under Cuban leadership. There are many worthy men who sincerely desire to do all these things for Cuba, but they are helpless, as matters are. They might, indeed, face the Cuban politicians who "own" the government, supported to a considerable extent (as it would be) by the United States, and they might win in the conflict, but Cuba would be ruined. So, naturally, they draw back. If, however, they might have the moral backing of the United States, at least to the extent of the northern republic's not giving direct aid to the politician-owned government of Cuba, then victory might be easy and not too expensive. The present situation does, indeed, offer a curious anomaly of the antiAmerican political class being kept in power to prey upon their country by the government of the United States. And yet the writer does not go so far as to complain of United States policy. There is much to be said in its favor. Certainly it makes things easier for the United States,-always provided she can depend on the Cuban regenerationists not to risk the economic ruin of their country in a desperate civil war and can keep Cuban governments up to a respectable performance of their international obligations. The United States can well say that it is not in the business of neighborhood reform, and it is an unanswerable argument. Nevertheless, many Cubans feel that the great republic of the north has some special obligations toward the island which differentiate the case of Cuba from that of other countries.

There is, indeed, one final possibility,—a bit improbable, perhaps, but undeniably the best solution of Cuban affairs,— and that is that in some way, through the normal processes of Cuban political machinery, a clean government may come to the fore, without intervention, revolution, or kindred ills. The only possible manner in which a start in this direction

can be made is by the election of a President who is at once honest and able. Such a man would probably fail, as Estrada Palma did, or his work would be without effect, unless he might be succeeded by several more Presidents of the same stamp,-but he would at least have a remote chance for success, and this by the very best method in which it could be attained. It may be observed that this seems to treat the solution of Cuban ills as to a great extent an executive problem. The writer believes that for the immediate future this is true. The time has not yet come for any honest, reasonably well informed man to talk of reform through an early development of Cuban democracy. Eventually that must take place, if the republic is to mean anything, but the start will have to be made in the traditional manner from above. The reforms, indeed, must reach into all other branches,-Congress, the judiciary, provincial and municipal government, and the conduct of elections,—but the President must lead the way.

This volume takes the story of Cuba to May 20, 1925. On that day the new President, General Gerardo Machado, went into office. No man could have made any stronger promises than Machado on the score of inaugurating an honest administration. His record in the past had been such that there seemed to be at least a possibility that he was sincere. Though formerly a member of the political class, he belonged to it in a period when it still had some claims to respectability. Leaving it voluntarily, he displayed an ability to make a living and even considerable wealth outside of politics. Not being under any such "necessity" for graft as his immediate predecessor, he may choose to avoid it, and indeed, has stated that he is going to leave the presidency with less money than he had when he went into it, besides initiating reforms to bring about

honest government.8 Too much reliance should not be placed on expressions of good intention, even granting they are sincere, but an honest and capable executive is Cuba's greatest hope. The best elements in Cuban society would get behind such a man as Machado has promised to be, and when that occurs, whether the man be Machado or some later President, Cuba will have a chance to escape the virtual bondage in which she is now held by the corrupt politicians and to become "Cuba Libre" indeed. It is in the interest of the United States, as well as in that of Cuba, that this should come to pass.

This is not the place to deal with the administration of President Machado, who has been in office less than a year, as this is being written. Some rumors about him have come to the writer's notice that are, in the main, favorable. He seems disposed to maintain good relations with the United States. Prior to his inauguration he made a trip north, visiting President Coolidge in Washington, and since becoming President he has taken some steps along the lines of the moralization program. In particular, he has done some noteworthy things in connection with the problems of the judiciary. Three committees have been appointed to undertake the following code revisions: revision of the civil codes and codes of procedure; revision of the commercial code; and revision of the criminal code. Furthermore, he has started to purify the courts, filing cases against a number of judges on grounds of crime or inefficiency. If Machado carries through these reforms successfully he will have done enough, without more, to make his name famous in the annals of Cuba. Withal, while vigorously attacking evils in his own administration, so it is said, he has avoided any revelation of the scandals of his predecessors, which may in part account for

the fact that Congress has supported him. On the other hand, if rumor is correct, he has conducted himself like a typical Hispanic American dictator in certain other matters. He has deported labor agitators by the hundreds. There have been several incidents of the "Lavastida affair" type. Some claim that he has completed the work, begun by Menocal and Zayas, of destroying the democratic character of internal party management, as called for by the electoral law of 1919,-this, in preparation for victory in the elections of 1928. The writer presents these comments about Machado without insisting that they are true or false. One thing, however, he does believe: Machado has a chance to make his name the greatest in the history of the republic. He has ability enough to meet the demands of the situation. But will he avoid the corrupt practices of most of his predecessors? Will he say "No!" to family and friends? Will he carry through the reforms that he has begun? And will he hold an honest election in 1928? If he will do these things, then not Zayas, Menocal, Gómez, or even honest old Don Tomás will have made so good a record. This writer wishes that he may accomplish these things,-or, at least, make an effort to do so.

The amount of material on the republic of Cuba already reduced to writing is, of course, more than one man could read in ten thousand years. Furthermore, there is an extraordinary lack of well formulated studies that might otherwise save the investigator's time and lead more surely to a well rounded volume of history. Even the preliminary stage of the collection and editing of materials has hardly been reached as yet, except for the bibliographical work of Carlos Trelles. The field is wide open, therefore, for the writer of monographs, who must make his own estimate of the documents, but it is difficult for the general historian. The items listed below are intended to portray this state of affairs. Nearly all of them (and many more, besides) have also been cited in the text. No attempt has been made to attain to adequate proportions in the individual descriptions, since with respect to the more important works the greater part of the comment already appears in the bibliographical footnotes at the end of the various chapters. The following chart shows how the material has been classified for presentation: