Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-03
CUBA'S ELECTION LAW
Looking to the Officers to Be Sc
leCted.
MANY AMBITIOUS FOR SENATE
Next to That Comes Member
ship in the House.
THE GRAY EST DAN Ct f r

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
HAVANA May 80, 1901.
The palpitating question palpitates no
longer. With the acceptance of the Plat
amendment ends one period Of uncertainty,
but II hardly can be said that new era of
certainty begins Cuba is in for period of
politics and there is no help for It.
Within the next twelve months every am
bilious native will become a politician, and
those who have not already been fred with
the desire to hold office will find that pas
sion awakening. But the island will get
along fairly well In spite OF the political
turmoil Bigger crops will be harvested
next year than have been harvested this
year and the mass of the people will not be
turned aside from their ordinary pursuits.
With the business men II will be simply
question OF watching developments and of
adjustment to changing conditions. With
the producing classes in the country there
will be some interest IN the formation of
the new government. but 1t Will not take
them from the fields The country people
of Cuba will not fully realize their own
share in public affairs and their own power
for several years to come. In the towns
where 1t IS easier to form political clubs.
and where some of the workingmen's
guilds or trades unions have shown a dis
position 10 mix in politics. there Will be
more activity. 1t Is Inevitable that the
town population should take the leading
part IN political affairs for a while yet
Possibly the people of the United States
recall the main provisions of the cOnstitu-
ton under which Cuba is to work out her
destiny, but II is more probable that they
have forgotten what they once knew Of II
More than three months have elapsed since
the constitution proper was finished In
the meantime the relations with the United
States have filled the public mind to the
exclusion of everything else and quite
naturally. for they are OF more Importance
than the organic law of the island In 40
far as concerns the American Union. The
Cuban constitution, from the American
point OF view. Is a domestic affair. and no
more concerns the citizens OF the United
States than the constitution of one state
concerns those of another state; but in a
esting- and they will become more interest
Ing as the process of creating the new com
monwealth develops.
Drafting an Election Law
The convention has now to busy itself
with the drafting OF an election law under
which the organic law itself will be put
into effect. The making Of this law neces-
sarily Will bring out some OF the chief fea-
lures OF the constitution of the island gov
eminent that Is soon to be- The under
standing is that the first elections shall be
held under the provisions adopted by the
constitutional convention, rather than un-
der the regulations which were promul-
gated by the American military authorities
for the municipal elections This recalls
that the Cuban constitution provides for
universal suffrage. and that all Cubans
tweTty-one years of age will have a right
to vote, as well all Spanish-born in
habitants of the island who were in Cuba
previous to April, 1906. and who did not then
register as subjects of Spain. The Spanish