ported sugar, to sell refined sugar at less than 5 cents per pound. From this fact has arisen on the one hand a demand that Cuban sugar should be admitted free, and, on the other hand, a strong opposition to any lowering of tariff duties whatever. For the manufacturers of beet sugar are naturally desirous of retaining their present strategic advantage over the sugar trust; and in this they are backed by the beet sugar producers who see larger and further profits accruing to them. The sugar trust wishes to have the price of raw sugar reduced so as to prevent the beet sugar manufacturers from underselling it, and so capturing a part of its trade. The sugar trust has no objection to the domestic production of raw beet sugar, but it does object to the refining of the sugar by independent companies. Of the total amount of refined sugar amounting to 2,178,615 tons consumed in the United States in 1900, 67.3 per cent. was manufactured by the sugar trust, 28.7 per cent. by independent refineries, 9 per cent. by foreign refineries, and 3.1 per cent. by the sugar beet factories. To increase their relative proportions of the total amount of sugar refined, the beet sugar men oppose the lowering of Cuban tariffs, while the sugar trust advocates it. The arguments of the beet sugar interests were virtually as follows: It was alleged, first, that free trade with Cuba would not reduce the price of sugar in the United States, as the sugar trust would maintain the price and pocket the difference; second, that the increase in domestic beet sugar production had at present no appreciable limit, but that a limit would be arbitrarily placed upon it if Cuban sugar was admitted free, or if the sugar tariff were greatly reduced; third, that a large and unnecessary loss of revenue to the United States treasury would be caused by reducing the tariff; fourth, that the United States had already done enough and to spare in behalf of Cuba, and that its first duty in the present case was to its own producers, according them full protection as had been done in the case of all other domestic industries, especially in their experimental and developing stage. The trust argued, on the other hand, that free imports of Cuban sugar would greatly increase sugar consumption in the United States by lowering prices, and that this would not only be of advantage to the great body of consumers, but would materially aid such industries as the fruit preserving and confectionery interests; second, that the beet sugar producers and manufacturers were in no need of protection, as was shown by their own statements, and by the known facts of the cost of beet sugar production; third, that by lowered sugar tariffs, exports to Cuba would be greatly stimulated, and investors in Cuba would be enabled with the returning prosperity of the island to make large returns on capital invested.

Cuba's Need of a Sugar Market. That the conflicting arguments and interests noted above would be largely instrumental in determining Congress as to what should or what should not be done for Cuba's sugar industry was hardly gainsaid. But these arguments and interests, based primarily on profits desired by rival industrial organizations, and only incidentally upon the necessities of Cuba, did not appeal to the public and the press, which were more inclined to consider Cuba's needs and the obligations of the United States to Cuba. As stated by the secretary of war in his annual report for 1901, Cuban planters relying upon generous treatment by the United States had made great efforts to revive their sugar industry, raising the product of sugar from 308,000 tons in 1899 to 615,000 tons in 1900 and to something like 800,000 tons in 1901. All the capital they had or could borrow had been invested in the rebuilding of their mills and the replanting of their land. More than half the people of the island were directly or indirectly dependent upon the success of the industry. If it succeeded, peace, plenty and domestic and political quiet might be expected; if it failed, the great body of laborers would be thrown out of employment, and poverty, starvation and anarchy would ensue. From the commercial side (see paragraph Commerce) it could hardly be doubted that the prosperity of Cuba and reciprocal trade relations with the United States would bring to this country far more prosperity than the starving out of Cuba and the loss of trade relations for the sake of a problematical enormous increase of beet sugar production in the United States. Politically, moreover, since Cuba had agreed to the doctrine of the United States (see paragraph Relations to the United States) that she should not put herself in the hands of any other po er whatever her necessities or how ever impoverished and desperate her people. he correlative obligation rested upon the United States to treat her not as an enemy, but with due consideration for her welfare. Finally, there were the weighuest reasons of public policy based upon the strategic condition of Cuba toward the United States why the prosperity of Cuba should be sustained. For, as stated by the secretary of war, "the peace of Cuba is necessary to the peace of the United States; the wealth of Cuba is necessary to the wealth of the United States; the independence of Cuba is necessary to the safety of the United States; the same conditions which led to the war with Spain now require that a commercial requirement be made under which Cuba can live.'

