New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-06-01
ppOrPFSS IN CUBA

Tho snectacle In Cuba Is pitiful. at least from
ono noInt of view Brave men VINO nave io"s"'
long for their country are turned ln}o l'9 "'i''
oromies nv their self-seeking leaders o'neIs
oscona wholesale robbery by their leaders oni!
hocouse another nation loves honesty I"e
o,oroctor of different Cuban officers Is nxed TOT
orer in photographs by their own acts Al ohe
ro;rt tuolve hundred men Willingly disoand' ue-
Lat. ,boir arms accept the American heip 10
-. - nooceful OCCUPATIONS, and their rolls are
.a honest because their commander was
- ord NOT q knave At another point the
,,o, ro+ed 70 90 and TO accept but their coin-
aor oova orders that any should De snol
-.ro ,r;od ~ take the train for Havana. All the
world now kpo~ what that man was uoine,
,no.hor BATTALION commander brought Forward
IN. mon he could gather. but found that the
~. 20 hiS battalion had been stuffed by the ad-
d,t,on Of hundreds who were utterly unknown
To II or TO him. while the names OF nunu'eu'
who fought through the war were omitted. he
,.o,,s ond tho world knows, how much OF the
NV TINT particular general had planned 10
pocket A poor soldier speaks lot man! !"
thanking God that the Americans did the pay
ing as he would have received very little other-
wise.
There are all sorts Of Cuban ofncers' II ap-
nears. It Ia not astonishing that there were
knaves among them Washington FOUND some
IN the Army Of the Revolution who would nave
dishonored him for their selfish ends 'he!
could. The proportion seems remarkably large
in this Cuban force perhaps because IL was
| large among those political generals VINO nave
| fixed public attention upon themselves though
not large among the actual leaders In hgh'lng.
Rut the United States authorities In Cuba VIII
render the people Of that island service OF IN
| cslculable value Il they will now take care 10
| have all the rolls and the evidence about them
preserved for public information, with the rec
| ord of the number who appeared and the num-
| ber of names unknown TO anybody, and the
| names of the officers by whom each roll was
submitted. In all future discussion or action
that record will serve to enlighten the real
friends of Cuba.
There is some hasty talk about taking arms
from the Cubans by force If they do not de-
post them. No occasion for such a step, or for
any consideration Of such STEP has yet ap
peared The men own their arms. They are
| free citizens and are not prohibited by any en-
actment or order Of the United States from
keeping arms in their possession. The possipii
ity that they may make disturbance Is only
possibility. and when any do II will be proper &c
hunt them down not for having guns In theil
possession. but for brigandage, violence or IN
surrection. II does not appear from reports OF
military commanders that there Is any sucf
trouble Of consequence even in the provinces
where The Cuban forces have most largely dis
banded and dispersed without parting WITT
their arms and without any monetary aid. II
fact the condition Of the island as respects
order and obedience 70 authority appears e
ne far more satisfactory than most expected
and is certainly creditsble 70 the Cuban soldier
and 70 their officers as a whole.
The trouble has been all the time with tn
men who wanted 10 make political opportuni
ties for themselves. chances for plumber or IA
Offices under the Cuban Government, at the ex
pense Of the people The list Of political gen
erals who have been dscharging lurid oratory a
Havana or resolving insolent absurdities !
military assembly dscloses hardly a singl
name known in the records OF actual fghtin
before the American troops landed. The maker
Of trouble are the political suffers and scaver
gers Of the insurrection; men who were in 1t 10
selfish ends, and who have been perpetual
conspiring against each other and against every
body who sought the real good Of the people
II Is a most fortunate thing for the people q
Cuba that the conduct Of many such men ha
been exposed by the proposal to distribu'
S3,OO0.OO0 to the former soldiers Whether IN
| result was foreseen not, the proposal ha
: proved a remarkably successful stroke of polio
to put before the people of Cuba character PHI
: tograrhs of persons who have been most nois
and obtrusve in processing to seek indepel
: dence Some of these men. at all events, wi
be eliminated from Cuban affairs hereafter.