The Winchester news. [volume] (Winchester, Ky.) 1908-19??, 1909-03-15

TdSSco WITHOUT serious Break Duh
Congress Manifests Desire to Fool
Away Time With Measures of RI
fling Import Wants to Restore
Cock and Bull Fights and Establish
Government Lottery.
Havana, March 15,-While the first
month in the life of the restored Gu
ban republic has not been one of
achievement, it has at least not been
marked by any untoward incident cal
culated to confirm the oft-repeated
prediction that the experiment of Gu
ban self-government was declined to
speedy failure. On the other hand, the
government of General Gomez haA
still to present assurances of it's abil-
ity to direct wisely and firmly the
destinies of the island.
The one fact which seems to be es-
tablished is that Cubans of all parties
are for the time being determined to
forget their political differences and
pull together so as to avoid as long
as possible what all dread-another
American Intervention.
At the close of the provisional gov
eminent one of the most prominent
American officials expressed the fear
that the Gomez administration would
collapse within three months, but he
added that if it survived that time it
probably would endure indefinitely.
For this fear there now appears no
warrant, for, apart from the mutter-
ings of displaced officeholders, there
is no evidence of dissatisfaction with
the new administration.
Only once has there been even the
faintest rumor of an uprising. This
was three weeks ago, when three dis
charged officials in Santiago de Cuba
were reported to have taken to the
woods. The rumor was untrue
Thus far the new congress has done
little, and this is one of the most dis
couraging features of the situation,
suggesting, as it does, repetition of
that inability to agree in legislative
matters which produced the deadlock
in the last Cuban congress, compelled
President Palma to legislate by de-
cree in violation of the constitution,
and finally precipitated the uprisings
in August, 1906, which were followed
by the Intervention of the United
States and the appointment of Mr..
Taft as provisional governor.
Should General Gomez find himself
forced into the unhappy position of
his predecessor, it is most probable
that he will not shrink from dealing
with the malcontents with all the Sc
verify the occasion demands and nip
any insurrectionary movement In the
bud.
A discouraging feature of the con-
gressional session has been the multi
plicity of trivial measures introduced.
Among these were bills to rescind the
military orders of the first interven-
ton against cockfghts and bullfghts;
to establish a national lottery; to
found orders of military merit, the
lucluDSIS VI WuiCD may wear a QSCO
ration in recognition of eminent ser
vices in war;" and to change the
name of the revenue cutter service to
that of the Cuban navy. The general
amnesty bill, which was signed by
General Gomez a few days ago, gave
liberty to hundreds of convicts
throughout the republic, all but the
perpetrators Of the most atrocious
crimes being included in its pro-
visions.
Another bill which was the subject
of much discussion and misunder-
standing was that introduced by Con-
gresham Arteaga, to restrain the fur
Their acquisition of real estate by for
eigners. 1t was assumed that the
purpose of the bill was to prohibit the
ownership by aliens not only Of real
estate, but of various other kinds of
property, and to compel the foreign
owners of more than four-fifths of the
sugar plantations Of the island to
accept Cuban citizenship or relinquish
their estates, but the bill served
merely to place on record the patri-
otto aspirations of few extremists,
for it was rejected.