Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-03

ing that in the first six months Of the cal
endar year the number of school rooms
was increased from 635 to 1850. and the en-
rollment of scholars ran up from 1895 TO
1920.
He says that the pressure for education is
earnest and universal; that the appropria-
tions for this year for that purpose amount
to about $45OO,OOO; but as great as the de-
velopment has been, it will be impossible.
with the resources of the island for a long
time yet to come to fully meet the demand
for the learning so long withheld. The re-
port goes into details to the methods
adopted for the reformation of the old
school system and it's enlargement on Amer
lean lines. 1t also tells of how the chart
ties of the island have been brought into
systematic condition and the hospitals i'm
proved. With one exception there was not
a place in Cuba at the time of American
occupation to which patient could go with
any reasonable prospect of proper facilities
and care. The condition Of the insane was
particularly distressing. They were con-
fined in jails, filthy and ragged, and treated
literally like wild beasts. Now they have
all been gathered in one large insane asy
lum and are cared for according to the die
tateS of modern humanity.
Overlooking Prisons.
The prisons were filled to overlooking with
wretched creatures living in Understandable
filth and squalor; the women were obliged
to sleep on the floor, and were unable to
appear in a body, because they were with
out clothes to cover their nakedness. Many
Of these unfortunate inmates had never
been tried or convicted An American par
don board promptly released $40 prisoners
of this class. The prisons were cleaned out;
an inspection system established; youths
separated from adults the untried from the
convicted, and the lntolerable legal delay
in trials was put end to by the estab-
lishment of correctional courts for petty
offenses. An order has also been made pro.
viding for the writ Of habeas corpus, some
thing the Cubans are now quite unfamiliar
with. One Of the results Of these changes
is that many Of the prisons are now wholly
without inmates.
Other things accomplished in Cuba have
been in the direction of public works, the
erection of light houses, the revision of the
tariff the establishment Of an independent
treasury The revenues for the last fiscal
year amounted to SIT 100000, as against
81, 600 600 for the preceding six months. and
the revival Of industry continues. The to-
bacco crop is large and fine, the sugar cane
area is extended; the fruit production is in
creasing; the mines at Santiago are IN 1ull
operation, and labor is in demand at good
prices. Curiously enough, now that Span
ish sovereignty has departed, Spanish i'm
migration is setting In, and before tine end
of December $4,000 Spaniards will have
reached Cuba within the past year. Secre-
tary Root says they are useful and well
come additions to the industry of the is
land. In concluding his remarks as to
Cuba he says:
"Only doubt as to the stability Of the flu
ture government and uncertainty as to the
continuance Of a market for her products
retards the influx of capital and the de-
velopment Of Cuba's extraordinary re-
sources It is to be hoped the wise action
of the present constitutional convention
will speedily resolve these uncertainties
and establish the prosperity OF Cuba upon
g. firm foundation"
In Porto Rico.
In Porto Rico where the army controlled
I'D to the LIST of May, its principal function
was the improvement of the civil admin
istration, accustoming the people to the ex-
ercise Of the powers Of government. and
continuing the work Of relief made neces-
sary by the deplorable condition in which
the island had been left by the great hur-
ricane Since then the Geographic system
Of the island has been reconstructed by the
Signal Corps, census has been taken and
the system of taxation Strengthened out
The Secretary accepts as his own Gen. Da-
Wis statement as to the creditable manner
in which the army had discharged the trust
committed to it in Porto Rico, and he adds
an expression of grateful appreciation of
the devotion, judgment, good temper and
ability exhibited by Gen. Davis.
The report treats Alaskan conditions very
briefly, and the main point Of interest In
that connection is the recommendation that
a modest appropriation be made for the
relief Of the native EsquimauX, who are
aff11cteQ by q series OF Idtdl 6plQemlCS ana
are in danger Of determination. It is said
that several hundred white miners, unsuc-
cessful and impoverished, who might have
persisted during the arctic winter. were
brought home on government transports.
But the principle is bad one, and notice
is given that the War Department does not
intend to again furnish such transportation.
A complimentary reference is made in the
report to the development Of the splendid
transport service by the quartermaster's
department, 80 that the plans and specif1ca-
lions upon which the work was done have
been sought by the governments of Eng
land, France, Germany, Japan and Russia.
The health of the army is said to have
improved steadily since the close of the
Spanish war, and now that the Philippine
troops are garrisoned in good quarters, it is
hoped that the death rate from disease
will continue to fall, so that it will reach
Touching the Military Academy, Secre-
tary Root cordially indorses the recommen-
dations Of the superintendent Colonel Mills
as to the requirement of fuller prepara-
ton on the part Of candidate in the mat
ter Of study.
Army Reorganization.
The subject of army reorganization is
treated at some length, but most Of the
details have been touched upon in the let
er of Secretary Root transmitting the re-
organization bill to Congress. He says that
he military requirements in the Philippines
may be summed up as follows: For the
immediate future about $4,000 men. This
he gradual disappearance of real insured
ion, and the restoration of order, and by
he substitution OF native troops. costing