The Monticellonian., 1906-10-11
U. s. TROOPS. REACHED CUBA WITH 900 MEN
 ON BOARD. Rebels Slow in Disarming and Our Troops May Have to Garrison
 the Principal Towns.

Hayana.-The first contingent of | United States troops arrived here 0e. tober on board the transport Sum her. The ship went to Havana Cen. tral wharf and the 900 soldiers with their equipment were transported by | street cars to Camp Columbia under l the direction of Quartermaster Gen eral Baker. There they will camp in tents until the preparation of the bar racks is completed
 Governor Taft says that he has no intention of turning back any portion | Of the expedition of 5000 regular troops ordered to Cuba. He feels that | this number is needed as a precau. | ton against future trouble
 The disarmament of the rebels can. not be successfully completed until the volunteers organized by the Gu | ban government have been paid off, disarmed and disbanded That is the position that has been taken by vari- ons rebel commanders scattered throughout the island, who are
 
 arms until the volunteers organiza tions disappear. This is the only i'm 1 portant factor now retarding the otherwise rapid dispersal of the rebel l forces
 The disposition of the provisional government is to yield to this demand The volunteers would have been mus. tered out of service sooner but for the necessity of having some force in ad- dition to the police for the purpose of l guarding the towns. It Is related, however. that in many sections the presence of volunteers and the militia only acts as an irritant to the sur rendering rebels. The conduct of the volunteers toward their late oppo- nents is not always exemplary, and what seems most needed is the pres enee of sufficient force of United l States soldiers and marines to so thoroughly garrison every town that the volunteers can be rapidly dis- posed of and succeeded by capable and well-disciplined American soldiers. Until the towns are thus garrisoned il is not believed that pacification will be complete.
 While the provisional government is not insistent on getting in all the rebels guns, it is believed that most of these weapons would be surrend cred but for the presence of the vol unteers This attitude is apparent at all points where the revolutionists are in considerable force, but it is particularly so in southern Santa Clara, where the progress of disband ment has been very poor, and where the number of guns surrendered was ridiculously small, as compared with the number of men dispersed.
 Of 5000 rebels visited in the Pal myra district, only 150 surrendered their guns. The disarmament com mission spent much time in endeavor ing to find various dispersed bands but it is evident that many of the men have not yet returned to their homes, and that many are concealing their weapons All the men retained their horses, whether the animals were | tnelrS orSlnally or not.
 Gen. Guzman's big force is now comparatively disbanded, and the only visible weapons in the possession of the men are machetes They assert that these are the only weapons they ever had. It is estimated that from 5000 or 10000 rebels in the province of Santa Clara no more than a thou sand guns would be recovered The commissioners realize that it will re- quire another week to get all the arms that are surrendered and com plete the dispersal of the insurgents.
 At Hutuy, in the province of Puerto Principe, force of 400 insurgents commanded by Gen. Reynoso refused to surrender their guns while the vol unteers were permitted to retain their. Gen. Hernandez wired Gen. Funston that the volunteers must be disbanded before he could start in dis arming the rebels. This attitude on the part of the insurgents is directly contrary to the pledge Gen Guzman made to Gov. Taft At the outset of the disarmament movement GuZ. man, with the other leaders, agreed to lay down ther arms, making no statement that the government troops should do likewise, relying wholly upon Governor Tafts promise of pro- tection This obstacle to pacification tends more than any other toward a decision to employ American cavalry 10 complete the disbandment of the rebels.