BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-06-09

estly or with more complete absence of
noise. ave started in," said Gen.
Wood in the speech from which we
have quoted, having no secrets of any
kind, shape or description. Everything
that was done was done there as an
open book. Under this open, friendly
policy, guided by the firm hand of Gen
Wood, the city of Santiago was trans
formed, almost as if b. magic, from an
unspeakably filthy and consequently
death breeding town, into one of the
c1eanest and hea1thiest in the world.
What he did in Santiago, Gen. Ludlow
began to do in Havana, and this was
carried to completion by Gen. Wood
when he became governor general Of
the entire island. What had been for
centuries the pest.hole of the world, be-
came within a few months modern,
civilized community, the streets of its
cities cleaned and kept clean, their SUR
faceslaid in granite and macadam and
asphalt, and underneath them the first
system of sewers constructed that they
had ever known. This Transformation
is too familiar to need recalling here.
The great fact that the scourge of yel-
low fever has been virtually abolished
from the world is of itself lasting
crown of honor for Gen. Ludlow, When
with this achievement is set down the
enormous progress in educating the
people to the point at which they were
capable of establishing self-government
and of beginning their career as free
republic with an established school sys-
TEN and all the modern machinery for
running that republic successfully, the
full magnitude of Gen. Woods services
begins to be apparent.
If ever a President showed sagacity
in selecting the right man for a task
Mckinley showed it when he picked
Leonard Wood for this work. He was
severely criticized when he began to
promote Wood to higher rank in the
army after the beginning of the Span
ish war, but he knew his man. He
knew that in 1886 and again in 1888
when Wood was merely surgeon in
the army, ranking as captain, he had
shown. the qualities of great leader
and commander in two campaigns
against the Indians, and he knew that
men of this quality were not easy to
find. Theodore Roosevelt had the same
clear perception of Woods quality when
in looking aboat for colonel of his
Rough Riders he asked President Nc
kin1ey to assign Wood to that place,
Roosevelt saying that he himself
lacked the military experience neces-
sary to enable him to fill it. His cour-
age, coolness and capacity in the bat
ties of the war in which the Rough
Riders were engaged fully justified
Woods rapid promotion first to major
general of volunteers, and next after
he had at the close of the war been
honorably discharged from the volunteer
service, to brigadier general of volun-
teers, and subsequently to major gen.
eral of volunteers. In advancing him
thus rapidly President Mckinley lifted
him above the heads of SOY officers in
line of promotion, but few of the critics
who found fault with him for doing
so at the time will venture to say to-
day that his act has not been fully
justified.
Repeatedly after his career in Cuba
as military governor he had revealed his
remarkable qualities as an administrator
Gen. Wood was tempted with offers
of a large salary to leave the army and
go into private business. He declined
them all without SO much as longing
look apparently. and he returns to
Washington now with the intention of
stepping back quietly into his rank in
the army and spending his life in its
service, fully content with the modest
compensation his country gives him.