The Van Buren press., 1901-12-21
COMING CUBAN ELECTIONS.
Secretary Root Denies the Request Of the
Maso Partisans for a Postpone.
ment of Elections,


Washington, Dec. 17.-Secretarv
Root has addressed letter to Eide,
G. Pierra, the representative of the
Maso party in Cuba, who is at pres
ent in this city, denying his re-y
quest for postponement of the Gu
ban elections.
Secretary Roots letter, which is da-
ted December Is, is as follows:
"Sir:-The application for a post
ponement of the Cuban elections pre-
sented by you on Saturday, December
IA, in behalf of the supporters OF
Gen. Maso, as candidate for presi-
dent of Cuba, has been carefully con.
sidered. The effect of granting the
application would be to proiong
American occupation and postpone
the independence of Cuba and the
control of the island by the govern
ment of her own people. This ought
not to be done in the interest of any
candidate or without the most
weighty and substantial reasons. The
substance of the reasons which you
present is that the central board of
scrutiny, as now constituted, is COM
posed of gentlemen, none of whom is
in favor of Gen. Maso, and all of
whom are in favor of Gen. Palma,
and you declare that that board is
unfair and will be unfair in the per-
formance of its duties. The board
to which you refer was constituted
without reference to any candidate
and before any candidates had been
nominated. 1t consisted of the pres
ident and four of the distinguished
members of the constitutional con-
vention, elected by the people OF
Cuba to provide for the establish
ment of the new government. 1t had
the approval of the convention and
of the people whom the convention
represented. Since the board was
thus constituted candidates for the
presidency have been nominated, and
it happens that you and your friends
have nominated candidate who has
no adherent in the board. That fur
nshes no ground for turning the
board out of office or for postponing
the election machinery carefully pro-
vided by the representatives of the
Cuban people in convention assem-.
bled, and establishing new machinery
for the purpose of putting adherents
of your candidate into Office. If such
u course were adopted, new nomina-
tions would equally require new
postponements and rearrangements,
and an election might be indefinitely
postponed. II is false theory OF
official responsibility which assumes
that gentlemen placed in conspicu-
Gus positions of public trust will be
guilty of official malfeasance because
they may personally prefer one can
ddate rather than another.
"As TO the assertion that the cen
tral board of scrutiny has in fact
proved to be unfair, something be-
sides mere assertion is necessary. No
facts are stated by you to sustain
llio uSS'liiVh, 'N'NP' 'hh' ~" w
lcgc that an Illegal selection of del
egate to provincial board of can
vassers has been approved, but you
give no facts showing that this Sc
lection was illegal, and you state that
there was failure to post list OF
taxpayers, which the city council
ought to have posted on the 2sth OF
October. This was not the business
of the central board Of scrutiny. / am
informed, moreover, by cable from
Havana, that the list in question was
posted on the 30th of October The
single days delay could not have oc-
casioned you or your associates, the
slightest injury or inconvenience,
and an objection based upon it is, in
the highest degree, technical. While
] do not for moment suppose that
you intepded any such result, you
can not avoid the conviction that
your request calls on the United
States for that very interference with
the Cuban election which your asso-
cintcs have deprecated and which II
Is our duty and purpose to avoid.
"Your application must accordingly
be denied.
~ remain, with great respect,