La Junta tribune., 1898-12-03
SANTIAGO'S POOH-BAH
GENERAL WOODS ADAPTIVE
NESS.
The EAe,-nt G,vernos IL Always Alert
and vixoeoas-IIe Sees Everything snd
Corrects N .ny Evils

and vixosoa.-IIe sees Everything snd
Corrects NJ any Evils
When Colonel Teddy" Roosevelt is
sworn in at Albany the rough riders
will have given two governors To the
nation. for General Leonard Wood Is
the military governor OF Santiago de
Cuba. The rough rider governor OF
New York viii have 10 set n pretty hot
pace when h. begins his gubernatorial
career II he would run in the same
class with the rough rider governor OF
Santiago, for General Wood not only Is
making history but record beyond the
most sanguine hopes OF his warmest
admirers Ii Is a striking coincidence
that the colonel of the rough riders
should BE- appointed governor of SANTA
20 and lieutenant colonel OF that COM
Innnd be elected governor of New York
in less than six months from the day
the rough riders were sworn into the
service Of The United States. But those
who know both men can readily be-
lieve that the sequence OF events
placed both men where they are sole
y by the operation OF the law OF the
selection OF the fittest.
II would take long and weary
search to find two men more unlike
than Governor Wood and Governor
elect Roosevelt Roosevelt Is all fire.
dcmonstratiye enthusiasm. explosive
energy, visible aggressivencss, leading
up to pyrotechnical finishes. Wood Is
like hydraulic press which accom-
plishes large results quietly and unos-
tentatiously by the exercise OF tre-
mendous and unnoticeable energy.
which is all the more effective because
1t is noiseless, constant and under
perfect control. And, like that same
hydraulic press. Governor Wood Is self
contained. imperturbable and soiidly
constructed.
General Woods physical prowess, his
all-around athlete. But il remained
for the "after-surrender" days OF San
tiago to develop the fact that as an e1-
executive official, dilomat. cven-tem-
pered judge and adroit handler OF men
Governor Wood has few equals.
/ asked General Wood about five
minutes after he had taken his seat at
the desk formerly used by the Spanish
governor general what he would do
first.
Clean out about 200 years Of dirt"
he replied.
That very hour the first gang Of Gu
bans was put TO work on the streets.
The first week of his administration
Governor Wood was in the saddle eigh-
teen hours day. He personally
Inspected every foot Of every street, al
ley, court and lane In old Santiago. He
made house to house canvass. cxain-
lining interior courts. rooms and hall
ways, and before the Spaniards and
Cnbans Of the city knew what had hap
pened they were whitewashing their
houses. digging dirt out OF their courts,
sweeping their halls, cleaning their
rooms and obediently and dutifully I'LL
ing barrels with refuse. which was set
out every morning on the curbs Of the
narrow sidewalks for the carts and
qunrterma stcrs' wagons which T'atrolied
the town.
The citizens did this unusual, this
unprecedented, kind of work not under
orders OF Governor Wood. hut because
the alcnlde-the mayor of Santiago
had issued the instructions. Governor
Wood, with that diplomatic craft
which has enabled him to administer
the municipal affairs without friction.
never put his name under an order,
ordinance or official proclamation In the
earlier days Of the American occupa.
tion of Santiago. All such papers were
signed by the mayor of the city, but
they were written in General WOODS
office and carried across the hall to the
mayors office.
The military governor of Santiago
was a veritable Pooh-B Bah: he was
mayor, corporation counsel. commits
sioner Of public works, superintendent
Of police. commissioner Of health. oil
inspector, inspector of weights and
measures, port physician. harbor mas
ter, superintendent OF street and alley
cleaning, gas inspector. city attorney,
city collector. city treasurer. city clerk.
chief tanitor OF the city hall, desk ser
geant OF the central station and police
magistrate. In this continuous mu-
nicipal performance General Wood
played all parts without leaving the
stage, sometimes acting two or more
roles at once.
AS police magistrate he was unique.
Most of the men brought before him
were Americans. stcvedores who had
slipped from their ships in the harbor
or at the docks and had tried to get
the better Of Santiago rum: soldiers
who had run the guard or sneaked
through the lines for n day In the city
civilians who found themselves In
Santiago and had attempted to run
things on the wide-open policy. The
culprits were lined mp In the broad en-
trance OF the governors palace In the
morning, with an armed soldier guard
ing each end OF the line. The corporal
Of the guard and sergeant OF the pa
troll acted the part Of prosecuting wit
nesses, and ninety nine times out Of a
hundred the accused turned states ev-
idence on himself. pleaded guilty and
threw himself on the mercy Of the
court.
As a matter of curiosity ] followed
up a dozen cases-ran them down, as
1t were-nnd found that Governor
Wood had diagnosed the cases per-
fectly and had graduated the punish
ment according to the degree OF crime
or misdemeanor.-Chicag Record.
your wife seems intensely patriotic %
"Patrfotic. II eagle was good to eat YOU