Constitutional Convention.-In accordance with the Congressional resolution of April 20, 1898, disclaiming any intention on the part of the United States to exer

cise jurisdiction over Cuba beyond the time needed for the establishment of the Cuban government, an order was issued by the war department on July 31, 1900, providing for the election in Cuba on September 15 of a constitutional convention composed of thirty-one delegates from the different provinces of the island, who should frame and adopt a constitution for the people of Cuba. This convention opened on November 5, and the constitution it adopted was completed and signed on February 21, 1901. In general the form of the constitution is similar to that of the United States, the two most noticeable differences being the excessive safeguards thrown around individual rights and the extreme centralized form of government provided for. As instances of the rights guaranteed to individuals may be mentioned the following: Retroactive penal laws operating in favor of the criminal are permitted; relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second of affinity are not obliged to give testimony against each other; private residences are, without the consent of the owner, to be considered inviolable to the extent that they can be entered at night only in case of sudden accident or crime; no person may be arrested except by warrant, and this warrant must be confirmed or vacated after a hearing and within seventy-two hours after the arrest; finally, suffrage is made practically universal, all male Cubans over twenty-one years of age and not mentally incapacitated or convicted of crime being entitled thereto. As showing the reason for the centralized government adopted, it is to be remembered that the several provinces of Cuba were never accustomed to much political autonomy, and that, if the province of Santiago, whose inhabitants are largely negroes, is excluded, the needs and political genius of the provinces are not sharply different from one another, as in many of the States of the United States, but correspond rather to the counties of a single State. Notwithstanding these facts, however, the government provided for may perhaps be considered as unduly centralized, since its functions include, for example, an absolute control over electoral matters, provincial and municipal, management of all public education, and "the general administration of public provincial and municipal affairs." By a series of checks, moreover, all final authority in the island is given to the president and through him to Congress; for while Congress can impeach the president, the president in turn can suspend the governors of provinces and also the decrees of provincial and municipal councils. In turn, again, governors of provinces can suspend provincial decrees and the mayors of municipalities, and finally the mayors can suspend the decrees of their own municipal councils. In a possible case then, if political excitement ran high, Congress could exercise authority over the acts of the smallest municipalities. For Congress could order the president, under threat of impeachment, to direct the governor of a province, under pain of suspension, to command the mayor of a municipality, under a similar threat of suspension from the governor, to suspend any and every decree of municipal council. While this particular case would probably never arise, yet a less direct and far extending sort of coercion might easily take place, and the possibilities of the system for facilitating political jobbery can hardly be gainsaid. On the other hand, the convention acted with great conservatism in many ways, and in some respects, as for example in having senators chosen by a joint body composed of the provincial councilmen acting in conjunction with double that number of electors chosen by popular vote, instead of having them chosen directly by the councilmen; the convention apparently took heed of defects which have exhibited themselves in the workings of the constitution of the United tates. Summing up the whole matter the secretary of war stated in his report for 1901: "I do not fully agree with the wisdom of some of the provisions of this constitution; but it provides for a republican form of government; it was adopted after long and patient consideration and discussion; it represents the views of the delegates elected by the people of Cuba; and it contains no features which would justify the assertion that a government organized under it will not be one to which the United States may properly transfer the obligations for the protection of life and property under international law, assumed in the Treaty of Paris." The main provisions of the constitution are given in the succeeding paragraph.

