Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-14
THE CUBA
Has Shown Quick Adapta-
bility to Its Work.
MATTER OF SALARIES
MEMBERS PROMPTLY VOTED
THEM TO THEMSELVES.
Character of the Sessions of House and
Senate-Introductio of the
Caucus Principle.
MATTER OF SALARIES
,ial Correspondence of The Evening Star.

HAVANA, June 10, 1902.
Ell Congreso Cubano, the Cuban congress,
is in full function. 1t shows a quick adap
liability to it's work. The legislative wheel
of government moves as though 1t always
had been part of the machinery, though ac-
tually under the Spanish rule it was I'M
known.
The public is somewhat confused regard
ing the functions of congress. This is natu
raj ignorance, but it embarrases the men,
bers. Their constituents have great expec-
tations of what they do in their indi-
vidual capacity. but do not seem to recog-
nize that in their combined capacity they
are coordinate with the executive. 1 have
heard number of the senators and rep
resentatives complain that they were ex-
pected to be the instruments instead of
the equals of the executive department.
This is because everything is new and the
Cuban people are showing strong instinct
to sustain President Palma's administra
ton.
Voting Their Own Salaries.
One of the first things dom by the con-
gress was to fix its own pay. This followed
the voting Of an emergency credit to the
executive to meet current expenses until
the regular appropriations could be deter
men for their own pay is $500 monthly. A
few of them opposed the amount and a
smaller number opposed any payment in
the form of salaries claiming that the re-
public should be served out of pure patriot
ism. To this the retort was made that II
the congressman were to serve without pay,
so should other officials. and if this could
be DONE Cuba would furnish spectacle
unknown to the world, ancient or modern.
The country has received the action of
n nrOVidinP itself
with a growl Some of the representatives
and senators do not understand this. Said
one of them, 1T is necessary for us to
work in peace of mind for the good of the
republic. We could not do so if we did not
know that We are going to be paid. We
fixed moderate salaries for ourselves and
now that minds are tranquil we can
perform our function with proper serenity,
and we have very important labors to per-
form"
That this is not the view which the
ajority of the people take is a revelation
to the members of congress of how easy it
to become unpopular and of how hasty and
unjust public sentiment sometimes may be.
The salary itself is not extravagant. AS
there are twenty-four senators and sixty
three representatives, the payment of 5000
a year to each one of them, with the other
expenditures necessary for official reports
and similar incidents to legislation makes
the cost of the congress of Cuba about half
a million dollars annually
While their action in fixing their own
payment so promptly has not assured COM
plete tranquility of mind because OF the I'M
expected disposition of the public to cr1tl-
else, yet the members have buckled down
to their duties. Regular sessions of both
house and senate are now held nearly every
day and there are few absentees.
Meetings Of the Senate.
The senate chamber is in what is known
as the Segundo Cabo or Second Palace, and
adjoins the palace proper. Here is one in
stance where custom has been too strong
for republican simplicity. President Palma
wanted to change the name of his official
residence and office to The presidents house;
but it has been known so long as the palace,
that he was pOwerless to make the change,
and it is now called the presidents palace.
In the sa me way the meeting place of the
senate continues to be known by its old
name. The chamber in which the sessions
are held is a rectangular one, and has been
nicely fitted up. The senators have desks
arranged in rows, two rows on each side,
SO that they face one another. What is
known as the Mesa" that is the organi-
zation occupies a raised platform Vice
President EsteveZ fills the chair most of the
time He is assisted by two senators, who
act as secretaries, and through whose
hands pass all the official proceedings. I'm
like American Legislative bodies, the Latin
custom is to choose secretaries from among
the members, instead of having them sim
additional dignity to proceedings, and the
plan does work very well, both in the
ate and in the house.
In the senate chamber there is a reserved
gallery back of the presiding officer for the
members of the families and the special
friends of the senators. The public is ad-
mitted to seats at the other end of the hall.
Sometimes the sessions are lively, but thus
far they have been mostly dull because the
discussions have not called for oratory of
the highest class. The most dignified act Is
when formal vote is taken. Instead of a
mere roll call, an employe of the senate
goes among the senators with a large vase
or urn, in which they deposit their written
ballots
AS in the United States, usually it hap
pens that the secret private sessions
have greater interest for the public and are
reported more fully by the newspapers than
the open ones. What is known in the states
as executive session is called by the Ha-
vana newspapers extra Off cial." and they
label their accounts of what takes place
official and extra-officiai." the latter being
longer and full of interesting details.
The Secret Sessions.
When a fight was made against the con-
firmation Of Gonzalo Quesada as minister
to Washington several private sessions
were held which were fully reported The
senator's were very indignant. threatened
investigation to discover who leaked. also
threatened to discharge the employees and
even insinuated that perhaps it was a SEN
ator himself who had given out the news
with such circumstantial details. Then the
incident blew over. 1t was all very much
like an executive session of the United
States Senate and the solemn winks of the
senators at one another when they pretend
TO De grleved and SURPRISED at the publicity
given their proceedings. The Cuban senate
promises to be apt at imitation in this re-
spect.
While the consideration of nominations
by the president Is the chief occasion for
closing the doors the Cuban senate docs
not limit Itself to that one matter. Some
times 1T holds informal sessions and SOME
times regular private sessions without
much provocation This is whenever a
subject comes up concerning which the
senators are timid about and do not care
to nave their views given too much promi-
hshce Ihey nave not yet fully appre-
a talc = H.