Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-07

one of the sweeping acts which afterward
! the military officials themselves looked
! upon as a mistake. Reasons Of policy for
babe their formal reinstatement by official
| order, but there never was a Sunday during
inc last year when anybody who so desired
| could not go to a cock fight within an
hours distance OF Havana.
| In the civic procession the day after Pre-
| ident Palma's inauguration the floats RON
resenting scenes from Cuban country life
had live game cocks as part Of the outfit
| This was pretty clear sign that the cottu-
| try people are going TO have their old sports
| back again. The DEGREES OF the American
| military government may not be revoked
| put In some sections the '1idios de galios''
| surely Will be revived. Americans will DO
| Wei not to deplore this as an evidence of a
| relapse into barbarism. An intelligent Gu
ban who is fanatical I'm his opposition to
| the sport tells me that IL will be less gem
eral than in former times but that IL Is
still almost the only amusement OF the
| country people"
Whether the lottery is 10 come hack or
not Is much graver question, for u really
| touches public morality and government
| polcy- III i were to hazard guess at this
time Il would be that the lottery VIII not
| come back TO Cuba as a national In
stitution. Certainly It will not come
| back with the approval OF the ac-
quieseence of President Palma. For a
thority l had heard preached various
| schemes Of a lottery. These suggestions al
most always came from Americans Incl
| dentaly remarked the presence OF several
| Americans who had been In Mexico last
| winter with a grand scheme for n Monte
| Carlo. which they called an amusement
enterprise. This only a few months
| after President Diaz had come down with
an iron heel on every gambling concern In
| Mexico. But those people had the hardi-
| hood to think that they could accomplish
| the same thing under a different guise.
NOV Ia. i.
| and some of them found tfrir way to Ha-
vana.
Movement for a Lottery.
Since the actual coming OF the republic
and some public agitation, or rather some
| efforts to feel the public sentiment regard
| ing the feasibility OF reyiving the LOTTERY.
| the local papers have noted the presence
of the policy king Of New York city, who
just stopped over for a few days in Havana.
Too much stress should not be given CO.
| medicines of this kind; but they recall the
| fact that wherever American officials have
| been trying to raise the standard Of public .
morality there also invariably appear Amer
| lean Adventures see king to debauch IT,
What real strength the movement for a
lottery may develop is yet to be determined
| by the influence which the government is 4
| able to exert against il. The scheme Is nut Q
| forth in many insidious forms. The most .
| attractive one is a proposition that the Gu I
| pan army, or the veterans they call \
| themselves, may De pald by means OF a
| national lottery. | asked OF the sup
| porters of this plan what progress IL was
| making. He defended the lottery as an in
stitution citing Mexico and other Lain
| countries, where 1t has the patronage OF
| the government He said that all Latin f,
| people would gamble and that 1t would be
| really statesmanlille TO recognize this gam
| bling propensity and make IL a legitimate .
| means of revenue to the state; but al the
| same time protecting the people by insuring
them an honest gamble.
hes oil
| especially interest me. but pressed him 20
know what progress the movement was
| making, for II is plain that such a move
ment does exist. He shook his head I'VE
can't do much.' he said ''since We were
| fools enough to elect Puritan president
with lot of fanatics in congress" | do
| not know who the fanatics in congress are,
but President Palma shows an austerity in
| public morals which perhaps justihes cali
ing him a Latin Puritan
II the scheme for lottery under The
patronage of the republic develops strength,
II VIII be due TO the form in which IL p
| proposed under the guise of paving the
army. Temporarily that subject is laid
| aside while the government seeks revenue
| for its immediate needs: but ii Is only a
temporary laying aside.
| One plan proposed to congress provided
| for national debt Of $4,000 600, OK wnich
foreigners were to be allowed to take two
thirds. The proposition contemplated debt
of S4ooooooo whatever the revision of the
army list should show the number Of
those who were entitled TO be paid This
would be a good plan to secure the reduce
| ton of the army list to a proper basis. be-
cause every Cuban veteran would fed that
| the fewer his comrades, the greater his
snare, and the fraud roll would be cut
down. But among the men who have tho
feeling of the tremendous responsibility
which is now upon them for putting the
republic of Cuba a sound basis and
establishing its credit no support is given
this notion OF S4o.o0o.oo0 debt. The vet
Grams criticise them for their vagueness and
evasiveness. 1t is necessary to be both
vague and eyasive until the supporters OF
the s4oooooco scheme learn that the Dor
rover never dictates the terms of loan
whether he be an individual a nation.
Revenues Keeping Up.
The revenues keeping up fairly well
They dropped during the holidays of in
auguration week and rose above the normal
in the following week. The month of May.
will show very good average of customs
receipts. June will be passable. But it is
in this month that the summer lapse In i'm
portations begins. Even under normal con-
ditlons there would be big drop, and this
summer the conditions will not be normal,
and the drop will be larger than usual.
President Palma and his cabinet are try
ing to make up budget for the congress
which will tell something of what is needed
after July i. They can figure this out
with some certainty, but they can't figure
out what is going to be the low-water mark
of the revenues The largest importer in
the island, who is a Spaniard, and who
pays more than 100000 duty every year,
compliments the administration of the GUS
toms service under the Cubans and says
it will move along smoothly, and that the
government will not be cheated. But he
does not pretend to guess how much the
falling off in importations Will be due to
the falling OF In consumption.
1t is given out now with frankness that
before the treaty embodying the Plat
amendment is formulated the reciprocity
of the United States will have to be nego-
tiated. Even If he were inclined to differ
ent course, President Palma would not be
able to secure the ratification of any Platt
amendment treaty with the United States
until the Cuban market in the United States
was determined That is the statement of
an existing fact 1t is pretty big fact, too.
CHARLES M PEPPER.
h