THE AMERICANS IN SANTIAGO
A visit to Santiago should give relief to those suffering from "the
craven fear of being great," for there may be found much that is
encouraging. In this province of Cuba may be seen in full operation the
work which the Government of the United States has been impelled to
undertake, and here may be studied the character of the forces upon
which the people of the United States must rely in the work of
reconstruction now in progress. The machinery of government is running
with a fair degree of smoothness, and the men responsible for it, from
the humblest official to the capable commander of the province,
understand their business and are masters of the situation. It is a
striking illustration of the marvellous adaptability of the American
character. Every department of the public service is carrying on its
work; the only difference apparent to one so recently in parts of Cuba
still in possession of Spain being the absence of Spanish soldiers and
the more businesslike methods of the officials. The disagreeable smells
of the typical Cuban city are less pronounced in Santiago, and
whitewash, limewash, fresh paint, and all sorts of disinfectants have
deodorised the surrounding atmosphere and made the old town really
habitable. The streets are no longer used as sewers, and the unhappy
person who violates the law and escapes the lash of the Sanitary
Commissioner's whip is compelled to work on the streets for thirty days.
This official, Major George M. Barbour, with one hundred and twenty-five
men, dressed in spotless white, and thirty-two good United States
mule-teams and carts, having dug out from the streets of Santiago the
filth of ages, is now able to keep them absolutely clean. Every day by
the aid of that great disinfectant, petroleum, the garbage of the city
is burned. The work of sanitation is not confined to the streets, but
extends to the dwelling-houses, shops, and buildings of all kinds.
Indeed, the campaign against dirt and disease has been as sharp and hot
as the charge of San Juan Hill, and as productive of beneficial results.
The resistance on the part of the native population was even more
stubborn than that of the Spanish soldiers to our forces around
Santiago. The doors of houses had to be smashed in; people making sewers
of the thoroughfares were publicly horsewhipped in the streets of
Santiago; eminently respectable citizens were forcibly brought before
the commanding general and sentenced to aid in cleaning the streets they
were in the habit of defiling. The campaign has ended in the complete
surrender to the sanitary authorities, and the inhabitants of Santiago,
regardless of class, have had their first object-lesson in the new order
of things inaugurated by the war. Looking backward five months and
picturing Santiago in July, and comparing it with the more hopeful
condition existing on all sides at the present moment, it is easy to
discern the omens which point to the coming prosperity of the whole
Island under intelligent and honest government.
Besides the improved sanitary conditions, there are many other
indications of the good work of Major-General Leonard Wood and his
capable corps of assistants. Several important thoroughfares have been
repaved. All the public buildings have been thoroughly cleaned and put
in good order, the work even extending to the large opera house, which
is now ready for the opening performance under American auspices; for
General Wood believes in furnishing decent amusements for the soldiers
of his command. The law courts abolished when General Shafter took the
city have been re-organised, and it was the privilege of the author to
take part in the brief, simple ceremonies on December 1st, when in a
modest speech the American commander turned over the legal business of
the province to the judiciary and inaugurated the Supreme Court. This
Court was composed of carefully selected Cuban judges, the appointees
nominated wholly on account of legal attainments; the Bar Association of
the province having been consulted as to the character and
qualifications of the new judges. As the occasion of turning over the
judiciary of the province to the people was one of considerable moment,
a brief description may not be out of place. A committee selected by the
Court called at the palace on the morning of December 1st, and after
being presented to General Wood, escorted him to the Supreme Court
Building. The room in which the Supreme Court of Santiago holds its
sessions is one story up a rather rickety-looking stairway. It looks
more like a long, narrow store than a court-room. At the far end is the
bench where the Court sits. It was draped with scarlet cloth and the
chairs are of dark oak. The courtroom was filled by interested
spectators. General Wood appeared in a fatigue uniform, taking a
position in the centre of the group of jurists, under the canopy over
the seat of the Chief-Justice, and in a businesslike manner proceeded to
state the object of the gathering. He told those assembled they had met
for the purpose of starting up the judicial machinery of the province.