Provisions of the Constitution.-Fundamental rights and guarantees: The constitutional convention meeting to establish "a government capable of fulfilling its international obligations, maintaining public peace, insuring liberty, justice, and promoting the general welfare," adopted the following constitution: Cuba is constituted "a sovereign and independent state," with "a republican form of government." The territory of the republic is composed of Cuba and its adjacent keys and islands, and is divided into the six provinces-Havana, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Puerto Principe, Santa Clara, Santiago-now existing, but these divisions may be altered at will by acts of the provincial councils approved by Congress. The people of Cuba are those born within Cuba or of Cuban parents; Spaniards having acquired Cuban citizenship, and foreigners residing in Cuba for not less than five years and claiming naturalization. All male Cubans over twenty-one years of age, not mentally incapacitated or

convicted of crime, are entitled to the right of suffrage. To Cubans and foreigners alike certain individual rights are guaranteed, of which the following may be especially mentioned as differing from those familiar to English jurisprudence. No laws shall be retroactive "other than penal ones favorable to convicted or indicted persons." No person shall be arrested except by warrant of a competent judge or court, and such prisoner shall be given a hearing and the order for his arrest vacated or confirmed within seventy-two hours after his apprehension; but this provision may be suspended in case of peril to the state. "No person whatever is bound to give evidence against himself, nor husband and wife against each other, nor relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second of affinity." "In no case shall the penalty of death be imposed for crimes of a political nature." Primary education shall be compulsory and gratuitous, and the state shall defray the expenses thereof until the provinces and municipalities are able to do so. The state shall also control secondary and advanced education as well as determine the conditions for the practice of the professions; but private educational institutions may nevertheless be freely established. The laws shall guarantee minority representation in all electoral matters in the house of representatives and in the provincial and municipal councils. The Legislative Power.-The general legislative power of Cuba is vested in a senate and house of representatives. The senate is composed of four senators from each province, elected for eight years by the provincial councilmen acting in conjunction with electors double in number to the councilmen, and chosen by popular vote. The house is composed of one representative for each 25,000 inhabitants, elected for four years. One-half of the senate is renewable every four years, and one-half of the house every two years. Only native-born Cubans are eligible to the senate, but members of the house may be either native-born Cubans or naturalized Cubans who have resided in the republic at least eight years since their naturalization. Congress, consisting of the house and senate, is to hold two regular sessions each year, convening on the first of April and on the first Monday of November, and it may hold extra sessions either on its own initiative or when convened by the executive. The power to regulate and develop internal and external commerce, railroads, post roads, harbors, and canals is vested in Congress, and Congress is also charged with the duty of making rules for general, provincial, and municipal elections and of issuing orders "for the regulation and organization of all matters pertaining to the general administration of public, provincial, and municipal affairs." The initiative of all bills is vested equally in both houses, but no bill defeated in its entirety may again be considered in the same session. Treaties must be ratified by the senate, which is also authorized to sit as a court of impeachment to try the president of the republic, cabinet ministers, and governors of provinces on charges of violating the constitution, or of crimes "against the free exercise of legislative or judicial power." Loans when authorized either by Congress or by the provincial or municipal councils must receive the affirmative consent of two-thirds of all the members of the contracting body. and provision must be made at the same time insuring both payment of interest and final redemption of the loans.

The Executive Power.-The executive power is vested in the president, or, in case of his death or disability, the vice-president; both officers are elected by popular vote for a term of four years, and are disqualified from serving for three successive terms. The president must be at least forty years of age and must be either a native-born Cuban or a naturalized Cuban having served ten years in the Cuban wars for independence. All decrees, orders, and decisions of the president must bear the referendum of the cabinet minister in whose department they lie, and each cabinet minister is held personally responsible for decrees sanctioned by him. Governors of provinces may be suspended by the president for cause, pending an appeal to the senate, whose decision in the matter is final. The president is also authorized to suspend the resolutions of the provincial and municipal councils; but the illegality of these resolutions must then be affirmed by the courts. In general, the duty of the president is to sanction, promulgate, execute, and enforce the laws; to veto congressional bills which meet his disapproval and which must then be reenacted by a twothirds vote to become law; to appoint, with the consent of the senate, diplomatic and consular officers and justices of the supreme court; to negotiate treaties and to take measures for the defense of the territory and the maintenance of public peace. Provincial and Municipal Government.--The executive and legislative power of each province is vested in a governor and in a council of not less than eight or more than twenty members, elected by direct vote. The council has the right to decide all affairs concerning the province which are not within the general jurisdiction of the state or the special jurisdiction of the municipalities; but the council is prohibited from legislating in any way concerning election matters, and all resolutions of the councils deemed contrary to the laws and the constitution may be suspended by the governor of the province or the president of the republic, pending an appeal to the Moreover, councilmen are personally liable for all acts committed by them

courts.

