THE CUBA REVIEW 



11 



a Cuban friend how the police of New 

 York would do things. 



" 'Ah, that would never do here,' he re- 

 plied with an expressive shrug of his 

 shoulders. 'If a policeman should strike 

 one of these people, he would be marked 

 for assassination, and all the police know 

 it, so that is why they are so kind. Up in 

 New York I am told you sometimes have 

 had what they call the Black Hand assas- 

 sinations. Yes? Well, that is what they 

 have down here, whenever a man is marked 

 for assassination. We must make our po- 

 lice correction fit the temperament of the 

 people.' 



"The consequence was," Major Wells 

 went on, "that the uproar of the struggling 

 crowds was deafening sometimes as the 

 police sought to keep back the throngs till 

 the body had passed. When a policeman 

 would gently push back a spectator, the 

 latter would set up a roar of anger which 

 would be taken up by all those near him." 



"Why, several times it seemed to me 

 that the crowd was as near to a riot as 

 that," and the Major snapped his fingers. 

 "Any such scenes at a funeral in the North 

 would be considered a public scandal, but 

 down there it is regarded as a natural thing. 



"I understand now how this namby 

 pamby attitude of the police breeds in the 

 masses a disregard for law and makes them 

 the easy prey for disgruntled politicians 

 who may desire to start a revolution to 

 help their political fortunes. A good firm 

 hand on the part else to prevent these 

 periodical outbreaks called revolutions." 

 — Brooklyn Eagle. 



ISLE OF PINES AND NANTUCKET 



A few days ago a person who has had 

 opportunities for quite wide observation 

 remarked that he wished the United States 

 could acquire the Isle of Pines. Of course, 

 that sentiment was badly expressed, because 

 the United States could acquire the Isle of 

 Pines if it wished to do so. The Isle of 

 Pines is a small island on the south coast 

 of Cuba, near the east end, off the province 

 of Pinar del Rio, and the people of the 

 little island, mostly Americans, are very 

 anxious that the island should be annexed 

 to the United States, and they have been 

 agitating the question more vigorously 

 than usual, until the Washington authori- 

 ties are weary of the thing and the officers 

 of the Cuban government are disgusted. 

 Commercially speaking, the people of the 

 Isle of Pines make out a very good case 

 for themselves, also, patriotically speaking, 

 because they are Americans, but the fact 

 that the Sui)reme Court of the United 

 States has decided that the Isle of Pines 

 belongs to Cuba prevents it from being ab- 

 sorbed by any such thing as "snap" legisla- 

 tion. We cannot understand why it re- 



quired a decision of the Supreme Court to 

 settle the question as to the sovereignty 

 over the Isle of Pines, inasmuch as it is a 

 small island close to the Cuban coast. An 

 important point is that Cuba does not wish 

 to sell the island, and all jingoes should 

 understand that even in the jingodom 

 there can be no reason for annexing or 

 taking the Isle of Pines by any such meth- 

 ods as the Panama strip was taken in the 

 Roosevelt administration. It would be just 

 as logical for England to seriously con- 

 sider or discuss the annexation of Nan- 

 tucket. — New Egland Grocer and Trades- 

 )nan, Boston, Mass. 



THE OWNERSHIP OF THE ISLE OF PINES 



The Americans in the Isle of Pines again 

 ask us to negotiate for its acquisition, and 

 we don't wonder that they do so. No great 

 patriotism can be developed by belonging 

 to Cuba. But this request is bitterly re- 

 sented in Cuba, and the demand is made 

 that the Cuban government should treat the 

 petitioners as guilty of treason. We under- 

 stand treason to mean the making of war 

 against the established government, which 

 they have not done. We cannot imagine 

 that if people in Maine or Michigan should 

 request that those States be annexed to 

 Canada any one would call it treason. At 

 worst it would be unpatriotic. — Independ- 

 ent (N. Y.) 



But an issue was made of the circum- 

 stance that a narrow salt water inlet sepa- 

 rates the smaller island from the Cuban 

 mainland. 



It is neither creditable to us, nor profit- 

 able, to have the status of the lovely little 

 island remain in doubt. If we have title to 

 it, whv not assert it? But we know well 

 enough that we have not, and, despite all 

 efforts of real estate boomers, speculators 

 and exploiters, this government should not 

 hesitate to make it clear, once for all, that 

 it belongs to Cuhz.—]V ashing ton (D. C.) 

 Herald. 



The New York Tribune finds the shoot- 

 ing of General Riva akin to the murder of 

 Rosenthal in New York City, because in 

 each case a gang of gamblers fostered by 

 a corrupt political ring resorted to murder 

 to prevent interference with their illicit 

 pursuits. 



It calls attention also to the fact that a 

 charge of "puritanism" will not lie against 

 Havana as it does against New York, the 

 former city being most tolerant and liberal, 

 but it still has no less trouble than New 

 York. 



Cuba has made more progress under our 

 helpful co-operation in fifteen years, than 

 that country made in a cycle of Spanish 

 misrule. — Lcwston (Mc.) Journal. 