While the military authorities still retained the power to revise all
cases involving life and death, there was no disposition to interfere
with civil matters. Innumerable cases had been piling up during the five
months of military occupation, and it was time they were adjusted. He
hoped the gentlemen appointed to this, the highest Court in the
province, would prove equal to the trust.
"Your enemies who say the Cubans cannot govern themselves," said
General Wood, turning toward the Court, "will watch you critically,
and your friends hopefully. Above and beyond all, be honest in
your decisions, for absolute integrity must ever be the foundation
of a fair and impartial judiciary. I pray you do not follow the
example of those who have made the courts of Cuba a byword for
corruption. With sincere hope for your success in dealing with
these matters, and with assurance of all the assistance in my
power, I hereby reinstate the Judiciary of the Province of Santiago
de Cuba."
Then the Chief-Justice, a man of fifty-five or sixty, attired in a rich
black silk gown, with handsome white lace cuffs, arose, and in a few
graceful words accepted the responsibility in the spirit in which it was
tendered, and assuring General Wood of his fealty to the United States
Government during the military occupancy, made a profound bow, and the
ceremony was over. Two members of the Court then escorted General Wood
and the author, who was invited to represent the civil authorities of
the United States, to the top of the staircase, and with a cordial adieu
the Military went out and the Judiciary came in and was reinstated. In a
few moments the Court was in session.
"Let me walk back," said General Wood, and the waiting carriage was
dismissed.
Passing the city jail, General Wood exclaimed to the author, "Take a
look at the jail, and see the good work we are doing there." There were
no prisoners, and it was evident the building was being renovated for
some new and more inspiring purpose. There is no more practical man in
the military service of the United States to-day than Major-General
Leonard Wood. He is just the man to build up the city and the province
of Santiago.
Not only has the judiciary been reinstated, but also, in the same
manner, local government has been restored, and native mayors and
officials have been appointed; the only requirement being that persons
accepting such offices shall take the oath recognising the military
occupancy of the Island by the United States. They are in no way
committed to any future form of government. The wisdom of this action
cannot be doubted, and the moral effect upon the people of Cuba will be
far-reaching.[7]
In constant meetings between General Wood and the author, during the
former's recent brief visit to the United States, he informed me that
all arrangements have been completed for the spring elections of
Santiago. Thus the next movement is towards a system of local
self-government which the Cubans heretofore have never enjoyed.
The Spanish, when in possession of Cuba, assumed absolute control not
only of the judiciary, but also of the municipal government, the larger
portion of the taxes raised for municipal purposes being diverted, with
the other revenues, into channels which either led to Spain or into
Spanish pockets. It will be even a greater stroke of wisdom if these
taxes are hereafter used exclusively for local purposes, and, as far as
may be deemed practicable, collected and disbursed by properly
constituted local authorities.
[Illustration: CATHEDRAL STREET, SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY J. F. COONLEY, NASSAU, N. P.]
There could be no wiser expenditure of local revenue for several years
than upon the streets and sewers of the cities and towns of Cuba. For
years the money which should have been used for these purposes has been
drained away to Spain, and all local improvements shamefully neglected.
The rural districts of Santiago de Cuba have been so depleted that it
will be impossible to collect taxes over and above those needed for the
bare necessities of schools, for the poor, and possibly, in small sums,
for the improvement of sanitary conditions. The dawn of prosperity
should, however, be the signal for inaugurating systematic work on the
country roads. The province of Santiago de Cuba is similar in
geographical and geological structure to the island of Jamaica, where,
as is shown elsewhere in this volume, the good main and parochial roads
have been the principal stay of the population. In another chapter will
be found a brief history of the nearly two thousand miles of good roads
in Jamaica, together with an account of the expenditure thereon and cost
of keeping them in repair. The British Administration spends on an
average annually for roads in Jamaica about $500,000. Without
underestimating the strategical importance of a central railway from
east to west in Cuba the immediate returns to the population from good
roads would be far in excess of the more pretentious enterprise. The
money thus expended, whether from the general funds of the Island, or
from the local budgets, would come back a hundredfold, and make Santiago
one of the richest sugar-, coffee-, and fruit-growing districts of the
West Indies.
