New-York tribune., 1899-11-17
THE FUTURE OF CUBA
AN ILLUMINATING AND INSTRUCTIVE
BOOK.
TOMORROW IN CUBA. BY chsrIes HarpeP &
With Maps svo. PIP WILL So-'


work in hand. wherein Mr.. Pepper ehufne'-
80 .ho booLs he has consulted and COM
- ,nor, n tho attention of his readers
The mention Of them is not without value' anu
,he irnnlica,ion that he is ina measure indeoteu
IN then, for information is creditable to MT rep
ners uodesty. though scarcely convincing 10 'he
reader For the whole tone Of the author IL
that Of one who writes from first hand kno"ieuee
of the things all of which he saw ana Gun
siderable part Of which he was. Nor VIII 'ne
commendation to further reading ne lkeN "
prevail with many. for the reason that MT rep
ner himself has rendered needless the very
thing he invites his readers to DO Inc o0'a
sional student may go further the aVerase
reader will lay down the present oooN VIII" NV
feeling that for him the last essential "oiu ~
Cuba has been we'll and satisfactorily spohe"'
NJ Penner has done his work so thoroughly
with so painstakng a care OF detalls anu 80
nhilosophic and impartial breadth OF We"
..o, u,,,bout essaving it, and on original lines
- ros,,,t Of original research. he has gwen
- ADEQUATE en,tome Of the entire Cuban DID
uocranbv Readers of The Tribune VIII neeu
no,hinr more than a reminder or MS coi
respondence in our columns last year lioA
Cuba to attract them to a volume IN VIM" ''o
does for permanent record what he then ui" io'
current information. and does 1t with an access
of skill and authority commensurate "i'h '"e
added Importance OF the task.
ct have said Patrick Henry but one lamp
by which my feet are guided ana tha' Is 'iie
lamp Of experience" Exaggerated as 'he s'a'e
,,,an, was il vet contained vital germ of true
philosophy In considering tomorrow IN Cuoa
therefore it is both fitting and essential that
we should first consider yesterday and to-day
To these latter Mr.. Pepper first addresses him.
self Reginning with the end Of the Ten Years
War. he explains in a few pregnant sentences
why the nact Of El Zanjon failed. In letter II
was fulfilled but in spirit it left the system OF
Insular administration unchanged. Still, as De-
fore. "the beginning and the end was the Gov
ernor General exercising his military functlohs
as CAPTAIN General" With a good captain
General the administration might be good; with
a bad one 1t was bad That is the common
rule. despotism may be the best OF govern
ments if you have a sufficiently beneVoent
desnot So because while Spain kept the word
Of promise to the ear Of the Cubans she broke
II TO their hope discomfort renewed, and in
the fulness Of time another and final tnsurrec-
ton was begun. This last war differed rad
jcally from its predecessor in one supreme re-
spect. in being general or national instead Of
local or provincial. The genius Of Maxine
Gomez intended that it should be so. and the
daring achievements Of Antonio Maceo in his
western invasion made II The significance
of that fact has not hitherto been sufficiently
recognized Mr. Pepper does history a service In
calling attention to 1t and strongly emphasiz-
ing 1t.
With the succinct and luminous review Of the
military operations Of the war we need not here
concern ourselves. What is Of greater interest
is the autonomist scheme which the Madrid
Government promulgated at the eleventh hour
in vain hope Of thus checking the tide OF In
surrecton before which the arms of Campos,
Weyler and Blanco were helpless. That scheme,
It will be remembered was declared to be sim
liar to that which exists in Canada, only II
ANYTHING more liberal to the colonists. We
pointed out at the time the fallacy in that pre-
tension and Mr. Pepper again exposes 1t with
destructive force THE difference was funda-
mental The constitution Of Canada is inter
preted and applied in the spirit of free institu-
tions. All parties to the compact understand
parliamentary government. Spanish
statesmen had no conception Of executive power
falling into forgetfuness through disuse To
their minds power was conferred only TO be ex-
ercsed" on paper, perhaps. the Governor Cen
eral Of Cuba was to have no more power than
the Governor General Of Canada In practice
the power Of the former was to be actual, while
that Of the latter is nominal. comparison Of
their respective functions was therefore, Mr..
Pepper says, an absurdity.
The autonomst scheme Of January 1, 1898,
in brief was inadequate for precisely the same
reason that the pact Of FL Zanjon had been.
1t provided for governmental pyramid standing
upon its apex. That apex was the Governor
General Resting upon and dependent upon him
were the general executive, legislative and judi
cal officers; upon them, in turn, the provincial
he oI,o, ito
and upon them finally, the rights of the people.
But they all rested upon the half civil. half
military Governor General, who was in the last
analysis as autocratic a And so, pass
ing from yesterday TO to-day and looking to to-
morrow. the great task before the Cubans is TO
reverse that governmental pyramid. and to put
II in its normal position, resting upon the broad
base Of popular sovereignty, and rising. through
the successive strata Of municipal and provin-
cial administrations. to the nsular chief execu-
tive, whose power shall be based solely upon the
popular will
The present military administration is OF
course. temporary thing. Nevertheless ii is do.
ing a valuable work in preparing the Cubans fol-
the permanent results OF the transition which 1:
being effected. and to a certain extent
United States hegemony will be perpetual
1.-THE United States is a continuous intervening
Power. In ending the Spanish misgovernmen
the American Nation pledged itself not to per
nit internal misgovernment in the future. 1t Il
pledged to prevent anarchy. II is also con
tnuous protecting Power for Cuba" The i'm
mediate question, however, is whether goot
government-not suzerainty or a moral protec
torate. but detailed domestic government-shal
come TO Cuba from above and without. or from
within. At present II comes from above ant
without. TO wit. from the United States. Blu
both legally and morally we are bound TO giv
Cuba chance TO get it from within. If it want
10 do To that end the first step in Mr. Pep
pers view. is TO ascertain the will OF the people
by universal suffrage. under the civil supervis
ion of the United States. eve especially com
mend for careful perusal what Mr. Pepper says