The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1899-01-19
WOOD ON CUBA
Military Governor Of Santiago
Tells About Affairs in His
Province.
People Have Demonstrated They
Appreciate All That Has
Been Done,
And Their Response to the Lib
erty Given Them Has Been
Prompt. = sxss.;: );
Good Deal of Feeling Over the
Misunderstanding With the
Army in July.

NEW YORK, Jan. 19.-Major General
Leonard Wood, military governor OF
Santiago, was the guest of honor at
dinner given by the Union League club.
Among those present were General
Stewart L. Woodford,, Captain Robley
D. Evans, General Wallace S. Randolph,
General NJ. c. Butler, General Benjamin
F. Tracy, and John Addison Porter.
General Wood received very hearty
greeting when he was introduced. In
speaking of Cuba and the Cubans, he
said:
Whatever has been done in Cuba
has been done not only for the Cubans,
but for the United States. We have
lgone down to that island for the pur-
pose of giving those people liberty, and
it is my experience that they have dem
onstrated, thus far at any rate, that
they are quite capable of approaching
what we can do, and their response
to such liberty as has been pre-
scented to them has been very
quick Of course, we must remember
that down there we are dealing with q
people who for good many generations
have had very little voice in public af-
fairs, and their whole disposition has
been reversed by system which has
compelled deceit and dishonesty amt
subterfuge in every department of life.
When we went there in July we found
things in pretty bad shape. and the un-
fortunate misunderstanding between
our people and the Cubans left the
army, or our army and the Cuban army,
somewhat at odds.
A Good Deal of Feeling.
'There was certainly good deal of
feeling on both sides, and the problem
when the old army withdrew and the
new one came was difficult one, as
there was good deal of sickness and a
good deal of distress, in fact more than
have ever dreamed possible in any
country, and there was good deal said
of the distress on both sides, but we
started in by having no secrets of any
kind, shape or description. Everything
done down there was an open book.
II have tried to draw the army out OF
the situation at the earliest possible day,
and tried to impress upon the people
that the firsc thing they had to do down
there was to learn to govern themselves,
and that the underlying principle of
self-governpent was thorough respect
of civil law, and that wsaid not want
any lawlessness. We had the army
there only as balance of power to
overcome any lawlessness.
''All the public places were filled by
representative Cubans, without excep:
ton. found it of advantage to have
the committee, the nominating commit
tee, called It, changed, quite often sud.
denly, SO that they might not be sub
ject to corrupt influences.
''There LAS been good deal which
from our standpoint was not satisfac.
tory, and which think could be attrib-
uted to the fact that those people have
hardly got in the way of trusting them.
selves, but the perfectly open policy
that we have pursued has disarmed
them to certain extent, and today, as
far as know, the respect for the Amer
lean flag and the American people and
American good faith, is all right"