Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-11
DEPENDING ON PEACE
Foreign investments in Cuba
Contingent on Tranquility.
SEVERAL PROJECTS IN VIEW
Public Improvements Planned by Col.
Black.
ROADS AND BRIDGES NEEDED
Appeals Made to the Central Govern
ment From All Parts of the Island
Municipal Initiative Lacking.
ROADS AND BRIDGES NEEDED
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.

Governor Magoon receives a large
number of delegations every day.
Formerly they were composed chiefly
of candidates for Office, leaders Of
the liberal party and generals of the
recent revolution demanding recogni-
ton. Nowadays, the governor tells me-
the larger number bring petitions for pub
lie improvements, such as the construction
of roads, bridges. waterworks, docks, the
improvement of harbOrs and other enter
prises of public utility, which are very
much needed and must be done and pail
for by the insuar government because
the provincial and municipal authorities
have neither power, nor jurisdiction, nor
money. AS has been stated several times
the Cuban congress neglected to enact any
laws to carry out the provisions Of the
constitution, hence no official of the gov
eminent has any definite powers or pre-
negatives or functions. Business is run
ming along just as 1t did under the mil
1tary government Of Gen: Wood before the
republic was established. For this rea-
son the people from every part Of the
island are compelled to appeal to the fed
eral government at Havana whenever
they want a road or bridge built and
whenever city wants waterworks 1t is
necessary to ask the central government
to build them. The municipal officials
have no authority to do so. This illus
trates the incapacity of the Cubans for
self-gorernment They are like a lot of
cnlidreh VINO need somebody to tell them
what to do.
The. city of Santa Clara. the capital Of
one of the central provinces of the island,
mas fairy godmother in the person Of
Cuban sugar planter. who left an estate
of S12,000.000 to be divided between her
self and two sisters when he died few
years ago. One of them Sonora Resale
Abreu has beautiful estate just outside
the city of Havana. She is an enthusiastic
adherent of the liberal party. and financed
no nnnt c~I-
dent admirer of Colonel Roosevelt and
has decorated the wall of one of her draw
ing rooms with a large picture of the
Rough Riders storming San Juan Hill.
Preferred Theater to Waterworks.
Sonora Marta Abreu resides in Paris
most of the time and seldom comes to
Santa Clara, where she owns most of the
city, and has large sugar estates and
cattle ranches in the neighborhood. She
takes a generous interest in the welfare
of the people. and has frequently con-
tributed from her large income to their
health and happiness Not long ago she
wanted to celebrate her saints day by
DONG something for the town, and offered
the citizens their choice between an opera
house and system of waterworks They
discussed the subject in private in the
cafes cafes ana IN public meetings for several
weeks, and finally voted to accept the
opera house, notwithstanding the fact that
the town has no water supply except from
clsterns and very unreliable wells and
just at this particular time the people are
paying cents a gallon for water which is
peddled through the streets in ox-carts
me theater was erected. 1t is the finest
In Cuba. and the facade is adorned with
the inscription. "Teatro de Carload"
Sonora Abreu then proposed to give the
city an electric light plant. A big building
win towering chimney was erected and
filled with extensive machinery but it will
not work. The contractors claim to have
left 1t in good shape. bat the city authori-
ueS appointed insurgent generals and poll
uclahi OF the liberal party to take charge
and their lack of knowledge and experience
does not permit them to produce light
Either they do not understand how to 0pe-
rate the machinery or the wires have be-
come grounded and will not carry the cur
rent. The pride of the insurgent generals
will not allow them to admit their inca
pacity; they will not send for experts to
teach them, and the machinery is now
standing idle While the town is going with
out lights
Santa Clara is the home of Jose Miguel
Gomez, the leader of the liberal party and
its candidate for president at the recent
elections. He was appointed governor of
the province by Gen. Brooke soon after the
evacuation of the Spaniards and organized
a political machine which would do credit
to the republican ring of PHILADELPHIA
This story also illustrates the incapacity
of the Cubans for self-government, and /
am told that conditions at Santa Clara are
not unusual in other parts of the island
Gov. Magoon is doing everything he can
to promote public improvements and Col
Black of the Engineer Corps is taking ND
work where he left off when he retired
from the department of public works with
the rest of the military government in 1872
Whatever the congress of Cuba NAV have
failed to do in the way of legislation. it was
certainly very liberal in money matters and
at its late session appropriated S13SOO $40
foc public works, including roads, bridges.
water works. school houses and other much
needed improvements.
Work of Col Black.
I've are undertaking these enterprises
as rapidly as possible said Col Black the
other day. They are mostly being con-
structed by contract. We are building auue-
ducts and reservoirs to supply water to sew
eral of the large towns and a number of
the smaller ones. because under the CEN
tralized system inherited from Spain that
is one of the functions of the general gov
eminent here in Cuba. Daring the military
occupation, before we retired in 1902 we in
augurated excellent school system and
started to build school houses all over the
island. but during the Palma administration
the building was stopped and the schools
ran down. We are beginning again We
have taken up the job where We left off,
and if they will give time enough we
will put things in pretty good shape before
the provisional government is recalled
THE construction of roads is the most
pressing need in Cuba. and we are building
them rapidly as possible. We started a
general system in all the provinces during
the military occupation at government eX-
pense, and got them pretty we'll under way
when we retired, but the Cubans have not
done much since, and they let some of the
most important roads run down. In
tropical country like this. where there is
such a heavy precipitation during the rainy
season, roads have to be kept in repair or
they will be washed away. Surveys were
made during the military occupation, and
we are now taking up the work where we
left off. If the President will give US time
enough we will supply Cuba with a splen-
did system of roads
I'VE are improving the principal harbors
too, continued Col. Black. "A great deal
is necessary on both the north and south
coasts The Spaniards did very little In the
way of narbor improvements and tie Cuhan
government did nothing Havana harbor
was half full of filth and debris Including
the wrecks of vessels that had been living
some of them for two hundred years with
out being removed. while the sewage Of
centuries has been settling on the bottom.
Our dredges are all busy and we are clean
ing off the bottom of the farbor as rapidly
as possible. You would be astonished to
see what our dredges haul up.
I'VE are preserving the old landmarks
much as possible" said Col Black,
land are restoring the ancient castles and
Notifications. The most picturesque castle
in Cuba, to my mind. is San Severino at