Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-08
THE NEW REPUBLIC
Cuba Seems to Be Making
Substantial Progress.
CASH RESERV E KEPT
PRESIDENT PALMA rs JEALoUsLY
GUARDING IT.
Foreigners Estimate Of the Capacity
Of the People for Self Govern
ment Greatly Increased.
CASH RESERVE KEPT
pspondence of The Evening Star.

Correspondence of The Evening Star.
HAVANA, November 4. 1902.
Stray notes are a good means to tell what
| goes on in Cuba. 1t is too soon for a full
| analysis of the new republic. Here and
| there a hint may be had of what is to come
| The Cuban congress is in session after
| short recess. President Palma's govern
ment has to work in harmony with 1t. On
| the whole, the congress is friendly to the
/ administration but Is still jealous of all its
| rights. SO the president takes care to
| study it in all that he wants to do. Like
| the Congress in another country not far
| away, sometimes 1t has whims. Yet 1t has
| a pretty good idea of its own functions and
| responsibilities.
| During the next two months the Cuban
congress will have to pass on the budget
which has been prepared by the president
| and his cabinet. Some Of the appropria-
| lions may involve minor questions of pol
icy, but as a whole the budget will go
| through Aside from this there are three
! great issues which must be settled TINS
winter. They are reciprocity with the
! United States, the placing of a national
| loan to pay off the army, and the making
effective of the vital clause of the Platt
! amendment. which is that relating to naval
| and coalng stations.
! These are all big questions, and must be
| taken up one at time. For the present
reciprocity centers in the United States
rather than in Cuba. The national loan Is
| near the basis ON which it may be taken
| up for final action by the congress. 1t Will
| be heard from soon. After that, but joined
| with 1t in sense, is the matter or naval
| stations.
| Cuba's Cash Reserve.
! The Cuban government is stable and solid
| on the threshold of meeting the great meas
ures of policy which are stated above and
f,,t,, hn
| sdvency rests in having a cash reserve.
| This reserve is somewhere between $1,000
| OOO and 81 $50 900 American gold. After
| the American military authority ceased 1t
| was found that more cash was turned over
| to the new. republic than was included in
| the first estimate. Every dollar of this has
| been boarded like a miser's treasure. The
| administration started out to run the gov
| eminent on current receipts. All appeals to
| touch the reserve were useless. So were
cartoons and jests. President Palma kept
! the cash box shut That is why not dol
| lar can be got from the government today
| unless the money is coming in to meet the
| obligation.
1t has been a most wise policy. The ex-
| istence of this reserve gives confidence, and
| that was the first need of the new govern
| ment. The success of the administration in
keeping the cash intact has strengthened
| the belief in it's ability to carry on the gov
eminent successfully.
The customs revenues, and that is about
all the island has in the way of Income,
| are substantially the same as during the
! latter part of the American control. Cuba
was down to the poverty line then and
| could not get much lower. That the re-
! ceipts have not dropped gives hope that
| they may increase. yet so many elements
| enter into the amount collected from the
| customs that a guess is not safe. Some
months they have been more than during
the same period of the American occupa-
| ton. Much is made of this When they
| frOn nothing is said of il
General Rus Rivera. the head Of the
| customs service, says on the whole the col
| lections average about the same. and he Is
| the best authority. They seem to give
promise that the Cuban government. for the
| ordinary expenses of administration. can
| get along with what comes in from the Gus
| toms revenues; but the proposed loan will
have to be based in some measure on inter-
| nal taxation. The municipalities of the
| island are not yet ali self-supporting, and
this also draws from the general revenues.
The Sanitary Standard Maintained.
Concerning health, it may be said justly
| that the Cuban government is keeping up
the standard set by Gen. Wood when he
| reorganized the whole sanitary system OF
| the island though in some places there has
been ground for complaint. 1t was said
that both Santiago and Cienfuegos were
falling behind, and the general government
| has taken notice of this charge and made
| provision for more thorough sanitation in
| those cities.
In Havana little change is to be noted
| since last spring. The tourists and like
| visitors, who see nothing but the Prado
| and the other leading thoroughfares, will
net be able to find anything wrong. They
| seldom go into the back streets and the
| by-ways. l have done this while the rainy
season is still on, and. while therefore the
| worst was to be seen. my conclusion is that
the sanitation Of the streets is kept UP
| about as well as during the American oc-
! cupation. We Dragged a good deal about
what we did toward cleansing Cuba. Now
| It is the Cubans' turn to brag about what
| they are doing to keep it cleansed. They
| throw bouquets to themselves just as the
| Americans tossed flowers to themselves.
| In the broader sense, which relates to In
| teTnational sanitation, the belief that Ha-
| vana can be kept free from future yellow
| fever epidemics has become almost a con-
| viction. The Cuban government Is keenly
| alive to the immense loss to it's commerce
| which would come from a yellow fever
! rDfd mic The past summer has been fully
as favorable to propagating yellow fever as
cases have been those which were brought
from Mexican ports, and they were isolated
and handled skillfully.
The Mosquito and Yellow Fever.
DIR. Finlay, who is the head Of the health
service, and who was the earnest advocate
of the mosquito theory. thinks experience
has shown that the mosquito is the sole
medium of transmitting the disease
| Have You Amy of These