Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-22
How Autonomyis Being Made Mani
fest as a Substance.
CAPTAIN GENERALS EMBARRASSMENT
Uncertainty as to the Holding of
the Elections.
I H E r q II M YST ERY
Copyright, 1897, by Charles NJ. Pepper)

HAVANA, December IS, 1897.
Cuba is under decree. The decree grant
ing autonomy to the Antilles has been here
several days. The official document duly
affirmed and sealed by the queen regent in
the name Of her august son, the King Do,
Alfonso XIII, is in the archives of the pal
ace. The DEGREES extending universal suf-
fraSe to the West India colonies and the
spanish constitution. in it's entirety are
also officially communicated. The latter
has some real Importance in the political
system, because with it are promulgated
the organic laws which give the constltu-
ticral guarantees some semblance Of effect.
Heretofore in the absence of organic lesis-
iation the guarantees have been worth
less
Crder decree of autonomy the Cuban
mind shows no agitation. The actual pro-
Visions fall on a benumoed and Indifferent
community, just as did the triumph Of the
original principle in the cabinet at Madrid
1T is discussed as d change in the relations
of Australia or Canada to Great Britain
might be discussed. The evening the Span
ish ship arrived with the official gazettes
the newspapers published extras giving
the full text of the decree of autonomy.
OF an hundred persons who were lounging
In the cafe of the leading hotel of Havana
in the course of the evening l saw two per-
sons with these extras in their hands. One
was an army officer The other was a
member of the chamber of commerce, the
body which formally congratulated the
Madrid cabinet when the decision was
reached to include customs duties in the
plan OF colonial home rule. He was read
iEg aloud. and had three listeners.
The Mystery of Ruiz.
Havana had something to think of that
night besides measures of government. The
talk in the cafes, elsewhere, was of the
mystery Of Gel Ruiz. This Spanish col
onel, presurnlns on an old friendship, had
daIingly gone out to the camp of the in
surgent leader, Col. Aranguren, with the
invitation to accept autonomy and surren-
der. Back of this proffer was said to be
$lUO,00O in Spanish gold. Probably by the
time this is published the facts about Ruiz
will be known, and the cable will have
transmitted them to the United States. 1t
is only to be said that when the decree Of
autonomy reached Havana his where
abouts was unknown, and not only that
evening, but subsequent evenings, the mys-
terry menopoliZed public attention. This
was as true of the captain generals re-
ception at the palace of the cafes and
clubs and of the populace generally. The
fate of an individual who, against warn
lnsS, undertakes reckless and hopeless
mission, appeals to the imagination. The
fate of a nation which may be hanging on
a decree, a paper proclamation, Is too
much of an abstraction to interest the peo-
pie of Havana in the presence OF living
realities.
Blanco's Embarrassment.
While the public is thus apathetic, the
palace is not unaware of its own RESPONSE
bilty. Preparations are making for put
ting the system into effect. Blanco, in his
civil capacity as governor general, and Sec
xetary General Congosto are of one mind
in feeling that autonomy must be shown to
be more than an obstruction a promise.
Theirs is the task to demonstrate that the
system has the substance of self-govern-
ment and the soul of free political institu-
tions. Assurance is given that the mistake
of the CanovaS ministry, which decreed the
reforms and failed to promulgate them,
will not be made. General Bianco is in
precisely the embarrassment that hedged
Weyler The island is yet to be pacified.
The defiant cry of the insurgents in the
field, War to autonomy" echoes through
the palace. 1t has been heard by the
troops within twenty miles of Havana. 1t
comes in swelling volumes from the prov
inces of Santiago, Puerto Principe and San
ia Clara, where the insurgents continue
their aggressive warfare. Nevertheless, the
program must be carried out and the pal
ace IS sincerely addressing itself to the
task.
The promise is repeated that the elections
shall be held in February. The way must
be cleared. Frequent "bandos," proclama-
tions of the governor general, may be look
Gu lOI III BelttlS Ieduy. 1SHcIdl DidHCo
and his adviser are not to be blamed if
they are for a time indefinite about the
elections. The degree and extent to which
the Cuban people will participate must be
left to the future. Since 1t is officially ad-
mitted that all the island will not be paci-
fled within the next two months presuma-
bly, the elections will be held under the
protection of martial law. In the central
and western parts the military protection
may be in the background, SO 1t will not
appear that the garrison towns are not
acting with full political freedom. But in
the east, if the insurgents remain in pos
session of the country and are besieging
the towns, the problem of the elections
will be a serious one. The government
may n AXE some such shift as the insur-
gents did. They claim to have held regu-
lar elections even in Havana province and
to have chosen a full list of deputies to
the convention of the Cuban republic which
returns of this insurgent election were not
verified. Perhaps when the time comes the
palace will hold elections in Santiago and
some districts of Puerto Principe and
santa cara In the same manner.
The Colonial Cabinet,
Pending the elections is to be the colonial
cabinet of five members, which is to form,
with the restraining power OF the governor
general, the executive government of the
island under autonomy. These secretaries
as they are called. are to preside. respect
lively, over departments of justice, finances.
education. public works and a grouping of
agriculture. industry and commerce Their
functions are not quite so extensive as the
names of the departments indicate, but
that is matter of future explanation,
rather than of present application. 1t is
worth passing mention that the secretaries
who compose this colonial cabinet are to
enjoy the prerogatives of parliamentary
government after blending of the English
and the French systems. They may be
members Of either the house or the senate
may take part in the discussions of either
body and may vote in the body to which
they belong. Curiosity concerning these
prospective cebiner members is not so great
here as in the United States when Presi-
dent-elect is forming his official family.
One reason is that the range of choice is SO
limited. Nominally. the governor general
" i'll name this cabinet, but in reality 1t will
be named in Madrid. The probability of
an early indication of the men who have
be en- selected makes guesswork biographies
unnecessary.
The eutonomists will see In the colonial
cabinet the first tangible realization OF their
aspirations and their ambitions. In the
actual, living presence of the decree they
have been no more demonstrative than the
(Contiuued on Third PaRel