210 



CUBA. 



island, replaced the Spanish garrison when it was 

 withdrawn in December, 1898. The President of 

 the United States appointed a military Governor- 

 General at the head of the administration which 

 the United States undertook to carry on pending 

 the establishment by the Cubans of a settled 

 Government capable of fulfilling international 

 obligations. Major-Gen. John R. Brooke, the 

 first Governor-General, was succeeded, on Dec. 20, 



1899, by Brig.-Gen. Leonard Wood. On July 25, 



1900, the President of the United States directed 

 that a call be issued for the election of members 

 of a constitutional convention to frame a Con- 

 stitution for Cuba on such a basis as would in- 

 sure a stable, independent Government. By order 

 of the military Governor-General the election 

 took place on Sept. 15, 1900, and the convention 

 assembled at Havana on Nov. 5, 1900. Governor- 

 General Wood informed the delegates that it 

 was their duty to frame and adopt a Constitution 

 adequate to secure a stable, orderly, and free 

 Government, and to formulate the relations 

 which, in their opinion, ought to exist between 

 Cuba and the United States, after which the 

 Government of the United States would doubt- 

 less take such action as would lead to a final and 

 authoritative agreement between the people of 

 the two countries to the promotion of their com- 

 mon interests. The Constitution was completed 

 and adopted by the Convention on Feb. 11, 1901, 

 and was signed on Feb. 21, 1901. Conditions de- 

 manded by the President and Congress of the 

 United States were on June 12, by vote of the 

 convention, embodied in the Constitution. These 

 were that Cuba shall make no treaty which may 

 tend to place in jeopardy the independence of the 

 island or any portion thereof; that no loans shall 

 be issued unless a surplus of revenue is available 

 for the service of such obligations; that the 

 United States may intervene if it becomes neces- 

 sary for the preservation of Cuban independence 

 or for the protection of life and property; that 

 the acts of the United States military adminis- 

 tration were recognized as valid; that proper 

 hygienic measures must be taken to protect 

 public health ; that the question whether the 

 Isle of Pines belongs to the United States or to 

 Cuba should be reserved for future determina- 

 tion; and that coaling stations on the coast of 

 Cuba should be sold or leased to the United 

 States, the localities to be decided upon later. 

 The Constitution vests the legislative power in a 

 Congress consisting of a Senate of 36 members, 6 

 from each department, and a House of Repre- 

 sentatives having as many members as the pop- 

 ulation contains multiples of 25,000. Senators 

 are elected by the municipalities for six years, 

 one-third retiring every two years. Representa- 

 tives are elected in separate districts for four 

 years by universal adult male suffrage. The 

 executive power is committed to a President, 

 who, with the Vice-President, is elected for four 

 years by popular suffrage through colleges of 

 electors. Each voter ballots for only two-thirds 

 of the electors allotted to his department. Each 

 department has a Governor and an Assembly 

 elected by popular suffrage for three years. De- 

 partments and municipalities have a large meas- 

 ure of local self-government, with power to raise 

 revenues and contract loans. Municipal govern- 

 ment is carried on by a mayor and an elective 

 municipal council. Spaniards and other foreign- 

 ers residing in Cuba at the time of the adoption 

 of the Constitution may adopt Cuban citizenship 

 at their option, and so can all Cuban-born 

 children of foreigners on attaining their majority. 

 The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, 



of the press, and of religious worship. Prisoners 

 can not be detained longer than twenty-four 

 hours without judicial authority. The civil and 

 criminal laws can be framed and amended only 

 by Congress, which also has sole power to regu- 

 late railroads and telegraphs. Major-Gen. Leon- 

 ard Wood was military Governor-General at the 

 beginning of 1902. His civil Cabinet was com- 

 posed as follows: Secretary of Foreign Affairs 

 and of the Interior, Diego Tamayo; Secretary of 

 Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry, Perfecto 

 Lacoste; Secretary of Justice, Varela; Secretary 

 of Public Instruction, Varola; Secretary of Fi- 

 nance, Cancio; Secretary of Public Works, Villa- 

 Ion; Secretary of the Treasury, Roloff. The mili- 

 tary commandant of the Oriental Department, 

 with headquarters at Santiago, was Col. Samuel 

 M. Whitside. Gonzales de Quesada was Cuban 

 commissioner at Washington. 



Area and Population. The area of Cuba is 

 35,994 square miles. The population by the 

 census of Oct. 16, 1899, was 1,572,797. The area 

 and population of the provinces which now con- 

 stitute the departments of Cuba are shown in the 

 following table: 



In Havana province there were 187 inhabitant 

 to the square mile; in Matanzas, 58; in Santa 

 Clara, 47; in Pinar del Rio, 34; in Santiago, 32; 

 in Puerto Principe, 12. Of the total population 

 910,299, or 57.89 per cent., were native whites, 

 divided into 447,373 males and 462,926 females; 

 142,198, or 9.05 per cent., were foreign whites, 

 divided into 115,740 males and 26,458 females; 

 234,638, or 14.91 per cent., were negroes, divided 

 into 111,898 males and 122,740 females; 270,805, 

 or 17.21 per cent., were of mixed white and negro 

 blood, divided into 125,500 males and 145.305 

 females; 14,857, or 0.94 per cent., were Chinese, 

 divided into 14,694 males and 163 females. Of 

 the total population 815,205 were males and 757, 

 592 were females. The total number of colorec 

 inhabitants was 505,443; of whites and others 

 having no negro blood, 1,067,354. The tota 

 number of foreigners, white and colored, includ- 

 ing Chinese, was 172,535, of whom 129,240 were 

 Spanish, 12,953 African negroes, 6,444 Americana 

 1,968 Spanish Americans, 1,279 French, 731 Brit- 

 ish, 505 Italians, and 284 Germans. The number 

 of persons engaged in occupations was 622,330, ol 

 whom 299,197 followed agriculture, mining. <>r 

 fishing, 141,936 domestic service, 93,034 manu- 

 factures, 79,427 commerce and transportation, 

 and 8,736 the professions. The illiterates among 

 adult male white Cubans numbered 94,301, and 

 among the colored 78,279. Education has been 

 compulsory since 1880. 



Commerce and Production. There were 

 90.960 estates in Cuba in 1891, of the total esti- 

 mated value of $220,000,000, the annual rental 

 being estimated at $17,000,000. The total value 

 of imports in 1900 was $64,760,000, and of exports 

 $47,645,000. The imports from Cuba into the 

 United States were $31,371,704 in value, and ex- 

 ports from the United States to Cuba were $2(5,- 

 513,613. In 1901 the imports of Cuban produce 

 into the United States were $43.428,088, and Uni- 

 ted States exports to Cuba $25,964,801. The chief 