Santiago Province should be a profitable producing country for bananas.
It is good for the poorer classes to undertake the cultivation of this
fruit. The banana takes only fourteen months to grow and therefore,
unlike coffee and oranges, the cultivator does not have to wait several
years for the crop. All the capital in this business can be turned
quickly, and the banana can be planted near the hut of the small planter
and attended easily. Banes, Sigua, and Baracoa are good ports to export
them from. The Dumois family invested considerably in the business and
used to ship to the United States. This business is soon to be revived
on a much larger scale. The extension of good roads would largely
increase the possibilities of this industry in many parts of Santiago
Province. With quick transportation the market for bananas is rapidly
extending to Europe, while the United States market is only partially
supplied with this fruit and with oranges.
The internal, industrial, professional, licensing, and other
miscellaneous taxes have so far been remitted in this part of Cuba, but
the military authorities are now preparing to enforce them. In this
connection the author suggests that, now the customs tariff has been
disposed of,[8] an immediate scheme be prepared for levying and
collecting internal revenue taxes for the entire Island. The question of
separating these taxes from purely municipal taxes should also be
considered at the earliest possible moment, in order that no revenue
shall be lost.
Methods of local administration differ so greatly in different provinces
in Cuba that the wisdom of appointing a governor or commander for each
province is unquestioned. As much latitude as possible should be given
to these officials. The provincial governors should have power to decide
all questions appertaining to local matters, for the fewer the
references to Havana the sooner the people of Cuba will realise the
difference between Spanish possession and United States occupancy. For
military purposes, the government of the Island may be easily vested in
one central authority at Havana. For civil purposes, each province
should be made as absolutely independent as is possible, with general
supervision by the commander of the United States forces. The secret of
General Wood's success in Santiago is entirely due to the fact that he
has good judgment, the courage to use it, and full power in Santiago
Province to exercise both. The supervising power over the civil
department-commander should be made, as far as possible, advisory on
such matters as relate to the general welfare of all the people of the
Island, but all department questions should be scrupulously relegated to
the provincial governors. There will of course have to be some general
scheme inaugurated as to the collection and the expenditure of the
general revenue, but before this can be intelligently arranged it will
be necessary to designate what revenue shall be considered local, what,
if any, for the exclusive use of the department, and what may fairly be
regarded as revenue applicable for the general purpose of the whole
Island. In thus distributing the revenue, the greatest care should be
exercised not to hamper the provincial governor by an arbitrary division
of the purposes for which the money must be expended, until he has been
given ample opportunity to ascertain the needs of his department. A
country undergoing such changes as Cuba is, cannot be judged by ordinary
circumstances, and the most successful results will certainly be
obtained by giving the generals in command of the several provinces the
rein, and with the excellent example of the commander of Santiago before
them tell them to go and do likewise. Apportionments and divisions of
revenue will come later. The present emergency demands large sums for
sanitary purposes, for cleaning up cities, for fighting disease, for
renovating public buildings, for maintaining order, and for establishing
a decent, efficient administration of public affairs. These operations
must be done quickly and be planned chiefly by the judgment of the man
on the spot, acquainted with local conditions. The results of a free
hand are plainly visible in Santiago. The same policy must be followed
elsewhere, or summer will bring dangers from which the unacclimatised
population may well seek to escape.
As this is being written, the first difficulty has arisen at Santiago in
relation to the distribution of the customs revenue. The order of
General Brooke to send the customs receipts to Havana has met with
opposition. This is a natural result of the peculiar conditions existing
there, and no one can be blamed for it. For nearly five months no
municipal, internal, or local taxes have been collected; and with the
exception of about ten thousand dollars collected by Mr. Donaldson as
cemetery and meat taxes, the entire revenue of Santiago Province was
derived from customs dues. This money has been expended, as above shown,
by General Wood in cleaning up the city, in making new streets, in
renovating public buildings, in fighting disease, and in many other
ways, all with a view of benefiting the community. All this and much
more was justifiable in the emergency with which he was confronted.
