Vol. 61

Free Cuba

After four centuries of misrule in Cuba, Spain relinquished her claim to sovereignty in the island on New Year's Day. There was only as much ceremony as the necessities of the case required. CaptainGeneral Castellanos, at noon, in the hall of the Palace at Havana, in the names of the King and the Queen Regent, formally delivered possession of Cuba to General Wade as the head of the American Evacuation Commission under the terms of the protocol. General Wade in turn delivered the control of the island to General Brooke, lately appointed by the President to become Military Governor of the Division of Cuba. The flag of Spain was lowered from the Palace, Morro Castle, the Cabañas Fortress, and the public buildings, and instantly replaced by the Stars and Stripes. General Castellanos displayed sin cere and natural emotion. All the courtesies were scrupulously observed, and no unpleasant incident marred the solemn transfer of sovereignty. On the contrary, an informal incident is to be recorded, pleasant in itself and of hopeful meaning: Three Cuban Generals were present, and on being presented to them at his own request General Castellano said, "I am sorry, gentlemen, that we are enemies, being of the same blood;" General Menocal responded, "We fought only for Cuba, and now that she is free, we are no longer enemies.". There was no disturbance in Havana; the crowds in the streets were reasonably orderly although intensely enthusiastic; everywhere floated the flags of Cuba and the United States. General Ludlow's reply to the request of a Patriotic Committee to allow a six days' celebration of the great event was a sensible, friendly exposition of the inexpediency of such a celebration at this time. It was accepted in good part by the Cubans. Later, when order is absolutely secured, General Ludlow declares, the American authorities will be glad to further and participate in such a celebration. General Brooke has

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issued a proclamation assuring protection to the persons and property of all the inhabitants, and encouraging the resumption of agriculture, traffic, and commerce. The organization of the Havana police and sanitary forces is being pushed rapidly forward, and the military organization is being perfected in detail. The Cuban insurgent delegates to the United States have issued an appeal to the natives urging independence, not annexation, affirming that the separationist party in Cuba constitutes the vast majority of its citizens, and that the Cubans made war to secure this separation and subsequent independence. They resent the charge that the Cuban people are indolent and unable to govern themselves. Neither their resentment at this charge nor their stigmatizing as traitors those who are not in favor of independence carries much weight. The question of independence is one to be settled by the substantial citizens of Cuba after peace is fully restored, law and order are established, and the freedom of every man to express himself on the question of the island's future is absolutely secured.

Insurgents at Iloilo

The occupation of the city of Iloilo on the island of Panay by insurgent troops creates a situation requiring wise and careful management rather than one of critical seriousness. No doubt the Spanish officers desired to embarrass the United States by their sudden withdrawal of the Spanish forces from Iloilo to Mindanao when there were no American soldiers near enough to prevent the Filipinos from taking possession. Technically (the Philippines still being under the Spanish flag) the Spanish commandant had a right to act as he did, and we cannot scrutinize too closely the excuse of military necessity. The real object was to precipitate hostilities between the insurgents and Americans, if pos

sible; if not, then to create animosity between them, or at the least to force our Government to take immediately a decisive position as regards the insurgents. This last, how ever, may be in fact a desirable thing. The insurgents are reported to have committed little violence, and attempts at looting were summarily punished. General Miller, in command of two regiments and a battery, and under convoy of the Baltimore, reached the neighborhood of Iloilo two or three days after the insurgents had seized the city. His orders from General Otis to occupy the place did not contemplate the situation found to exist. Wisely and properly, General Miller refrained from aggressive steps and reported to his superior officer. General Otis, it is reported, has now sent an agent to the insurgents requesting them to allow our troops to occupy the city, but earnestly assuring them of the good will and friendly intentions of the United States toward the people of the Philippines. It is hoped that it will not be necessary to use force, and that the reported intention of the Filipinos to yield only after a serious assault will give way. The guns of the Baltimore command Iloilo, and if an attack cannot be avoided there is little doubt that our forces, although much outnumbered by the insurgents, are equal to the emergency. Aguinaldo, the so-called President of the Filipino Republic, has disappeared from the neighborhood of Manila; his absence makes the situation more difficult

of adjustment. The insurgent leaders have shown a disposition to refuse to release the Spanish prisoners held by them, as required by General Otis, alleging that hundreds of insurgents are still held as prisoners by Spain, and that the release of prisoners should be mutual. Iloilo is the next largest town to Manila in the Philippines, and is a commercial center for the important group of the Visaza Islands. Why an American expedition was not sent there at an earlier date is not certainly known; probably such a step might have seemed too much like an aggression on Spain while the treaty of peace was still under discussion. The interests of the insurgents are to be represented in Washington by a "junta " headed by Señor Agoncillo, who is already here, and including three commissioners now on their way. Señor Agoncillo's position, as stated to reporters, is that Spain had no rights in the Philippines to cede, that her authority has been practically non-existent for some time, and that the United States could only acquire

authority directly from the people of the Philippines. He adds:

What we ask is independence. What we have fought for and gained is independence by right. The American Government has not yet announced its policy, and until that is done we cannot definitely outline our action, except that in the mean time it will be for independence. What we may seek to do should the American Government decide to extend its authority is an entirely different matter, and does not enter into the question as now presented. It would be unwise for me to speak upon it now.

