The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
REVOLT WAS OF CUBAN CHIEFS
VEN m THE FIELD KNEW LITTLE
OF WHY THEY FOUGHT.
nigh Handed Methods OF the Palma Party
Forced the Crisis Liberals Thrown
Out or once in Their " Str0ngholds
-Freyrs AndrAde Held Responsible.

nut Of once In Their " gtr0ngh0lds
-Freyrs ADdrAde Held Responsible.
H.vASA. Oct. S.-What manner OF men
are thew who nave brought Cuba TO her
present humiliating posiioni With rare
n,csn,jons they are feudal chieftains who
Az business upon fifteenth century models.
zach ~ them has his own purely personal
following. dependent upon him always for
~nortical preferment and in most cases for
,,ho necessities Of life. These men have
r,,Ie notion OF any public motive save a
,snporary loyalty to their chiefs. 1t Is
NOT too much to say that ni~ne-tenths OF the
Liberal army had no reason for fighting,
o,cept that the word had gone forth from
their harons,
An ex-Rough Rider whom l found at
Rincon when the rebels there were being
dishandeA put it this way:
These boys took to the cactus TO hold
their ,ohs. They don't know why they are
6uhting. They only NOW that Betancourt,
castillo and Guerra have given the order.
They are laying down their arms now for
the same reason. IL In just like it Ia in the
States. All the heelers lay low till the boss
gives the tip, only here they use guns instead
Of votPs,'
Weak, small, vain and intolerant as
Of. President Palma may be, IL is a relief
10 turn to a consideration of his character,
after contemplating the men who have
been making Cuba the battle-ground on
which 10 decide their own personal quarrels.
Granted the personal honesty OF the eX-
President, you may hear all sorts OF titles
about his various failings. These were
.-.. AAI r-AaN and IF aiNNh n
character "a to prove beyond peradven-
ture that Cuba leaned upon a broken reed.
Palma's Incompetence as a Chief Magis-
trate is beyond a doubt.
Some Of the stories Of his weaknesses
are retailed by his enemies and some by
his friends. But nobody whose oppor-
,unities for observation have been good
denies his incompetence for the task he
undertook a task, it now appears, that
would nave strained the powers OF a pro-
found statesman and the most vital per-
sonality.
You will hear, for example, stories that
almost convince you that the fallen Presi-
dent could scarcely rave had more than
the most cursory familiarity with the Con-
~stitution under which ne was elected. At
all events, it is certain than on several
occasions he issued DEGREES whose pro-
visions we're totally at variance with that
Constitution. The Constitution provided for
example, a certain remuneration for the
militia. Palma put forth a decree that
they should not he paid; and there were
other DEGREES equally in direct conflict
with the Constitution.
OF THE PALMA PARTY.
After the President had seen that to be
reelected he must cast in his lot with one
of the two principal bands that were hold
ing up the island, and had chosen the
Moderates, he ceased to he a real P resident.
The machinery OF the Government passed
from his control. Immediately the Mod
crates began to eliminate from that ma
chinery all the Liberal ogs All over the
island. even in the Liberal strongholds, the
Offices were given to the Moderates even
when il was necessary to throw theLiberals
downstairs TO accomplish it.
It is declared. and it is generally be-
Ieved, that often in towns of from 5000
10 2O.OOO inhabitants when the Liberal
MAYORS and city councilmen had been re-
moved by Presidential decree there could
not be found in these towns enough Mod
crates of standing to fill the vacant places.
This did not stagger the Moderates. Not
@ bit Of it. They merely went TO neighbor-
ing towns and shipped a carload OF mayors
and councilmen where they would do Inc
most good. The Mayor Of Jiguani, for ex-
ample. would drive over every morning to
Bavamo, boss the town all day and go home
again at night. II was methods OF this
despotic character employed in almost
everv province and city in the island and
In all the departments OF the Government
that so enraged the opposition chiefs.
There we're no limits to this sort OF thing,
Even down to the humblest employees OF
tho Government, even TO the men who
-hovelled in the streets. the men who dld
the most mental labor in the Government
service, it was extended. Every mothers
son Of them was obliged TO declare his
fealty to the Moderate party and TO support
it by pecuniary contributions.
Things we're no better in the judiciary
than elsewhere. The Liberals will name
you six lawyers. all Of them owing fealty
10 the Palma outfit, not one Of whom has
lost A case in any Of the courts OF Cuba in
two years. There il on the court records a
case in which the presiding Justice declares
tina, although both the law and the COnsti-
tuition declare to a certain effect, yet since a
higher authority. namely. the Secretary Of
Justice. holds otherwise the Law and the
Constitution must stand aside. And stand
aside they did.
Under the system employed by the Mod.
crates the judiciary became merely a pliable
tool TO aid in the work OF carrying out the
nefarious proceedings i~naugurated with
reference to the removal OF opposition
Off Gals and the negation Of the laws con-
trolling the elections. Thus any appeal
on the part Of the victims became abso-
lutely useless.
NEEDED Avs NEVER PASSED.
But neither OF these two a~ggregations
can with reason accuse the other. In
several sections the Constitution Of the
republic oranges for the management OF
certain departments -as provided bylaw
Yet the laws thus called for have never
been passed. Both sides share the blame.
The Liberals did not pass the necessary
laws when they were In power in the national
legislature. nor did the Moderates after
they had sandbagged their way to a ma
jority.
President Palma. in his first message to
a. .nan I--la-Ml a-.zInktca1 lie