Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-01-19
AUTONOMY IN CUBA.
SO FAR 1T HAS BEEN FRAUGHT
WITH TROUBLE AND DISORDER.
SITUATION NOT UNDERSTOOD
NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW WHO IS
THE GOVERNMENT.
Spain's Good Faith In EstablishinE
Autonomy Ii Questioned-POssibl
Intervention by the United
States Always to Be
ReckOned With.

New York. Jan. 1S.-According to the
Tribune correspondent at Havana, badger
| ing the government occupies the attention
| of two classes in Cuba at present. One
| class is the Conservatives, who were pre-
| disposed to fault-fnding. Determined TO
have no share in the administration of au-
| tonomy they are now congratulating them-
| selves on their decision. The responsibility
| of implantng that system is indeed. q
| heavy one. and those who do not share In
| it are fortunate. The other class Is a new
creation. Its members call themselves Rad
| ical autonomsts. They are aggressive and
| critical. If the authorities depart from the
| straight path of colonial home rule they
cry the lapse from the house-tops. The am
nesty that has already been extended does
not satisfy them. They demand that Wey-
| Ter and all his works be disavowed and call
| for reparation in justice in individual cases
! that seem to have been excluded from the
general clemency. They also insist on the
| immediate reform of various admitted
| abuses. The press censorship they declare
| is not compatible with a liberal regime.
and they demand its removal. In short the
Radical autonomists have a programme
| which causes them to be designated both
| as disguised insurgents and as embryo
rebels.
1t is unfortunate for the regime of au-
| tonomy that misunderstandings have arisen
between Madrid and Havana The opposi-
| ban government is Captain General Blanco
| or the autonomist cabinet. Where genuine
doubts exist they are solved satisfactorily
| the captain general. But the misunder-
standings between the Sagasta ministry and
the au5onomist cabinet cannot be settled
q comprehensive one. 1t may be that its
authors did not thoroughly know their own
Secat. maser Ss Se tns
thought it had been decided in favor of
| home rule appointments, but the minister Of
tions of judges and magistrates. The cab
met protests. Madrid responds regretting
the mistake, but explains that provisional
zetted now, were in reality made before that
date; The Madrid newspapers. in deplor-
ing the painful impression that this incl
dent has caused. give utterance to the fear
that it may bring In question the good
however, receives little sympathy. Its crit
les point out slips on it's part which seem
stitution under which it is working.
are not Of a serious nature. Ell # autoSomy ,ns;
pie of Cuba they would not jeojardize its
success. But it must be stated that the
majority Of the people Of the island in the
| Spanish sovereignty are not paying much
heed to autonomy as a political system.
Civil administration lin is receiving little at
Captain General Blanco and not the au-
tonomist cabinet is asked what the fur
ther plans for the war are and when they
rid is that the plan of General Blanco's
military operations has been published and
has had 2 good effect: The plan has not
hn0uS ahc6 hArn hot fo ~ t1rfa
| army is in ignorance of the prospective
| operations. The Madrid reports about the
good effect produced cause only derision.
the public men, has been led to look for
| the ending of the insurrection within
month is looked upon as incredible; The
! ferent glasses.
The questions about the conduct Of the
war bring the radical autonomists to the
points. Since the insurgents will not ac-
cept autonomy, these radicals want the
government to ask Gomez and his associat-
Must it be complete independence? Will
they not consent to keep the shadow Of
Spanish in some 1orm The
began by Pumping its inquiries into Senor
Galvez. the president of the autonomist
cabinet. He responded by stopping his sub
scription. General Blanco was not a sub
| scriber. and when the questions were turned
| on him, that method of resentment was
not open. The autonomists and reformists,
who formed a fusion organization to sup.
port the government, are also asked what
| their next step is. When autonomy was
formally proclaimed they declared the
pendence Utopian chimera. More plain
| ly some Of them put it that in trying au-
tonomy Spain played her last card. but
| they were sure she would turn trumps.
The intrasigeante Conservatives. on their
| part, have no plan beyond picking flaws.
They realize in a dull way that the system
! restored. They have nothing to take its
| place. They agree that Blanco's military
policy will not bring peace. They are of
but but they realize that the prohibition is an
b 0ns the 9f staees Toua oldep to to
ent with their Idea of spain's honor;
pf ia is tbe dea Of p
tervention.. It can hardly be said to be
longer in the BACKGROUND: Heneeforth It
parties n Cuba tSe
insurgents it is. evidently definite pur-
| pose. To Spain's government in the An
refuge or as retreat. The irreconciiiable
| Spaniards dread It, The moderate ones. the
property owners and the commercial
| this is the feeling. 1t should not be mis-
interpreted. The conditions In Cuba viii!
en- elsewhere. possibly in Madrid possibly
| in Washington. Decentralization, amounting
| while without either the military authority
or the civil government, as represented by
to restore peace. The growing misery Of
| the people leads to the hope that inter-
| vention will not be indefinitely delayed.
| Starvation daily claims It's hundreds of
victims. No effective and permanent re-
| lief can be given the population in Cuba
| until the present conditions are reversed.