"Perhaps my greatest reward on leaving the duties which I discharge is in having the full consciousness of having brought about a rectification of an erroneous concept about our capacity for the life of an independent nation and of our qualities as citizens, and, in consequence, of having caused a change from a status of an annoying and belittling tutelage to that of a correct, adequate, and reciprocal conduct where our dignity does not suffer."

In this same message Zayas alluded to a book that he proposed to publish, to be entitled Four years of government, and intimated that in this volume

"I shall have to put in clear relief my conduct with respect to the interference of the American government in Cuba." "

It would perhaps be too cruel a judgment to say that the man who was willing to risk intervention in 1906, who besought it in 1917, and who publicly expressed approval of the Crowder mission in 1921 should set up as his principal achievement what was, after all, little more than the tolerance of Secretary Hughes for a Zayas political maneuver designed to bring about, not "freedom," but "freedom for grafters," in Cuba. Zayas, indeed, made some other claims for himself at different times, most of which, however,such as those about prosperity, the "surplus," and reform, -must be discounted or rejected altogether. Liberal organs that opposed Zayas personally have praised him for his conduct of elections, but there they were thinking more of the victory of their party than of any specially meritorious conduct, although, as already pointed out, he was entitled at least to some negative praise. He certainly has a right to consideration on another score. It is said, probably with truth, that apart from matters involving corruption Zayas could be counted upon to take a sound, conservative, and generally correct stand. Business interests were not par

31

Zayas to Congress, Apr. 6, 1925, in Gaceta, Apr. 20, 1925, pp. 8849

8901, especially at 8849, 8851, and 8852.

ticularly hostile to him. Indeed, along economic lines he may have rendered something of real service, though at a tremendous cost. There will be two opinions about his methods of handling strikes, with which Cuba continued to be infested during his administration. Zayas pretty generally turned up on the side of the employer, even including -decidedly so!-the foreign capitalist, not hesitating at times to exile union leaders or in other ways to use force. In defence of this procedure it must be admitted that it is hard to be patient with the extreme radicalism that manifests itself in the councils of Cuban labor. In conclusion, however, making all due allowance for anything that may redound to the credit of Zayas, it is difficult to escape the conviction that he had been by far the worst President of Cuba and one of the most corrupt rulers any nation in history has ever had.32

There is not even a fifth-rate book covering the Zayas period, and Zayas's own volume, if it ever is to appear, has not been available to the writer. So, aside from a few pamphlets, one is forced to rely on published documents, periodical literature, and the evidences of living witnesses. There are some rather better than usual articles in English, notably those of Conn, Fox, Norton, and Spinden, but they need the backlog of the support and "atmosphere" of Cuban materials. For the details of the story one will go inevitably to the newspapers. Heraldo de Cuba, a frank and independent, if also out

spoken, journal has been most employed here, but it is always possible to reach virtually the same result through the medium of other Cuban papers. The Havana Post, with its translations of important editorials from the Cuban press and its capable "A Sage" column, is especially helpful. Much of this material could not have been used with even moderate safety, however, if the writer had not been able to supplement it by his experience of Cuban life, including conversations with wellinformed persons, during his two visits of 1924 in the island of Cuba.

CHAPTER XXI

THE CONSTITUTION AND CONGRESS

THE Constitution of Cuba has many excellences. Some features have, indeed, proved to be bad in the way they have worked out, but the evil is not apparent at first reading, and is due rather to the way they have been interpreted than to anything inherently wrong in them. A Constitution such as Cuba has might have been equally satisfactory to the people of the United States as the one they possess, while the Cubans would have had no better fortune with the fundamental document of the northern republic than they have had with their own. The difference in the degree of success the two Constitutions have had is due wholly to the difference in the two peoples. The Cubans, handicapped by evil political traditions which put the personal advantage of office-holders far above any consideration of public service, have debauched their own Constitution, so that it appears to be seriously defective in many particulars. No document could have been devised, however, that would have been able to avoid the evils in Cuban political life, for it could not possibly rise superior to the level of the people.

In general, the Constitution resembles that of the United States, with a number of improvements in the light of American experience and in accord with Cuban conditions. It is a much longer and far more detailed document, with a total of 115 “articles," distributed through fourteen "titles."

In addition, there is a preamble, some transitory provisions in unnumbered paragraphs (no longer important), the Platt Amendment "appendix," and the Permanent Treaty with the United States in the same terms as the appendix. The two last-named features belong rather to the field of relations with the United States than to the subject under discussion here, and so may be omitted from consideration. The following is a brief summary of the fourteen titles:

Title I proclaims an independent republic for Cuba and adjacent islands, and divides the territory into the six already existing provinces.

Title II defines who are Cubans, including the native-born and naturalized foreigners.

Title III provides that foreigners are entitled to the same protection and civil rights and subject to the same civil obligations as Cubans.

Title IV is the Cuban "Bill of Rights." It is more complete than that of the United States. One article announces freedom of worship and the separation of church and state. Another makes primary education compulsory and free. Universal man-suffrage is provided for, and a paragraph is included "to assure the intervention of minorities in the preparation of the census of voters and other electoral matters and in their representation in the House of Representatives, the Provincial Councils, and Municipal Boards." In all, there are thirty-two articles in this title.

Title V vests sovereignty in the Cuban people.

Title VI, in twenty-one articles, deals with the legislative power. In the main this follows the Constitution of the United States. Congress is made up of two chambers, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. There are four senators from each of the six provinces, elected for eight

years, with the body renewable by half, every four years. Thirty-five years is the minimum age for senators. They are elected indirectly, with the selection to some extent influenced by wealth; the choice is made by the members of the Provincial Councils and twice their number of additional electors, who are chosen by the voters of the provinces, except that half of them are to be among the largest tax-payers. The Senate has the exclusive right to try impeachments, confirm nominations, and approve treaties, like the Senate of the United States. The minimum age for a representative is twenty-five years, with one representative for every twenty-five thousand inhabitants, chosen by direct election every four years. The House is renewable by half, every two years. This branch alone has the power to impeach government officers. Each chamber is judge of elections to its own body, and neither may expel a member, except by two-thirds vote. Congress as a whole has much the same sort of powers as the Congress of the United States, such as the right to participate in all legislation, which includes the passing of an annual budget. A presidential veto may be overcome by a two-thirds vote. Notable in the light of later events is this provision: "Senators and representatives shall be arrested or indicted only upon permission of the body to which they belong. except in case they are caught in the act in the commission of some crime." Another important paragraph requires that they shall not "commence their sessions without two-thirds of the total number of their members being present, or continue them without an absolute majority of them."

Title VII concerns the executive branch. To be President one must be at least forty years old, and Cuban-born. The method of election is by presidential electors, as in the United States, and the term of office is four years. The