Omaha daily bee., 1921-01-10
Erowder Is
Striving to
Save Cuba
Representative of the United
States Government Attempt
ing to Untangle Election
Snarl in Sister Republic.
{ Outcome Very Uncertain
By ARTHUR SEARS HENNING

OF revolution and fear of American
intervention pervading public and
private discussion in this city. Gen.
Enoch Crowder. u. 5. A., aboard the.
battleship Minnesota, is striving to
save Cuba from disaster. As the
general has only begun his labors
toward Strengthening out the pollti-
cal, financial and economic muddle
which has produced the most Sc
iious national crisis in the history
of the Cuban republic. and as lie IS
UP against :. tough job and a lot OF
volcanic Latin factionalism, any pre-
dcition of the outcome of his work
would be hazardous.
President Wilson's emissary ar
rived on Thursday, called on Presi-
dent Menocal and then returned to
lis battleship. where he has remain
.sG ever since, receiving chiefs Of fac
IONS and listening to their versions
of the trouble OF the island.
Saturday he received DIR. Alfredo
Zayas. former liberal but now the
conservative leader, who claims to
have been elected president on No
vember l, last. Today he, received
former President JOS Miguel
Gomez, the liberal party leader, who
likewise claims to have been elected
president.
Election Result Unknown.
Nobody knows who was elected
president, for the Menocal govern
Iaent which supported Zayas, is in
no hurry to count the votes, and
even ii the result was ascertained
it would be clouded with charges OF
fraud which have thrown the issue
into the courts and made it possible
there will be no president when
Menocal retires. May 20, next.
In that event the secretary OF
state becomes temporary president.
Also in that event, assert the liberals
there will be revolution, for Gomez
will consider himself justified in
taking by force, what he believes,
himself cheated of at the polls.
Gomez started the ill-fated revolu-
sion in 1917 which was snuffed out
by the American marines.
Gomez and the liberals generally
have welcomed General Crowder
unctously. They want America to
supervise the election of the Cuban
president. The conservative govern
ment aggregation views the Crowder
EMISSION with considerable GOODNESS.
president Menocal asserts the, cleo
ton was on the square and that the
vote is being canvassed with all rea-
sonable dispatch.
Friends in Washington.
His friends maintain that there
was no just reason for sending Cen
eral Crowder on warship to startle
the Cubsa5 out of their wits.
Come. lis credited with having
powerful friends in Washington,
among them being Acting Secretary
OF State Davis, who is regarded by
the conservatives as the chief author
of the Crowder mission. Davis lived
in Cuba a number of years and
waxed wealthy in financial opera
tions there.
When the judge advocate general
of the American army gets to pass
ing on what took place at the polls
il will be case of Crowder on
Crowder for it was Crowder who
came down here year ago at the
more or less voluntary request OF
the Menocal government and devised
what was heralded by the Wilson
administration as model election
law for our sister republic. IT. was
Going to wipe out and prevent all
election corruption and irregularity.
System Failure.
Gereal Crowder put in several
months at the Job with large corps
of assistants at cost of $500, 600 to
Cuba. Then the first time the Crow
der system was tried it broke down.
Probably nobody was more surprised
than Crowder at the way it worked
- out.
y The master piece of the Crowder
system was a provision that no per-
SON was to be allowed to vote un-
less he presented a registration GER
t;fcate. There was full and free reg
istration and the Crowder system
prematurely was pronounced a great
success. When the presidential
campaign got under way, however,
the liberals charged that somebody
with a big roll was buying election
certificates by the thousands from
the liberals, OF course resulting IN
the wholesale disfranchisement OF
liberals.
The government finally decreed
that duplicate certificates should be
issued to those who claimed the loss
of the originals. Now the liberals