in the discharge of their official duty. The municipal governing power consists of a mayor and of a municipal council, both elected by popular vote. The mayor may be suspended for cause by the provincial governor, the resolutions of the municipal council may be suspended by the president, the governor, or the mayor, and both mayor and councilmen may be held personally responsible for their official acts. Other Constitutional Provisions.-The judicial power is vested in a supreme court of justice and in such other courts as may be established by law. Justices of the supreme court must be Cubans by birth, thirty-five years of age or over, and must have practiced their profession for at least ten years. Cuba does not recognize any debts and obligations other than those legitimately contracted in behalf of the revolution subsequent to February 24, 1895. The laws and orders in force at the time of the promulgation of the constitution are to remain binding, so far as they do not conflict with the constitution, until they are revoked or amended. Amendments to the constitution are to be made by resolutions adopted by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house of Congress and approved by a constitutional convention consisting of one delegate to each 50,000 inhabitants in Cuba, elected by popular vote and convening within six months after the resolutions have been adopted by Congress.

Relations to the United States.-By order of Secretary Root the Cuban constitutional convention, which had at first been directed to embody in its constitution the relations which the convention considered Cuba should bear to the United States, was later instructed not to consider these relations until the constitution itself had been completed. So it was not until February 21, when the Cuban constitution (see paragraph Constitutional Convention) was signed, that General Wood, the military governor, communicated to the convention the provisions as to the future relations with the United States which the President thought Cuba should accept. These provisions were in substantial agreement with the first five of those contained in the so-called "Platt amendment" (see UNITED STATES, paragraph Congress), passed by the Senate on February 27 and by the House in March 1, as a rider to the Army Appropriation Bill, under the spur of the threat of an extra session of Congress. The full text of the Platt amendment, whose object is defined in its preamble, is as follows: "That in fulfilment of the declaration contained in the joint resolution approved April 20, 1898, entitled 'For the Recognition of the Independence of the People of Cuba,' demanding that the government of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect, the President is hereby authorized to leave the government and control of the island of Cuba to its people as soon as a government shall have been established in said island under a constitution which, either as a part thereof or in any ordinance appended thereto, shall define the future relations of the United States with Cuba, substantially as follows:

"1. That the government of Cuba shall never enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which shall impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba, nor in any manner authorize or permit any foreign power or powers to obtain by colonization or for military or naval purposes or otherwise, lodgment in or control over any portion of said island.

"2. That said government shall not assume or contract any public debt to pay the interest upon which and to make reasonable sinking-fund provision for the ultimate discharge of which the ordinary revenues of the island, after defraying the current expenses of government, shall be inadequate.

"3. That the government of Cuba consents that the United States may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the United States, now to be assumed and undertaken by the government of Cuba.

"4. That all acts of the United States in Cuba, during its military occupancy thereof, are ratified and validated, and all lawful rights acquired thereunder shall be maintained and protected.

"5. That the government of Cuba will execute, and as far as necessary extend, the plans already devised, or other plans to be mutually agreed upon, for the sanitation of the cities of the island, to the end that a recurrence of epidemic and infectious diseases may be prevented, thereby assuring protection to the people and commerce of Cuba, as well as to the commerce of the southern ports of the United States and the people residing therein.

"6. That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries of Cuba and the title thereto left to future adjustment by treaty.

"7. That to enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba and to protect the people thereof as well as for its own defense, the government of Cuba

will sell or lease to the United States lands necessary for coaling or naval stations at certain specified points to be agreed upon with the President of the United States. "8. That by way of further assurance, the government of Cuba will embody the foregoing provisions in a permanent treaty with the United States."

