Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-08
Revenues Are Drained by Exemptions of
Petty Island officials,
STMAsTERs TO COMPUTE LOSS INVOLVED
Practice Also General to Use Cancelled
Stamps Second Time.
ONLY SMALL FINE ATTACHED TO oFFfNst
American Director of Posts VIII Draft
Penal Code for Cubn, Putting
Postal system on Bus
iness Rasis.

HAVANA, June 7.--Major Rathbone, the
director of posts, has discovered an I'M
mense abuse OF the franking privilege
Every official in the island owns one. There
are about 300 persons in all who are using
the frank for personal communications and
those OF friends. The letters of alcaldes
and police captains in the various villages
are sent under franks in envelopes enclosing
franked envelopes for replies. The post
masters have been ordered to keep striH
record of the franked mails handled for
week and to estimate the loss to the revenue
in this way.
Many parties have been arrested in
Matanzas for refusing stamps and among
them are several prominent merchants. The
Spanish law provides for only small fine
in such cases, unless the offense is frequently
committed, and, consequently, there has
been no let-up in the practice under the new
regime.
Major Rathbone however has in hand a
draft of a postal penal code for Cuba similar
to that in force In the United States and as
soon as General Brooke has given his ap-
proval this will go into effect.
Appointment for Quesada.
Governor General Brooke issued orders
today appointing Senor Gonzales de Quesada
special commissioner for Cuba at Washing
ton, with a salary of $4,000.
Those who believe that the policy followed
by General Gomez is wise one, and they
include majority of the most prominent
Cubans in Havana. are much pleased with
this appointment. considering it a just re-
ward of years of faithful service. On the
other hand the former members CT the
military assembly and those who always op-
pose everything the government does, com
plain bitterly, saying the appointment was
an intended insult, on the ground they say
that Quesada is a traitor to the real inter-
ests Of the island which will not be safe
in his hands. They assert also that he is
an American in his ideas, holding views
which are not suited to Cuba.
General Gomez and his advisers held
conference today. The proceedings were
brief and OF no special Importance. He Is
still weak and suffering the effects of
long strain and worry. Senor Nolasco, his
secretary, says that General Gomez, though
he desires 20 visit San Domingo is even more
anxious to see the Cubans and the Spaniards
reccnciled and united with a view to pro-
motion of the political and commercial
prosperity of the island.
Gomez Condemns Lynching.
General Gomez refers to the lynchng of
Jose Labregat at San Antonio de Los Banos
by the Cubans as an outrage and declares
that If, in the days of his command, Cuban
soldiers had been implicated in such an
act, they would have been promptly hanged.
Ell Reconcentrado of Matanzas, in an
editorial today on the lynching of Labregat,
refers to 1t as an "act of civic valor and
Justice"
According to dispatch from CamaJuani,
the prolonged dry spell there, quite ex-
traordinary in the history of the district,
is causing great damage, and large part
of the province of Santa Clara Is suffer-
ing. A good deal of ground was prepared
during the spring for sugar cane cultivation,
but the cane could not be planted in many
instances. and in others large fields were
burned. 1t was impossible to bank the
earth around the sprouts, and consequently
the delayed tobacco still remains insult
fciently cured Nevertheless, the farmers
now feel safer, owing to the excellent rural
guard in the province and the increasing
activity in one or two branches of agricul-
ture is giving employment to a certain num-
ber of laborers.
AT a meeting of Havana merchants to-
day the project OF Collector Bliss to i'm
prove the Havana warehouses according to
plans designed by Sylvester Scovel was
unanimously approved. Collector Bliss had
expected some opposition. He had thought
the merchants might side with the lighter
men, fearing the subsequent building Of
docks. On the contrary, the merchants an
nounced their intentions of fighting the
lighters and asked the collector to include
docks in the total estimate, which win be
more than 100000.