly ordained clergymen of all denominations, calling upon
them to perform not only the duties of their church but also the
duties of a civil marriage officer; in other words, to fill out not only
the papers required by the church to which they belonged, but to
also fill out the forms required by the civil law.
The essential features of this law were suggested and submitted
by Bishop Sbaretti, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Havana, and
embodied the first formal recognition in the marriage law of religious
denominations other than the Roman Catholic.
The new law is giving entire satisfaction. Marriage fees have
been reduced to a minimum, are within the reach of all classes, and
the condition of common-law marriages, which has been so rapidly
becoming general in the island-which the cost of the religious marriage and the aversion of the people to the civil marriage had
brought about-is now rapidly passing away. Every opportunity
[I79]




28


The Annals of the American Academy


has been given to inscribe and legalize these common-law marriages
and to legitimatize the children.
Quarantine.-Quarantine and immigration laws have been
written and put into force very closely resembling United States
quarantine and immigration laws.
Constitutional Convention.-The Conistitutional Convention has
been elected and convened, and a constitution framed and accepted;
an electoral law adopted for the election of officials of the Cuban
republic; and, in short, the general administrative law of the land
has been rewritten, and all steps incident to the establishment of a
type of government unfamiliar to the people have been taken and
carried to completion. The law of the land, in the general sense of
the word, has been but little changed, but the procedure has been
radically improved. The writ of habeas corpus has been made a
feature of the law; police courts have been provided, and the accused
have been surrounded with many protections heretofore unknown.
The Government as Transferred.-The government was transferred to the Cuban people exactly as promised, with no debts but,
of course, some current liabilities for public works in process of
construction, and with $I,6I3,000 free for allotment. Approximately
97 per cent of the officials were Cubans, and they proved loyal and
efficient and honest. The courts of justice were entirely in the hands
of the people. The attitude of the Spanish element was always
friendly. They represent the bulk of the business interests of the
island. They are people of order, and make excellent citizens.
Cuba has been given an excellent start. What she needs now
is the establishment of good economic relations with the United
States. In other words, a reasonable degree of reciprocity. Her
purchases have been in the neighborhood of $68,ooo,ooo per year,
and with confidence and stimulation to business which will come with
reciprocity, we shall have-if we have the good sense to take steps
to establish reciprocal relations which will in addition give Cuba
herself a chance to live and carry out the obligations we have put
upon her-in all probability, in from five to eight years, $I50,000,000
to $200,000,000 per year of trade.
The powers of the Military Governor were absolute in every
particular, and yet there was but one instance of a reversal of the
action of the native court; this exception being for reasons which
were published in full in the Official Gazette in Havana, and which
[i8o]




The Military Government of Cuba


29


met with general approval. The basis of the action taken by the
Military Governor in this case has since been adopted as a basis to
govern in similar cases. The courts have been untrammeled in the
exercise of their authority, and the municipalities have been governed
by officials elected by the people at the polls.
Summary
The government was transferred as a going concern. All the
public offices were filled with competent, well trained employees;
the island was free from debt and had a surplus of a million and a
half dollars in the treasury; was possessed of a thoroughly trained
and efficient personnel in all departments; completely equipped buildings for the transaction of public business; the administration of
justice was free; habeas corpus had been put in force; police courts
had been established; a new marriage law on lines proposed by the
Roman Catholic Bishop of Havana, giving equal rights to all denominations was in operation; the people were governed, in all municipalities, by officials of their own choice elected at the polls; trials in
Cuban courts were as prompt as in any state of the Union, and life
and property were absolutely safe; sanitary conditions were better
than those existing in most parts of the United States; yellow fever
had been eradicated from the island; modern systems of public education, including a university, high school and nearly three thousand
seven hundred public schools had been established; also well organzed departments of charities and public works. The island was well
supplied with hospitals and asylums, beggars were almost unknown.
A new railway law had been promulgated; custom houses had been
equipped and thoroughly established; the great question of church
property had been settled; a basis of agreement between mortgaged
creditors and debtors had been established; municipalities had been
reduced from 138 to 82 in number; public order was excellent; the
island possessed a highly organized and efficient rural guard; an
enormous amount of public works had been undertaken and completed; harbors and channels were buoyed; old lighthouses had been
thoroughly renovated and new ones built; in short, the government as
transferred was in excellent running order. The great expense of
organization and equipment was borne by the Military Government.
At the time of the transfer, government buildings and equipment of
every description were in such condition as to be able to render useful
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30


The Annals of the American Academy


services for years at a small outlay compared to the cost incurred
by the Military Government in renovating, building and purchasing
the same. The insular government was undertaken without a dollar
of public money on hand, except the daily collections of customs and
internal revenue, and involved the collection and disbursement of
$57,197,I40.80, during its existence, for improvements in material
conditions and the upbuilding of insular institutions. This sum does
not include the municipal revenues, only the general insular revenues.
The work called for and accomplished was the building up of
a REPUBLIC, in a country where approximately 70 per cent of the
people were illiterate; where they had lived always as a military
colony; where general elections, as we understand them, were
unknown; in fact, it was a work which called for practically a rewriting of the administrative law of the land; including the law of
charities and hospitals, public works, sanitary law, school law, railway law, etc.; meeting and controlling the worst possible sanitary
conditions; putting the people to school; writing an electoral law
and training the people in the use of it; establishing an entirely new
system of accounting and auditing; the election and assembling of
representatives of the people to draw up and adopt a constitution for
the proposed new republic; in short, the establishment, in a little
over three years, in a Latin military colony, in one of the most
unhealthy countries of the world, of a republic modeled closely upon
the lines of our own great Anglo-Saxon republic; and the transfer
to the Cuban people of the republic so established, free from debt,
healthy, orderly, well equipped, and with a good balance in the treasury. All of this work was accomplished without serious friction.
The island of Cuba was transferred to its people as promised, and was
started on its career in good condition and under the most favorable
circumstances.
The government of Cuba while called "military" was so in
name only. The courts exercised full and untrammeled jurisdiction from first to last. Means of appeal to the Supreme Court of
Cuba from the decisions of the Military Governor were provided, in
all cases except for appeals against such acts of the Military Government as were of a legislative character, such as the promulgation
of laws, etc. Nearly all public offices were filled by Cubans, and the
government, as conducted, was as nearly a government by the people
as was possible under conditions existing.  LEONARD WOOD.
Washington, D. C.