Railway Postal Rates

The hearings which are

now going on before the joint session of the Post-Office Committees at Washington relating to the payment of the railroads for carrying the mails have brought out much interesting information, and a good deal of adroit special pleading. Unfortunately, the worst of this special pleading has not come from railway officials, but from men in the Post-Office Department, and has been intended, not to help the Government which pays their salaries, but to help the railroads, from whom they are supposed to receive no pay. For instance, one postoffice official, in order to break down evidence that the Government pays the roads several times as high a rate as the express companies, declared that the post-office reports regarding the weight of the mail had for years been utterly misleading, and that the weight of the mails, instead of being about 600,000,000 pounds, as indicated by the receipts of the Department, was nearly 1,200,000,000 pounds. In support of this declaration he cited the fact that the city of Chicago alone furnished 75,000,000 pounds of mail; and argued that as Chicago furnished only one-sixteenth of the receipts, the total weight of the mails must be sixteen times 75,000,000 pounds. This argument ignored the fact, which everybody is familiar with, that a few publishing centers furnish nearly all the "second class " or newspaper mail, which yields scarcely any revenue. Chicago, in fact, furnishes more second-class matter than Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Boston, Baltimore, and St. Louis combined, and indefinitely more than all the rural districts of the country put together, though these cities and these districts furnish vastly more of the postal revenues. Somewhat similar though entirely honorable attempts were made by the officers of express companies to show that no trust should be placed upon the reports which these com

panies made for the census of 1890. The General Manager of the American Express Company, for example, showed that a subordinate official of his company had reported the weight of the express matter to be the total weight for which different railroads were paid, and that, as several railroads often carried the same package before it reached its destination, the weights were often entered several times. The corrections which he made reduced the average weight of packages to a little less than thirty pounds. Yet, even with this correction, inasmuch as the average payment made to the railroads is but sixteen cents for each package, the express companies are paying but six mills per pound, while the Government pays just ten times that sum. Inasmuch, however, as express matter is usually hauled only about one-third as far as mail matter, the advocates of the railroads, reversing their usual position, may claim that the short haul should pay only one-third as much as the long haul. If this be just, then the charge which the railroads make to the Government is only three times as great as they make to the express companies.

The visit of the Em. peror of Germany has awakened a good deal of discussion in Europe as to the probable future of Palestine. The London "Spectator" indulges in some speculation in regard to the destiny of that very interesting country-a country which presents great difficulties for the simple reason that Jerusalem is sacred, as the "Spectator" says, "to so many creeds and warring faiths." It is the holy place of all the Christian Churches-Protestant, Romanist, and Greek; it is sacred to the Jews, and it is sacred to the Mohammedans. The Turk is now in possession; but it seems highly improbable that he will be able to keep possession. When he goes, who will take his place? Up to this time Russia, France, and England have alone been interested in Syria; now Germany has entered the field. The success of the Zionist movement, which would make the Jews the holders of the Holy Land as the trustees for Europe, is one of the possibilities of the future; but there are very grave difficulties in the way of making it a reality. England does not want Syria; and, if the "Spectator" is to be believed, "would not take it as a gift." French influ

ence in the country has greatly declined; although at one time France was, from the standpoint of the Syrians, the greatest of European Powers. Russia has now taken her place, by the aid of intelligent consuls, monasteries, and schools; and if Russia wants Syria, in the end she will probably get it. The country is filled with Greek monasteries and with Russian pilgrims. That the Emperor of Germany is intent upon extending the sphere of German influence in Syria, and that many steps have been taken in that direction, has been made clear during the past few weeks to all who have studied the situation. The significant fact about all this speculation is the agreement, apparently, that Palestine is not likely to remain indefinitely in Turkish possession.

No public movement of Persecuting the Jews late years has been more odious in spirit or more contemptible in method than the anti-Semite agitation in Europe. The leaders of that movement have shown a lack of humanity and an indifference to the decencies of civilized life which seem like a survival of barbarism. This is especially true of the French anti-Jewish fanatics, led by men who have not hesitated to hint at a new St. Bartholomew's. What the haters of the Jews can do when they have their way has been shown in Algiers. The Mayor of that city, who is a fanatical anti-Semite, for the purpose of ridding the colony of its Jewish residents, has devised a system of irritating and offensive regulations. He compels the cafés frequented by Jews to close early; he limits Jewish cabmen to special stands; he has put Jewish shopkeepers under the most annoying regulations; and he has fitly crowned the device of his small-minded and mean-spirited persecution by a bit of childish malice which would seem incredible if it were not reported from trustworthy sources. has had photographers sent to the Jewish shops to take snap-shot portraits of the ladies who visit these shops as customers, and these portraits are to be hung in a public place! What has become of the French devotion to women, or of that courtesy with which the French have so long been credited, even by those who have not respected their political character? The world has outgrown the age when one race can entertain itself by sticking pins into another race. Such exhibitions are offensive to all right-minded people.

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