The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-03
General Gomez Explains His Con-
duct to His Wife.
NOW WANTS TO GO HOME
WHY HE WAS DEPosED BY THE
ASSEMBLY.
Refused to Aid In Negotiating a
Loan For Which the Assembly
Had No Authority-Did Not Want
to Ask United States For Charity
Accepted 100000.

Havana, April General Maxine
Gomez, in a long letter directed to his
wife in Santo Domingo, reviews his diff
ferences with the so-called military as
sembly He begins by describing the
situation as it was when Robert P.
Porter, as the special representative OF
President Mckinley, visited Cuba, af-
ter the assembly's representatives at
Washington had obtained promise OF
So, 100000 from the president. Inc
writer, proceeding, says:
This action on the part of the as
sembly's committee [ approved. 1t
was then that Mr.. Porter appeared and
asked me, as .commander-in-chie to
decide to accept the 100000, to aid in
it's distribution and in the disarming
of the army, and to proceed forthwith
to Havana to assist the United States
military governor, General Brooke. l
agreed, and on arriving at Havana, L
conferred with General Brooke con-
corning the payment and the olsarma-
ment 1t was decided that General
Brooke should request Washington to
been obtained by the representatives
of the assembly. ] saw to the ADJUST
ment of all the questions that led up
to the termination of the ridiculous
armed situation, and began to enter
tain hopes of an early return to san
Domingo.
'"The assembly then called upon me
to visit its president, saying that the
object sought was an unofnclal eA-.
change of ideas. But they placed me
upon the bench of the accused, my
crime being that 1 was inclined to ac-
cept the SO, 600, 600 which the assembly
itself, through its representatives, mad
induced President Mckinley to prom
Use, a matter as to which l had not
been consulted. 1t appeared thae L
had broken off negotiations for $4,000,
coo. To all this I replied that | had
acted in the best faith, but that nothing
had been lost, as | would Withdraw
the acceptance 1 had given. They then
requested me to array myself on their
side, in order to give strength TO their
resolutions I answered that | had al
ways done so, and would continue TO
do so, except in cases where the course
of the assembly was opposed to my
conscience. to my sense of justice and
to my idea of the best interests OF
Cuba. -easSd
Regarding the matters under con-
sideration, I said L had no hope OF OBJ
tanning more than the $3,OOO,000 from
the United States and disapproved ask
ing charity contending that the only
method left was to raise loan, for
which the assembly lacked adequate
authority. Furthermore, I pointed out
that the soldiers could not wait; that
already they were too great a burden
upon the people of Cuba, and that
longer delay appeared to me to be
cruel. SsSA
.eThe conference ended without ac-
complishing anything. 1 saw | could
not make myself understood by the
assembly and decided not to be mixed
up in its doings, but to await develop
ments. A few days later three men
whom l did not know visited me and
said that several millionaires stood
ready to facilitate a loan OF many mil
lions, but that the matter was possible
only with my cooperation. answered
that I could not consider any PROPOSE
ton of the kind, and regarded 1t as
strange that anyone would be ready
to lend money without a guarantee.
Ny visitors replied that the city coun-
ell could arrange guarantee. linen
a committee of the assembly APP
proa ched me, asking me to support the
assembly's efforts to obtain loan. To
this / replied that Cuba could not make
a. loan, as she lacked the necessary au-
thority The next day the assembly
deposed me.
II consider 1 have acted honorably,
and my strongest desire now is to re-
! turn nome.
CORRUPTION IN THE COURTS.
Today, as under the Spanish regime,
bribery and fraud direct the Cuban
courts This is the firm conviction OF
the military administration. Governor
General Brooke is taking the matter
up and intends to clean out the cor
ruption, to revise the judicial proceed
ure to change the court personnel and
to abolish the barbarous practice of
! incommunicado, by which a judge may
| imprison for life a person ignorant of
the accusation against him and of the
names of his accusers.
| 1t is true that the statutes allow only
three days detention incommunicado,
but a judge, under the practice that
has grown up. may make new COM
mitment at the expiration of the third
day. another at the expiration of the
sixth, and so on, without limit. More
than this, the evidence in criminal
cases is taken by clerks, who, for a
consideration, write into the testimony
things never uttered, thus often max
ing the best friends of the accused APP
pear to condemn him. Apparently the
whole criminal and civil systems have
been arranged so as to make it easy to
buy and sell justice.