Evening star., 1909-03-04

have been and are being swept clean
Veterans of the war of independence,
with brilliant records of services for Cuba
all grades from the highest to the lowest; !;
many years of service-some dating from
the days Of Spanish sovereignty, very
many who have served under several
secretaries in the respective departments,
all have been turned out in a single day
in the manner described and in enormous
numbers, which in some cases included
the entire pay roll of the office.
Without any notice, without any prep
aratlon. Or, In other words, in open con-
tradiction with the declarations made in
this matter and even with agreements
made, there has been and is being carried
social alarm to the country, misfortune
to thousands of families, disquiet to the
stock market and confusion everywhere
The new government has broken the
record for the entire history of Cuba
and has caused the so-called war cabi-
net to shrink to almost nothing by com
parison, for the latter never performed "a
similar act. although it served as a motto
and pretext for the rising of August.
1oJ6: 1t has wiped out the memory Of the
greatest official sweeping out of office
that of the famous Romero Robledo.
These days. which we all call, and
which ought to be. patriotic days. are
painful and sad. Poor girls dismissed
from their work with which they aided
their old mothers, went weeping in the
street cars after receiving from the hands
of the doorkeepers the sinister slip of
paper; thousands of men We're suddenly
thrown into the street without time or
preparation to find place in the hard
struggle for existence: thousands of fam
lilies are suddenly without bread and
thousands of homes in despair-and this
in full holiday time-in the first days OF
the restoration of the common country
when with a generosity without limit.
everybody was disposed to forget-and
this done by the same men who, in a
similar case, launched into revolution and
overthrow the first republic.
Non-Patriotic Rule.
I'VE do not pretend to say that the
government should retain all OF the pres
ent officials nor even the majority of
them 1t was natural that there should
be changes in the higher offices and a
reorganization of subordinate personnel:
but we had the right, as Cubans and on
account of past experiences, to have at
least the national day respected: to have
agreements kept: to have account taken
of antecedents: TO have some respect paid
to the proprieties: to have time allowed
those who were to be dismissed in order
that they might find some way to make a
living; not to perform an act of outrage
as Is being done with unequaled blind
ness and lack of foresight.
GOV. Magoon. in a decree on this point.
provided that temporary employees should
remain in their positions until July l. For
what object? With the charitable and
humane object that knowing that they
were to lose their employment on that
date they might make preparations there
for.
THE Cuban government has been more
cruel with these humble Cubans than
the foreigner would have been; more than
this, it has stripped them of the protec-
ton which the foreigner gave them and
temporary and permanent employees have
been thrown into the ditch and into want
"All this. apart from what it contains
of injustice and violence, is. besides and
in the first place, a bad sign: it demon
strates that the government does not
consider itself u Cuban government, but
a party government and that it con
siders the administration, the country and
the government. indiscriminately, simply
as spoils of war. Not even has the righ,
been respected of every Cuban To feel in
these days the joy of the restoration OF
nationality and republican institutions
thrown down by the tempest OF violence
that was fomented by its enemies
with profound pain and with perturbeG
and sorrowful spirit. We write these lines
which are the faithful reflection and an
exact statement of public opinion