The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-28

ing enough; for II. after four years Of
undisturbed possession, the Cubans have
not learned to conduct redistribution OF
Official place, perquisite and emolunlent
without turmoil, b~loodshed, destruction
OF property and a total occultation OF
law and order, the s~ituation@nust be dis
h~earteniEg indeed. But the disclosures
in the case Of the insane asylum irresist-
IDLY suggest the suspicion that the cal
lous neglect discovered there may be
discoverable in the prisons, the hospitals
and all other public institutions which
help to express the humanity and the
moral sense OF government. .
We have not forgotten the various
items most prominent and urgent in the
Cuban indictment Of Spanish rule ten
years ago. Chief among these, and
most offensive to our national ideas, was
the tyranny Of the incommunicado Gus
tom in the case Of prisoners, and with
this went hand in hand the semi-bar-
barous denial Of the writ Of habeas cor
pus. A man arrested on whatsoever
caprice OF ignorance OF malice was
thrown into prison and held there for
two or three days without a hearing,
without an opportunity to consult his
friends or his attorneys, without even a
definite understanding Of the charge
upon which ne was imprisoned. That,
however, was only the beginning 81 his
martyrdom, but it served-as well it
might-to win American sympathy for
the Cubans and to bolster up their inter-
minable clamor as to Spanish cruelty.
1t is a fact, though, that two years after
the Cubans had been installed under our
protection the old Spanish method OF
treating prisoners was still observed by
them. Not only that, but no attempt had
been made to lberate or even inquire
into the cases of hundreds Of unhappy
captives then languishing behind 'bars,
neglected, actually unknown. General
j. p. SANGER, who took the census OF
Cuba under Secretary ALGER's initiative,
found men in prison concerning whom
there was no record whatsoever. Nobody
knew what crime had been alleged
against them They didn't know them
selves. In many cases the Oldest in
habltants were ignorant of their names,
their identity and their origin. The
situation had not changed in any i'm
portant respect or to any considerable
extent after two years Of the Cuban
regime. The incommunicado system
had not been disturbed. The writ OF
habeas corpus was still undreamed Of.
No American institution in the island
was 50 offensive to the Cubans as Major
PITCHERS police court, ordained N 1899
by General WILLIAM LUDLOW, Military
Governor Of Havana, and having for its
object the prompt hearing and dispo-
sition Of minor cases. II was continually
and bitterly denounced by the Cuban
newspapers and politicians, yet appar-
emily it performed no function save that
OF establishing the institutions Of human
liberty and individual prerogative, and
concurrently suppressing the very abuses
| Of which the so-called patriots had CON-
planned so vociferously.
Thus grises the question whether
Governor MACON intends to follow up
his exposure Of the inhuman treatment
Of the insane by further revelations in
respect Of criminals, real or alleged, and
all the rest Of the forlorn and friendless
classes whose treatment makes the meas
ure Of a governments righteousness and
morality. If this is what he intends, we
may safely postpone our opinion to the
conclusion Of his inquiry. II the dis
closure in question was a mere fash in
the pan and is to lead to nothing, we
must reconcile ourselves to an appraise.
ment OF the Cuban officeholder by thc
standard Of his voluminous assertions
and his behavior on appreciation.