The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-10
CUBA IS FACING RUIN
MONEY-LENDING SHARKS HOLD
 ISLAND BY THROAT.
Soldier Graft Rampant-Having Found It worked We'll Once, 1t Is Re- peated-PnIma Acquisces in Evasion of Platt
 Amendment.

Washington Post. i The Government of Cuba is drifting | rapidly toward serious embarrassment. | if not disaster. in recent financial leg islation the Cuban Congress ignored the Constitution of the Republic and paved tho way to violation of the Platt amend ment President Palma became party to tho disastrous policy, after feebly protesting against it. and yesterday the first steps were taken to carry 1t into effect
 The full force of the new policy may not be felt for several months, but if the Cuban Government persists in it's course it is inevitable that the United States will be compelled to call halt. 1 The State Department is fully informed of the situation. and Secretary Root may have sent a warning before this that Cuba is on dangerous ground. If he has done so, his hint has not had any perceptible effect. A weak and extravagant government. a hungry and swarming army of lib- eration," and rapacious American and foreign money sharks, using question:
 able, if not corrupt, methods in saddling debts upon Cuba, are the elements
 whose combined operations, if contin- ued, will result in intervention by the United States.
 Condition Was Foreseen.
 A state of affairs apprehended and partly foreseen by the United States Senate now exists. It was to preserve 1 the independence of Cuba that the Platt amendment was incorporated into | the Cuban Constitution, and also em- bodied in a treaty that Is now the su- preme law of both lands. Under au- thority of this treaty. the United States will sooner or later be forced to inter- pose to save Cuba from financial ruin. Unless such interpretation is made. there will be danger of intervention by for eign nations acting in behalf of cred itors, and the United States may be compelled to assume fiscal protector ate over Cuba, as it has over Santo Do-
 mingo.
 When the Cuban Government issued its $35, ,OOO, ,000 loan, of which $2S.500.000 was devoted to the payment of back pay to the mysterious horde designated | soldiers of the liberating army it was announced that this sum would be sui . | hcient to pay this army" in full for all claims. The bond issue was made under the terms of the Cuban Consti- | tuition and the Platt amendment, and IS thought to be perfectly valid. The hungry and swarming army got very little of the money, however, most or | the soldiers having disposed of their claims to foreign sharks at 20 to 30 cents on the dollar.
 Last year by some hocus pocus of high finance. said to have originated in the brain of American money lenders, it was discovered that the soldiers had not been paid in full The $2S,- 500 900 represented only 50 per cent. of their claims, it appeared They were entitled to $2s.500,000 more. This was A pretty stiff demand upon country that had only three or four millions of unallotted money in the treasury, and whose debt-contracting powers were handicapped by the Platt amendment. President Palma opposed another pro- posed loan, and insisted that the treas ury could not stand the strain. He said there was not enough money even to purchase uniforms for the rural guard. Buying Up the Claims.
 But the Presidential election was coming on and a big proportion of the voting population was compoced of the shadowy army of liberation" The money lenders were busy buying ur
 soldiers claims at few cents on the dollar. When they had corralled | enough of these claims to make Il
 worth while. they brought their ener'
 eies to bear upon the Cuban Congress
 1 urging the passage of a bill rrovidipp
 for new bond Issue.