Evening star., 1899-02-10
THE ADVISORY BOARD
Organization Deferred Until Mr.. Cur
It's Arrival.
OCCUPY WAR COMMISSIONS ROOMS
Preparing to Leave for Cuba and
Porto RICO.
GRANTING OF FRANCHISES

The President has appointed George NJ
Curtis of Iowa in pace of Lieutenant Col
onel Curtis Guild as one of the three ex-
perts to act as examiners In the War De-
partment and having to do with insular af
fairs. 1t was stated al the department af-
ter Colonel Guild had declined the position
that no other appoin ntment would be made
but Mr.. Curtis was appointed on the rec
ommendation of Senator Allison as thor
oughly competent and well-versed individ-
ual for the place
Rooms of the Board.
The board eppointed by the President to
investigate and report upon taxation fran
chises and concessions in Cuba and Porto
Rico is established in the Lemon building.
The handsomely equipped suite of rooms
they now occupy on the second floor VIII
be vacated today. and the board hereafter
will use the third-fioor suite, in which the
war investigating commission has been sit
ting.
Mr.. Curtis has not yet reported for duty,
but his colleagues, Messrs. Kennedy and
Watkins, were busy today with a number
of clerks classifying and filing applications
for franchis es and concessions and receiv-
ing personal calls in connection with these
matters
a competent Spanish-speaking clerk 10 act
as translator, and to complete its force of
clerks who will accompany the board in a
few days. The start for Cuba will be made
within a week or ten days.
The Scope of Inquiry.
The scope of their inquiry comprehends
all matters referred TO them by the Secre-
tary of War for investigation and recon-
mendation. Only subjects related to civic
a,ly
beard will not touch upon anything relat-
ing to the military. These include ques-
tons concerning the judiciary, the assess
ment and collection of taxes; the granting
Of patents, the sale gift of franchises,
grants, street car line concessions, electric
light and other municipal monopolies.
Upon all these the board will in due time
report to the Secretary of War, but they
have no power to do more than to formu-
late recommendations for the guidance of
the President and Secretary Ager.
Plans of the Hoard.
Gen. Kennedy of the board gave to
Star reporter today the following interview:
AT present we are called the advisory
board, but | believe that in time some more
suitable designation will be found. We are
expecting to be Joined at once by Mr.. Cur
tbs, the new appointee. and then we will or
ganize and perfect the details of our )rk.
We are hunting for a Spa ansh-speal1ing
clerk to act as translator, but We find it
hard to accomplish. l don't know how
large force of clerks viii accompany us.
The start will be made soon-within a week
or ten days. We will go direct to Havana
in order to avoid the sickly season. Then
we will visit every port, large city and
province on the island. We believe that
- HI a a civ Ire
doing this, and afteTward the same time
and care viii be spent in Porto Rico. We
have nothing to do with the Philippines as
the United States has not completed the oc-
cupation of those islands,
Many Applications for Concessions.
Very many applications have been re-
ferred to us by Secretary Alger and Assist
ant Secretary Meiklejohn, and not a few
calls have been made by applicants in per-
son. A few requests for grants of fran
chises and concessions are from American
syndicates, but the majority are from cor
porations already established on the is
land. Nothing will be done with any of
these until have gone over the ground
and carefully looked into the advantages or
disadvantages of each
Il believe that yellow fever will be Grad
icated from Cuba within five years. 1t is
now confined almost wholly to the large
cities. Already the work of sanitation and
/ Improvement in Santiago and Havana has
had wonderful ly beneficial results and the
death rate greatly decreased
Il am sure that in five years, excec}t for
occasional cases such as crop out now and
then IN our south, yellow fever and its
dreadful ravages will become little more
dreadful than a sorrowful recollection. In
ths meantime the cases will grow milder
in form. think there is a great outlook
for Cuba. as it is bound to become a health
full, self-sustaining and enterprising pos
session of the United States.''
The Smaller Islands.
General Kennedy added that so far moth
ing has been said to the board with refer
ence to investigations upon the small is
lands inluding the Isle of Pines that are
part of Cuba and Porto Rico. A number of
these are healthful and prosperous and
persons here lately from the Isle of Pines
spoke of II in glowing terms
REMOVING THE SNOW.