Evening star., 1900-02-08
Governor Woods Task of Selecting a
Native Cabinet.
EDUCATED AND PATRIOTIC MEN
How the People intermingIe Soc iaI
With Political Affairs.
MRS. LUDLOw'S SUCCESS
Copyright, 1900. by J. n. whelpleyD
pecial Correspondence OF The Evening Star.

| Special Correspondence OF The Evening Star
HAVANA, Cuba, February J. 1890.
Gov. Wood had no more important task
| when he assumed the reIns of government
/ than the appointment of the civil cabinet
which was to represent the future as well
as the present government in Cuba by the
people of the island. The standing of the
| men in the cabinet in the Intellectual and
commercial life in Cuba was the first thing
| to be considered for they had to be men
whose intelligence the people acknowledged
and to whom they gave confidence and re-
| spect. They had to be men who would in
| splre the confidence of all classes, for 1t was
| the desire above all TO give an appearance
| OF stability to the new government To
| keep the fighting men of the Cuban inde-
| pendence party in line with the governor
| the cabinet had also to be composed of men
whose fidelity to the cause of Cuban liberty
| and whose patriotism was unouestfoned
The task was difficult, for Cuban politics
| even within the line are tumble of cllques
personal jealousies and bitter hstreds which
| extehd not only to men who are in opposi-
tlon, but which prevails ofttimes between
the leaders of the same division of thought
| Inc Cuban is goverened more by his heart
than his head That is one reason Why the
| women of Cuba possess such a strong inftu-
| ence IN grave political affairs.
Social and Political.
The political salon is not unknown I'm
Cuba, for the Cubans are a people who
| intermingle the social with the political
| Gen. Ludlow, with an unusual appreciation
| OF this condition on the part of a military
man, and aided by a charming and diplo-
matte wife, has made a feature of his of-
/ nciai receptions. They are brilliant and en-
1oyable, and to them are due part of the
good Will which exists toward the United
States in the minds OF the most Intelligent
ana most influential men and women of
CUBA. An army officer who has occupied
an important diplomatic position in Havana
ever since peace was declared remarked not
lohg ago that these social efforts on the
part OF Gen Ludlow and his wife had done
nearly as much to bring peace and harmony
10 the Cuban situation as had all the clos
eted consideration of the matter by those
who formulated the official policies. Al
these receptions the parlors of the official
residence Of Gen. Ludlow are crowded with
the representative people of Havana. a ma
jority of whom are Cubans
In dealing with a Spanish-American neo-
PIE many questions must assume great
prominence which are not taken into con-
siderauon by the Anglo-SaXon in shapine
tne destinies of his country, and far above
all others stands this matter of the social
side to all political situations There has
oeen no e1ort or apparent purpose in thus
cultlvatlng the social graces while dealing
with the grave matter of the political
future of million and half of peonle
1t mas simply been needed recoenition
OF the social power in Cuba, and has re-
uth
would otherwise have remained strangers
and possibly become more and more an
,ag3nistlc, to the detriment of final results
In the great experiment which is being tried
on thls War-wrecked island.
Educated officials.
Rivera, the secretary of agriculture and
Vfllalon, secretary of public works. speak
English fiuently, the latter as well as ao
American, as he was educated in the J'rited
States. The other members of the cabinet
understand English quite well, some Of
them speaking it little but all are very
Iafniilar with the American political and
social institutions. Senor Narona the seq
retary OF finance and a well-known author
or serious literature, is very familiar with
English and American writings in fact
Iar more so than the average well-educated
American.
Under the Spanish autonomist r,,Ia ,ba
secretaries of the cabinet received 5000 a
year in Spanish gold. The secretaries nm
der the American rule receive 5000 a wear
In American money. The cabinet as a
whole was sworn into office January by
the presiding judge OF the supreme court
and the secretaries are now at work or
ganiZing their various departments and
1amlIarizing themselves with their duties
and limitations, the latter being almost
as important as the former.
Intensely Cubnn.
glance at the biographical history of
the individuals composing the cabinet i'm
presses one fact very strongly, and that is
the intense Cuban complexion of the body
as whole. Every one of these men is an
ardent supporter and believer in the future
independence of Cuba They are all iden-
tilted with the struggle for that independ-
ence in the past and all have implicit faith
In the ability of the Cuban people to man
age their own affairs They recognize the
necessity of American assistance in the
earlier stages, but they all believe il will
not be long before the Americans can with
draw entirely from the island, leaving the
CubanS to carry on the work on the lines
laid down by the representatives of the
only successful republic in the world. Just
how far their optimism is justified is an
other question, but the civil government
of Cuba now inaugurated by the Ameri-
can governor is bne of Cuban independence
and no charge can successfully stand
against the American administration that
the autocratic power conferred upon the
American representatives has in any way
been used to bring the annexationists Into
control of the local situation. There is
apparently every intention of giving to the
Cubans what was promised, a fair chance
to prove themselves capable of self-gov-
ernment. The fighting element of the
Cuban party of independence Is not given
control of the political situation, although
1t is represented in the cabinet. The con-
troll has been given rather into the hands
of the best educated and the most substan-
tia1 men available