17 



The Republic of Cuba 



DR. CRISTOBAL DE LA GUARDIA 



Secretary of Justice 



R. Cristobel de la Guardia 



did not come from strictly 

 conservative ranks, but his 

 never failing urbanity, his de- 

 lightfully broad-minded de- 

 mocracy, combined with rare 

 judicial qualities, have made 

 him a very popular Secretary of Justice. 



COL. JOSE R. VILLALON 



Secretary of Public Works 



INCE Spain departed from 

 the Island, fate has twice 

 decreed that Col. Jose R. 

 Villalon should be Secretary 

 of Public Works. Gen. Wood 

 first found him, and remarked: 

 "That man is a wonder of mar- 

 velously directed and persistent energy; if there is 

 another like him in Cuba, I have not met him." 

 Villalon graduated from Lehigh University in 

 the same class with Senator Root of New York. 

 He loves his profession as an engineer and did 

 not aspire to a Cabinet position. When the 

 psychological moment arrived, his life-long friend, 

 President Menocal, smiled at his refusal and 

 said: "Find me another competent and fit for 

 the position, and I may let you go." The other 

 was not found, and so Villalon is the head of a 

 Department that is doing things. If the money 

 could be found, the country's public works would 

 go ahead at aeroplane speed. 



