12 



THE CUBA R E V 1 E W 



President Go.nez on Sep- 

 Gomez tember 2d sent General 

 and Monteagudo, now com- 



Mcnocal manding the armed forces 

 of Cuba, to General Men- 

 ocal, the general manager of the great 

 estate at Chaparra. and at the last election 

 the candidate of the Conservative Party 

 for President of Cuba, with a letter beg- 

 ging him to accept the nomination for 

 president in 1912. In the letter he was 

 told that he would have the president's 

 support in his campaign. The latter 

 further writes : 



"If you accept the nomination of the Conserva- 

 tive party, that party can go to the polls united 

 and filled with that enthusiasm which is inspired 

 by leaders such as you. who have the characteristics 

 required as a patriot and as a man ready to sus- 

 tain the Republic as one of your most sacred 

 ideals. 



"If you refuse, the Conservative party will 

 suffer an inevitable division, and the disintegra- 

 tion of the Liberal party will be greater. The 

 President that will then be elected will not be 

 the candidate of a party; he will not have the sup- 

 port of the Liberal party, if he is a Liberal, and 

 he will not have either that of the Conservative 

 party if he is a Conservative. He will be a 

 President elected by a minority and will not have 

 the necessary element behind him to govern the 

 country in accordance with democratic practices 

 and our constitutional regime." 



General Gomez ended his letter reiterat- 

 ing his intentions of not accepting a re- 

 nomination and also that he would be 

 strictly impartial at the coming elections. 



General Menocal's reply was in part as 

 follows : 



"The reading of your letter has made a deep 

 impression on me, despite my usual optimisni. 

 because of the dangers which you foresee for our 

 country. 



"It is to be lamented that the industrial de- 

 velopment of our country cannot run parallel with 

 the political normality, due as you say. to oppos- 

 ing personal interests which undoubtedly con- 

 tributes also by the lamentable lack of established 

 custom or education on the nart of a large element 

 of our people who should be able to exercise their 

 rights and fulfill their duties as citizens. 



"My previous declaration of not accepting for 

 a second time the nomination of the Conservative 

 party for President was produced after a long 

 meditation, and in insisting now on my former 

 statement, despite the reasons you advance, I do 

 not think that I draw one particle away from the 

 line of conduct I .ave always followed when try- 

 ing to serve my country. 



"Your joining in the request of my fellow partv 

 members causes my sincere acknowledgement, and 

 is proof evident of the patriotic ideas expressed 

 in your letter. 



"I hereby offer you mv co-operation and sym- 

 pathy in order to aid the Cubans in defending their 

 nationality, to tighten the bonds of peace and 

 order and respect for the laws." 



^^^y^ \ 



Another effort by the Conservative 

 Party to induce General Mario G. ^lenocal, 

 the manager of the Chaparra sugar estate, 

 to again be the presidential candidate of 

 the part}^ will soon be made. 



A huge excursion train is to be made 

 up, filled with conservatives, and sent on 

 to Chaparra to storm the general an'd over- 

 come his well-known objections. 



SeSor Alfredo Zay.\s 

 \"ice-President of Cuba 



It is said that President Gomez fears 

 the election of Vice-President Zayas as 

 president, who is his logical successor, 

 according to party agreement, as an event 

 which might mean the elimmation of the 

 }kliguelistas from Cuban office holding, 

 especially Gen. Monteagudo, now com- 

 manding the armed forces of Cuba, who a 

 year ago v/as accused by Zayas and others 

 of plotting their assassination. 



The Department of Public 

 The Works has been asked b\- 



" Alfonso XII" SecretSiTy of Sanitation and 

 Charities A'erona Suarez to 

 proceed at once with the removal b}' dy- 

 namite or in any other manner the hull 

 of the wrecked Spanish liner '"'Alfonso 

 XII" which lies sunken near the entrance 

 to the west of the port of Mariel on the 

 north coast in the province of Pinar del 

 Rio. It is an obstruction to ships of 

 large tonnage. 



The "Alfonso XII." was v/recked dur- 

 ing the Spanish-American War. She was 

 on her way to Havana during the blockade, 

 but could not enter this port on account 

 of the nearness of the American fleet. 

 She was sighted by an American warship 

 and chased. She fled to the harbor of 

 Mariel and just when her captain thought 

 she was safe she ran on the reefs at the 

 entrance. She has been dismantled and 

 onlv her iron bulk is now above water. 



Havana's mayor has vetoed a recent re- 

 solution of the city council placing a tax 

 on all unimproved property within the city 

 limits. 



The major takes the stand that the last 

 provisional go\ernment left in abeyance a 

 law providing the same kind of a tax and 

 that Congress is therefore the only body 

 having authority to alter its status. 



The Havana Chamber of Commerce 

 urges manufacturers to send exhibits to the 

 Bremen Exposition. 



