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

N0W
u,v.NA. Oct. 4.-Cuban politics il q
.t.htmare. a labyrinth, a tangle, a sub
Isr,ne cav~e-anything you like. II you
uni the situation clarified you a get
,-sn,v Qualifications by asking twenty
IsSsrent pel-ons. BY the expenditure Of a
TS,le more efor you "a get a hundred.
TA.n Von can put them all in M bottle
md shake them up. The result will be
Orecisely as Ineligible as any one Of them
aiken separately.
Which ia TO say that to get at the truth
.Aru, Cuba in Cuba from Cubans is a fasci-
..tlne and bewildering enterprise. The
,-th ia like a polo ball. Every q may
~. a crack at IL, but nobody may seize IL
Irnarently il il against the rules Of the
.me. There are, however. other persons
s.rs than Cubans, and some of them don't
mind holding the ball. They are just
spectators, not players.
From these and other sources it appears
aha, Cuban patriotism il a cave dwelier.
7, Ia hare. but il never comes to light, never
,.ses It's voice, never attempts to exert its
fable influence. Should il have strolled
dawn the Prado at any time since Cuba
beoame o nominal republic it would have
b.en kidnapped by some one Of the many
hands OF R~rafters that between them have
torn Cuba so wide open as to make a hole
that only Uncle Sam could fill. Pirates
had captured the ship Of state, had bat
tened the matches down upon the helpless
nassengers and we're cheerfully engaged in
.crttling the craft when American warships
aesred up and drove them on. The ship
ia very low in the water, but a good crew
IA aboard now and il is hoped she may be
ufely towed into port. What port she will
make does not yet appear.
Amid all the political chieftains that
have been wrecking Cuba Tomas Estrada
Palma presents a curious figure. He il
practically the only man among the hordes
d Cuban politicians against whom you
vii not hear the most shocking charges.
Auy Moderate will tell you that every
liberal IL a thief !and a ~buocaneer. Any
liberal will assure you with 10000 oaths
that svery Moderate is a %rufian, a robber
and a scoundrel-- except Palma.
Il sppears 10 be a fact that few States
have ever fallen into the hands Of such
an unpnnGpled lot Of paltry politicians
% have BEEN buffetiuG poor Cuba on every
ide. Graft that would make a Tammany
dieftain think his life a ghastly failure
b stamped all over the republics history
n d no use trying to single out the grafters.
The situation has been like the ~novelists'
sccounts Of ticklish Jobs for which the
Captains call for volunteers. All hands
volunteer. So they have in Cuba, and
because one set OF volunteers was &C
opted and another set turned down SecTe-
ary Taft now sits in the chair Of Weyler,
Wood and Palma trying to see how Cuba
un worry along hereafter without any
Of these dangerous volunteers.
Nobody can say whether President
Palma could have suppressed the graft
ing volunteers had he made a determined
s6or. Probably not. It is likely that
they would nave crushed him between
them. But at n rate he did not try
very long. The Government of Cuba
vs comparatively clean and able for a
year after Palma tool his seat. After
that the black horse cavalry of Cuba be-
gan its raids and the fact that the treasury
DOW holds 3l2 900 900 and that the palace
ail stands is due to the presence Of the
white warships that lie in the harbor of
havana.
Il il the consensus that Palma il a
weak but honest man. His honesty did
not avail 10 save Cuba from the con-
sequences Of his weakness. There can
be no doubt that he had a fine facility for
shutting his eyes. II he was honest why
did he shut them? Well, Estrada Palma
has felt the pinch Of poverty. Once elected
he made up his mind that he would never
again go back 10 school teaching. And
% be began 10 scheme for a reelection.
Had be been a big man, a strong man, a
neal statesman, he would have had a follow
ng Of his own, but he was a little man and
weak man and he could not build up a
powerful party
Therefore IL was essential to his reelec-
ton that be should cast in his lot with one
dthe two political bands that were striving
Tor the spoils: He elected to join hands
With the so-called Moderates. This politi-
cal nomenclature is misleading. for modera-
aon was unknown to the Moderates. The
Liberals, however, are well named. Their
Morality with the revenues was bounded
only by their opportunities. When these
see reduced to an intolerable minimum
oy the Moderates the Liberal chiefs took
to the tall timber and raised the flag Of
revolution.
II is but fair TO say, however, that open
rebellion did not come until the Palma
party bad practically forced it by a series
o. high handed frauds at the polls that
Nasger belief. These were not as fragrant
n their victims charged. They couldn't
oe. But there is no doubt in the minds
o. Secretary Taft and Assistant Secretary
nacon that h voters had no real oppor-
unity To register their opinions. All the
section machinery vas controlled by the
rama crowd, Of course, and what they
udto the Liberals on registration day and
section day appears to nave been a-plenty.
IN some districts the Moderate vote re-
"rned by the inspectors exceeded the
"'A population, men, women and children
Included. In others, some Of them fairly
pS"pulons towns, not one single vote for
'e Liberal ticket was recorded. Even
most Of the Havana Moderates will admit
. private that the election frauds were
,Tneepread and unjustifable. Whether the
LIBERALS would have won had their votes
cen cast and counted cannot he deter
tuhed' II seems probable. but no Anglo
"e1on can be absolutely certain.
Iha however, is beside the point. Things
%o come to such a pass that elections in
Vnos were a mockery and a farce. There
-N no real re~public-only a sort Of feudal
oisarchv.
ON The crueleet light upon the whole