Meanwhile the machinery for collecting local and other public dues was,
for various reasons, not put in motion until a few weeks ago. The taxes
from these sources rightfully belong to the municipality, and hereafter
will be expended thereon. The Spanish authorities collected all the
taxes, local and general, returning of the local taxes but a small
percentage to the municipalities. There is no intention on the part of
the military authorities of the United States in Cuba to use these local
taxes for other than local purposes, but it stands to reason that the
customs taxes must be collected by one central authority, equalised and
expended for the general welfare of the whole community. The ports of
Santiago Province, being practically the only ports in possession of the
United States, naturally used all moneys collected. January 1, 1899, all
other Cuban ports came into possession of the United States, and
Santiago becomes again part of the Island of Cuba, and as such is
entitled to equal, but not special consideration.
The people of Santiago have had over one hundred thousand dollars of
local taxes remitted, in consequence of the delay in getting the
tax-levying and tax-collecting machinery at work. This has been saved to
the community. All these taxes, being local, would have probably been
spent on local works or would at this time have been available for such
purposes. It is not the intention of the Government to have these sent
to Havana, nor does the order include them. New York might as well
demand that she be allowed to keep all the customs dues collected at
that port, or, more to the point, Havana. Over sixty per cent. of all
Cuba's customs dues are collected at Havana, but Havana will have to
pool her receipts, just as New York does, and take back such portion as
appropriations for public works as may hereafter be decided to be
rightfully her share. There is really no need for the people of
Santiago to get excited over the order, which is reasonable, just, and
in the line of fair government. On the contrary, the people should
rejoice to think they have had so much of the money expended in
improving the city, and that for several months they have practically
been relieved of local taxes.
The Custom-House at Santiago the author found to be under very capable
management. Mr. Walter A. Donaldson, who has had charge of the office,
has performed the rather difficult initiatory duties devolving upon him
with enthusiasm and ability. His knowledge of Spanish and his long
training in the customs service of the United States have enabled him to
recast the old Spanish methods and inaugurate the more businesslike
methods of our own custom-house without much friction; and as a result
we find to-day a complete organisation at Santiago, with branches at all
the other ports in the province, working efficiently and collecting the
revenue. While Mr. Donaldson has been able to dispense with about twenty
of the seventy employees, he has retained fifty of the Cuban and Spanish
already in the service, and with five United States officers is able to
collect the revenues expeditiously and administer the affairs of the
port with general satisfaction to the merchants and shippers of
Santiago.
Mr. Donaldson estimated, that at the end of December, the total
custom-house receipts in his entire district would aggregate in the
neighbourhood of four hundred thousand dollars. It is safe to say that
the collections in this port for the twelve months under American
administration will be twice the amount collected during the last twelve
months of Spanish control. As the rates of the tariff have been reduced
two-thirds this fact would seem to be a good sign alike for the interest
of American administration and the possibilities of a low tariff for
producing sufficient revenue. As is stated elsewhere in this volume, the
hope of sufficient revenue to manage the affairs of the Island is
largely--under greatly reduced taxation--based upon honest and
efficient collections. If it were otherwise, the natural consequence of
reducing the rates of duty by two-thirds (a measure which the President
of the United States has authorised) in a tariff capable of producing a
revenue of fifteen million dollars per annum, would mean a revenue of
five million dollars per annum. To accomplish this feat and still have
fifteen or even ten millions of revenue the future management of the
custom-houses in Cuba must be more businesslike and more honest. The
industrial importance of Santiago will be treated in the chapter on
Mines and Mining, the idea of this chapter being to give a glimpse of
some of the changes in this old city already brought about by American
military occupancy.