Evening star., 1898-12-08
Less Hitch to Cuban Evacuation Than
to Occupation.
IMPATIENT FOR TIE AMERICANS
An End in Sight of the Official
Corruption.
IN H RITANCE OF DE BITS
copyright 1893 by Charles NJ. Pepper.l
from a staff Correspondent of The Evening Star


HAVANA, Cuba, December 8, 1898.
Spains getting out of Cuba proceeds with
less hitch than the United States coming
In to take possession. The big transports
in the harbor are loaded rapidly. The Span
lsh soldiers all appear anxious to sail for
home. They are a little curious over the
American troops, but they show no ill
feeling. The bearing of both officers and
men is not that of vanquished army.
Captain General Blancos farewell address
to the troops breathed no spirit of defeat.
Yet Blanco went aboard the vessel that
was to convey him back to Spain after
nightfall. Seemingly he could not endure
the chagrin and humiliation of a public
demonstration when ne was leaving. He
is off without the further humiliation of
seeing the American flag raised on MORO
Castle and without the necessity of eX-
changing official courte with an Amer
can military commander named Fitzhugh
Lee. The Dopulace of Havana. knowing
something of the events of last spring, be-
Iieved that Blanco would have to deliver up
his sword to General Lee. That was the
ceremony to which the more ignorant class
es were looking forward as the visible evil
dence that Spain had given way to the
United States. They think that Blanco
hurried away to save his sword from Lee.
Whatever bitterness the officers feel is
not allowed to find expression. Sometimes
they show their resentment toward the
Cubans, which is natural. No overt demon
strations are made and collisions between
the Cubons and them are rare. Speaking
generally, if the American troops behave
themselves in taking control as well as the
Spanish troops have in yielding possession,
their record will be a creditable one. Ha
Vana itself continues quiet during the tran
sltion period eXceDt for the great increase
in petty crimes. THIS comes from the in
efficient nnlipinU of oil he
nifty knows the task that awaits the United
States and shrUgs its shoulders. At one
time the intention was to keep at least
portion of the battalion of orden publcos
who had been promised their discharge
from the Spanish army with the under
standing that the American military COM
ma nders- would continue them as a police
force. They mutinied for their pay and
were shipped home. Then came the threat
ened revolt of the guardia civles, or part OF
the army which composed the rural police.
The last regiment of them departed this
week. Every American official whether
civilian or military. who came to Cuba was
impressed with these glarda civies and
recommended their continuance as rural
police under the American occupation. Most
of them wanted to stay. The Cuban COM
manders have been organizing similar
body from the ranks of the insurgents, who
will be used for maintaining order in the
country.
Havana Merchants impatient.
The merchants of Havana are counting
every day now until American control as a
week. Their disappointment at the failure
of the United States to take possession of
the custom house is keen. Yesterday one
of them stopped me in the street and de-
manded excitedly, why didn't you put
your officials in charge? Why isn't your
flag raised? Why do you let those Span
iards continue robbing us?" and a rapid
fire volley of similar questions. 1t is hard
ly fair for the Havana business men to
hold individual Americans who are here
personally responsible for the good nature
of the American government in tolerating
the exercise of Spanish authority for so
long a period. These individual citizens
themselves have never been able to under
stand it fully. ] tried to explain to this
indignant merchant that the American gov
eminent was human. and therefore some
times made mistakes. One of these mis-
takes was in believing what the Spaniards
said about their inability to embark their
troops iii accordance with the letter and
the spirit of the protocol. which provided
for the Immediate evacuation of the island.
Another and greater mistake was in
sending an advance guard of engineering
quartermastering. sanitary, hygienic medi-
cal and similar experts and commissions to
prepare for the American occupancy. This
merchant did not accept my explanation,
though it was an elaborate one.
That the stealings will continue until the
last minute was known in advance. [
think. nevertheless. that the amounts are
exaggerated, because so few geese are now
coming to market to have their feathers
plucked. What stealing exists is mostly of
an indefinite kind. because the buZZards are
roosting in the chicken coOps. Everybody
Is going to be careful about nocturnal eXpe-
dltons to hen rOoStS, because no fowls NAV
be found there. Some wholesale robberias
have been attempted in the name of the
government. The effort of the secretary of
public works to auction off the rights of
way for the construction of railroads
throughout the island was one of these
proposed official robberies. Perhaps later
some syndicate of American spectators
Will put in an appearance at Washin gton
asking the State Department to make valid
their rights. When they appear the
back-doOr exit should be kept wide open. so
that they may be shown out promptly.
The same thing is true of other 'conces-
sions, which will be presented a having
been obtained from municipalities.
Official Corruption.
1t is characteristic of the Spanish con-
ception of public responsibility that no one
believes in official integrity. Spanish
military officer WAS telling me some of the
incidents of the last twelve months He
hates the Cubans, though he sought to car
ry out the plans of Madrid when it was
proposed to give them a share in the gov
eminent of their own island through auton-
omy. Said this officer:
You Americans talk about the corrup-
ton of the Spaniards admit our system
has been a bad one, but you'll find that
your beloved Cuhans, through their autono-
mist cabinet, have stolen more in twelve
months than Spanish officials have stolen in
twelve years"
The ofhcer's statement was not correct
for one reason, because there has not been
that much to steal. And his attempt to
saddle the Cubans as a people. with the re-
responsibility for the autonomist cabinet is
malicious. 1t was never a Cuban cabinet
The people of the island never accepted
autonomy, and they never recognized the
autonomist cabinet. They repudiated it,
Whatever its acts have been, they have
been under the direction of the captain gen.
eral. Spanish msrule and corruption in the
garments of a colonial cabinet have not
been disguised. The scandals that are COM
ing are the scandals which mark the last
days of Spanish sovereignty. / do not
mean from this that no Cubans have bene-
flied under the twelve months of the sup
posed autOnomist regime. The autonomist
10 ,,la for