Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-10
HIS VIEWS
OF CUBANS
Gen. Breckenridge Returns
From the Island.
WHAT IS MOST NEEDED
Is an Election of a Constitutional Con-
venti0n to See What the People
are Capable OF Doing.
WHAT is MOST NEEDED

New York. April 1O-A dispatch to the
Herald from Washington says: General
Breckenridge. who has just returned from
an inspection trip in Cuba and Porto
Rico, in an interview says:
Sine the United States has been in
possession of Cubs the condition of the
island has naturally immeasurably i'm
proved. | have no idea that there is any
danger of an insurrection against the
United States. The minds of the people
at this moment are on the question of the
payment of the So, 000, coo to the Cuban in
surgents. After this has been settled,
they vii! devote themselves to q discus
sion of the kind of government Cuba shall
have after the American troops have
withdrawn. There will be no trouble
from the Cubans as a people during mill
tary occupation but I feel sure tina after
our troops are brought home there viii
be disturbances We are negotiating
about the matter of giving the self gov
eminent to Cuba right away.
What We ought to do the first thing is
to have an election by the people of a
convention to draft a constitution. If that
constitution is not satisfactory we can
set it aside. But we ought to find out
what the people are willing and able to
to do. AS it is, the island is governed by
American soldiers enforcing Spanish
N''S 49, "hS eio III q
ideas, the result being confusion. Our
constitution guarantees every man the
light to a fair trial by a jury of his peers
at the place where the crime shall have
been committed. An offender against the
law in Cuba has no such privileges. He
is examined by an official who represents
what migl be compared with our grand
jury and If his report is unfavorable, the
prisoner is brought here before a judge
for examination, who certifies him to an
appellate court. Six months have been
taken up in these operations. Besides the
prisoner may be sent for trial far from
the point where the crime was committed
Unrest pervades Cube because the
people have no voice in their government.
They know that the United States cannot
at present take the island, no matter how
much we would like to do so. l am con-
tident that if a vote were taken in Cuba
today on a proposition of annexation to
the United States it would be adopted by
Il vote of two to one. The Spanish element
prefers annexation and many of the
Cubans also, for they do not know after
the expiration of the United States rule
whether 5000 or 10. 600 former insurgents
will rule the island or whether they, tlt
people will.
II have served on the plains many
years, and l found the quickest way tt
unite people was by effecting promp
communication. Keep the provinces o
~ Puerto Principe and Santiago de CUBE
isolated retards their development. 1
under the terms Of the Foraker amend
ment a railroad cannot be built, thel
good reads should be built. We ar
pauperiZing the Cubans by giving then
rations. The construction of roads woult
permit their employment and would 500
make them self supporting. Further
more, the building of roads would result
in the return to circulation Of more thai
a million dollars which has been c%ollecte
in of taxes.
Gomez desires to he the Bolivar o
! Cuba and he knows that to be such tn
! island must be independent. He is tn
! Cuban army and his word is the unani
) NOUS wish of his subordinates. 1t may b
} accepted. therefore, that he will oppos
) with all his strength the annexation G
} the island to the United States. | do nc
believe tina he had under his flag durin
the insurrection 10000 men, PRACTICAL
all Of whom We're negroes.
The people of Porto Rico are niue
better situated from a climatic point {
view than are those Of Cuba, but 1t
evident that unless congress takes actor
: under which the products of the islam
may find a market in this country, thel
is great danger of starvation. The Port
Ricans are a. contented people and Gel
Henry is doing all he can to aid thel
= gain a livelihood by spending money l
nI,blic improvements"