THE CUBA REVIEW And Bulletin. 



these hopes have nui been fulfilled, it is 

 undeniable that the Provisional overnment 

 and Washington arc in much better repute 

 with the Cuban than ever before. 



Rumors of uprisings have 



Who come from this and that 



the c[uarter, but as no oflicial in- 



Rcz-olutionists formation reached the palace 



Are. thy died down, only to spring 



up afresh another day. The 

 last bandits in Santa Clara pi;ovince re- 

 cently surrendered to the authorities, and the 

 province is now quiet. A few outlaws es- 

 caped from .the Bejuial jail and roamed 

 between Managua and San Antonio, in Hav- 

 ana province, but a few days ago surren- 

 dered. Almost the same fate has befallen 

 the band near Cienfuegos, the majority of 

 which surrendered, with only four men 

 remaining in the bush. The Mayari band 

 is almost exterminated, and the Niquerors 

 band surrendered on Oct. 23 on the promise 

 tl.at they would escape the death penalty. 



"The real bandits now,' El Alundo says, 

 "are those who in the cities are conspiring 

 against the Americans and s^jreading news 

 of lurl)ulence when no serious disorder ex- 

 ists in tile corntry." 



The Miguelistas also feel 

 Miguclistas dissatisfied with Governor 

 Dissatisfied Magoon's acceptance of the 

 ivith Agrarian League's sugges- 



Gov. tion for the appointment of 



Magoon. a commission to suggest 

 legislation for the economic 

 problems of Cuba, and declare that mem- 

 b;'rs of Congress should have been chosen 

 for such work. They also determined to 

 hold meetings to discuss further economic 

 measures, nnd asked the governor if he had 

 any objections to their holding such meet- 

 ing. The governor replied that he had no 

 objection, but that no official character 

 could be attached to their deliberations and 

 that he would be grateful for any help they 

 could give in solving government problems. 



PROTECTION TO CUBA'S GREAT AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS 



DEMANDED. 



THE agriculturists of Cuba have at last 

 got together and for the first time 

 have appealed to the government for 

 better protection to their interests. They 

 want closer trade relations with the United 

 States, almost free trade, in fact, to be se- 

 cured by a more favorable revision of the 

 reciprocity treaty. This gives them now a 

 20 per cent, advantage over other countries 

 exporting sugar to the United States, a 

 benefit which they complain they do not 

 receive but that the refiners profit alone by 

 the rebate. The Agrarian League has taken 

 the matter in hand and some weeks ago 

 they prepared a memorial and presented it 

 to Governor Magoon. In it they say they 

 suffer from the non-enforcement of laws, 

 from ineflficient railroad service, excess of 

 political agitation and lack of rural econo- 

 my. Everything is subordinated to politics. 

 There is money for sanitation, for water- 

 works, for sea walls, roads, etc., but noth- 

 ing for model farms, agricultural stations 

 or colleges. An immigration law and an 

 appropriation for agricultural stations were 

 secured near the close of the republic, but 

 •the law is a dead letter and the appropria- 

 tion never expended. A banking law for 

 proper credit operations was asked for 

 and likewise the establishment of an 

 agricultural bank, but without success. 



Rafael Fernandez de Castro, the president 

 of the Agrarian League, said : "Electoral 

 ■and municioal laws were not the important 

 "things most needed, but free trade with the 

 United States, to save the island from im- 

 pending ruin," which utterance created a 



great sensation. They petitioned Governor 

 Magoon to appoint a commission "to re- 

 port on laws in which changes are urgently 

 demanded by our critical economic condi- 

 tions and state of our agriculture." The 

 league represents nearly all the sugar plant- 

 ers of the island. On October 28 Governor 

 Magoon asked the lea<^ue to nominate men 

 who would be willing to serve on a com- 

 mission he purposed to appoint to consider 

 certain reforms. The league agreed to do 

 this witnout pay. 



The governor in reply to this offer said 

 the desire to work on the commission with- 

 out remuneration was highly creditable to 

 the organization, but that in all justice they 

 should receive the same compensation _ as 

 that allowed to members of the existing 

 law commission. 



The leafi'ue in reply to this refused the 

 offer of compensation, saying "their services 

 were offered free as they wished to set an 

 example in a country where office grabbing 

 is a curse on the people and whose budget 

 has been enormouslv increased on that ac- 

 count." The league will also defray the 

 office expenses of the commission. 



The president of the association selected 

 nine men who will form the agncultural 

 advisory commission and investigate all 

 complaints of exorbitant charges and invite 

 all Cubans to join the league. The nine 

 men chosen are as follows : Fernandez de 

 Castro, Gabriel Casuso, M. F. Cueivo, Leo- 

 pold de Sola. Eduardo Dolz, Claudia Men- 

 doza, Luis Galban. J. M. Espinosa and Luis 

 Marx. The last is an American. Galban is 

 a Spaniard, and the rest are Cubans. 



