Amador ledger., 1906-10-05
Washington
Letter.
(From Our Regular Correspondent.
Washington. D. G. Sept. %.

Events in Cuba have been moving,
but that does not imply improving.
Considerable gloom pervaded the
state department late this week as to
the outlook for Intervention. Natu-
rally officials Of the war and navy de-
partments were more or less pleased
with the propsect, as it would give
them chance to try some of their big
toys in the way of battleships and
long distance service rifles. Washing
ton has more or less side detached
during the Cuban negotiations by the
fact that Oyster Bay has been tele-
graphically linked up with Havana,
and president Roosevelt remained in
constant and close touch with Sec
rotary TAFT and Bacon. All of their
communications to the president we're
made direct, and it was only Incl
dentalIy that news of the negotiations
leaked into the state, war and navy
building. This news indicates, how.
not very much pleased with the situa-
ton. 1t appears that the Palma
government has absolutely declined
to back down to the extent of having
new elections held. The insurgents,
on the other hand, declare that no.
thing less than this will satisfy them.
The strength of the insurgent army
in the outlying provinces is variousIy
estimated, but as in case of the re-
volution against Spain, the probabili-
ties are that it is largely over es-
timated. Secretary Taft has been
confronted with feuds and personal
bitterness between the leaders of the
opposing factions, dating back to the
days of the Spanish occupation. He
has advised them both to abstain from
active hostIlities in the lingering hope
that some way out of the difficulty
may be found without the United
States being forced to actually land
troops.
lhe chances are that some such
middle way may be found, but both
parties have kept up very bold
front all during the past week, and it
may come to the point that both sides
will eventually agree to stand back
and allow tn United States for time
to administer the affairs of the island
without resort to the final ar bitrament
of fighting.
This country is in position now
to do pretty much as it pleases in the
way of armed force, although this is
the last thing that would be resort ted
to. The battleships Virginia, Louisi-
ana, Cleveland and Denver are all 10
Cuban waters, if not actually in Hav-
ana harbor, and these with the various
gunboats and cruisers now en- route,
would be able to throw into Havana
a force of 5000 men consisting of mar
ines and blue jackets without calling
on the land forces of the United
States at all.
The greatest fear expressed by
officials is that if the United States
once took the step of landing an
armed force, it would result in our
having to take possession of the is
land and might cause the leaders of
the insurrection to take to the brush
and leave US with the same sort of
situation on our hands that we had
for over three years in the Philip
pines. One thing in favor of the
United States, should such a coutin-
gency arise, would be that Cuba is
good deal smaller than the Philippine
Archipelago and could be pat1olled
coastwise by the navy to such an ex-
tent that the instruction would be
confined entirely to the interior, and
in all probability could soon be
stamped out. Moreover Cuba is
handler to us than the Philippines.
Such situation, however, would
entail great hardship on the inhabi-
tants and would check the industrial
advance which Cuba has so marveIl-
ously made in the past few years. 1t
was even suggested at the war depart
ment that in case of real armed inter-
vention on the part of this country it
would be necessary to establish re-
concentration camps, which we're the
very thing that brought such storm
of repTobation upon the Weyler
regime. OF course such camps, If
established, would not be the horrible
slaughter pens that Sensational sena-
tors and newspapers represented them
to be during the Spanish occupation,
and the people immured il such camp
would be we'll treated and fed and
enjoy everything except the liberty
of action; but the necessities of
guerilla warfare would in all pro-
liability make this step necessary.
Much has been made by the labor
unions of the presidents order for the
strict enforcement of an eight-hour
day on all work for the United States
government. This has been heralded
as a concession to union labor and
an indication that the administration
is badly worried over the outlook for
the coming campaign. AS matter of
fact, however, the eight-hour labor
law, about which such fuss has been
madej has been on the statute books