Of the stipulations of the Platt amendment given above, those which were principally criticised, both in this country and in Cuba, were the third, sixth, and seventh, respectively, permitting the United States to intervene in Cuba for cause, binding Cuba to sell or lease naval or coaling stations to the United States, and leaving the title to the Isle of Pines to future negotiations between the two countries. The Isle of Pines, in the first place, had always been considered to be within Cuban boundaries, and it was only through lack of specific mention in the Treaty of Paris that it became technically one of those "other islands in the West Indies" ceded by Spain to the United States. By many, therefore, it was considered unfair for the United States thus to take advantage of a seemingly accidental omission in the treaty. As to the other two amendments, opponents of the administration considered that the demands made by Congress were far too sweeping, that they permitted the United States to intervene at will in Cuba, and that they in effect annulled the sovereignty of the future Cuban government and substituted for it what amounted practically to an American protectorate. On the other hand, many persons thought that the acceptance by Cuba of these two latter amendments was necessary in view of the organic political instability of the Cuban people and their inexperience in self-government, as a guarantee for the maintenance of a republican form of government in the island, and that the amendment authorizing United States naval stations in Cuba was also of great military importance to the United States. For if the United States did not hold naval stations in Cuba, foreign powers desiring in case of war to proceed against either the United States or Cuba :night easily obtain a naval base in Cuban harbors, and the United States would be placed at an extreme strategic disadvantage either in protecting Cuba or her own shores. Finally, as it was the purpose of the United States to secure independence for Cuban citizens the right to intervene in Cuba was necessary not only in event of foreign aggression, but in case of internal disorders beyond the power of the central Cuban government to control. Presumably for these reasons so eminent an anti-imperialist as Senator Hoar stated that he considered the Platt amendment as proper and desirable.

On April 13, 1901, the Cuban convention, which did not look with favor upon the amendment, appointed a committee of five to learn its precise intent from the President at first hand. On the basis of the report of this committee, the Cuban convention on May 26, by a vote of 15 to 14, agreed to the amendment, as modified by their understanding of the President's explanations, given through Secretary Root, and as further modified by a series of resolutions added by the convention and defining or limiting each clause of the amendment. Of the qualifications made by the resolutions the most important were that the naval stations given to the United States by Cuba should in no case be used as "vantage points" for intervention in Cuba, but should be held solely to repel foreign aggression; that Cuba did not necessarily agree to carry out the plans for municipal sanitation already devised by the United States, but only such plans as might be "mutually agreed upon;" that intervention in Cuba should not take place without the "formal action of the United States;" that with the exception of foreign alliances militating against her independence, Cuba might freely "make political and mercantile treaties with any nation," and that while Cuba consented that the Isle of Pines should be omitted from her proposed constitutional boundaries, and its ownership left to treaty negotiations, still Cuba believed that the island was "actually comprehended within her boundaries." On May 31, the administration decided that the amendment as thus variously modified could not be accepted. For in the first place the convention had given to the unofficial explanations of Secretary Root the binding force of dicta of "the government of the United States," and in the second place the executive branch of the government could not, if it would, usurp the powers of the legislative branch and sanction the qualification of a definite law of Congress. On June 12, therefore, the convention, by a vote of 16 to II, voted that "the constitutional convention proceeding in conformity with the order of the military governor of the island-has determined to add and does add to the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, adopted on February 21," the full text of the Platt amendment without any change or qualification whatsoever.

Postal Frauds.-The United States Supreme Court on January 14, 1901, decided that the case of the government against C. F. W. Neely, former treasurer of the Department of Posts in Cuba, accused of fraudulent practices while in office, could be conducted at Havana. The point in dispute was as to whether the military occupation and control of the island by the United States was legal and sufficient to make it a part of the United States, so that extradition proceedings might not be required. The court decided that the occupation was legal and that extradition was not necessary, and on January 21 the State Department issued a warrant for the surrender of Neely to the Cuban authorities. After a long series of delays the trial