The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-03-27
CONDITIONS IN CUBA.

the burden Of Office and retired TO his cattle
ranch In Oriente, Enter a Cuban gentle
man Of thu old school and mar OF title
and property-a pompous, flssy, conse-
q%uential person with a card case. A man
Of standing, he Ia admitted to the presence
Of the Governor and delivers himself Of
the following address with a profound
bow and eItravaRant gestures;
Il cannot sufficiently utter my appreoia-
ton Of the noble Intervention Of the Amen-
can Government. II has prevented chaos
In Cuba; it has saved hfe and property and
permitted men like myself, who have so
much at stake, Ia leave our interests and
honor in your hands and go abroad without
misgivings, | did not expect 10 leave my
estate this year. ! thought that should
have to stand guard over my property
and pay blood money to preserve II, But
now | can he on 10 Paris, and remain there
at least unit. the army Of pacifcation Is
withdrawn and you, Governor, return to
the States, Then God only knows what
will happen. But | hope for the best;
although ! fear the worst,
Annexation is what we people Of
and position desire. There will never bca
stable government in Cuba IA long asthese
abominahle politicians make our glorious
country the pawn Of their ambitions. But
J am taking up your valuable time. Your
duty to stand between us and those brigands
monopolizes all your energies. ! could not
sail for New York until | called to pay my
respects and pronounce my tribute to the
unselhsh and powerful American Govern
ment. When | reach the States ! shall 60
straight to Washington, seek an audience
with President Roosevelt and thank him in
person. lie Is the greatest living states
man and a true friend Of Cuba, But does
he sec what the end must be? hope no.,
! may find language TO tell him. Thank
you for the audience. | extend to you the
assurance Of my distinguished considers-
ton
Exit the marquis, bland and complacent.
Great relief Of the Governor, who has
heard the same sentiments before and
found his cue Of indulgent attention and
conventional regard rather hard to follow.
He has interjected a few words of official
commonplace, and dismissed his visitor
with a smiling inclination OF the head, As
the door closes the Governor says some
thing under his breath and turns to his
papers with a irown on his usually impas-
sive features.
Scene ?. Again the Governors room.
Enter a Cuban politician Of enough promi-
hence TO be received. He is escorted by
the urbane military secretary, After some
hating comments upon the insuferable
conditions prevailing, the politician, q
swarthy man with a fierce air Of repressed
energy, plucks a paper from an inside
pocket Of his coat, looks suspioiously at the
door and says in a stage whisper:
your E1cellency, there is only one
thing to be done. l venture 10 tell you.
Here Ia list Of the enemies of Cuba. While
they live the liberties Of the country are
not safe. After all, the Spanish way was
the best in an emergency such as confronts
us now, Every man on this list ought to
be shot over at Cabaha."
In the blacklist was the visitors name,
by some blunder or foul treason Of the
compiler, a fellow conspirator presumably.
Whether the caller was as cold blooded
and ~ferocious as his mission implied will
never be known. 1t is doubtful IL the Gov
ernor was shocked or even surprised. One
gets used to any blood and thunder secret
pronunGamento in Havana, and the air
is full OF threats and dehances that etfer-
vesce and evaporate and pass from the
memory.
The monologists in the above scenes are
types OF Cubans in the flesh under the
present dispensation. The aristocrat was
representative OF men Of property who
take no part in affairs, derive large revenues
from their estates which are administered
by agents, and expect the American Govern
ment to stand guard over their interests
and in the end annex the island. Is their
point Of view so surprising when Estrada
Palma in his swan song uttered this senti-
ment:
Il have never feared to admit. nor am
l afraid to say aloud, that a political de-
pendence which assures us the fecund
Blooms Of liberty is a hundred times pref
cradle for our beloved Cuba TO a sovereign
and independent republic discredited and
made miserable by the .baneful action Of
periodic civil wars
The marquis-one title will serve a. we'll
as another-difers with the e1-Preaident
only as regards the application Of the senti-
ment and believes himself 10 be the moro
practical man. A debate between the two
upon the question, (Which would be better
for Cuba, an American proteotorate o.
annexation by the United States?' would
be interesting.
The politician with the property death
list, to treat him as a stage villain, belongs
10 the pestiierous class 80 cordially damned
by Spanish merchants, American import
ers and landowners and conservative Gu
bans themselves, chiefly white men. Most
Of these excellent Cubans. by the way,
remain in the background. with a righteous
contempt for the politicians who assume
to represent the Cuban people. The small
fry Of professional patriots, the fellows who
do the dirty work and take their pay in
graft, are a scurvy lot, as their kind is in
the States; but it is significant that few
Cubans Of the better class believe in the
genuineness Of the ideals proclaimed by
either Senator Zayas or General Jose Miguel
Gomez. who as leaders Of factions OF the
Liberal party now appear TO have the con-
for the Presidency between them.
There is unquestionably a genuine SEN
among the common people for in
dependence, even in Havana; in the coun-
try districts il is very strong; the blacker F,
a mans face the more rabid he feels about
it. This sentiment is overcast by a belief
among the more ignorant that the Admin