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Chapter XXVII.-Burials, cemeteries, undertaking establishments, and exhumations, articles 526-553.

Chapter XXVIII.-Autopsies, embalming, etc., articles 554-561.

Chapter XXIX.-Transportation of corpses, articles 562-574.

Chapter XXX.-Miscellaneous, articles 575-607.
Chapter XXXI.-General rules, articles 608-616.

Chapter XXXII.-Infractions and penalties, articles 617-622.
Additional chapter.

No. 1465.]

Chargé Sleeper to the Secretary of State.

AMERICAN LEGATION,

Habana, February 6, 1906. SIR: In continuation of my dispatch No. 1438 of the 13th ultimo, and in reply to department's instructions No. 580 of January 20, 1906, regarding the early compliance of Cuba with her treaty engagements in the matter of the sanitation of the cities of the island, I have the honor to inclose to the department translation of Mr. O'Farrill's reply to the representations I made at the foreign office pursuant to the department's aforesaid instructions.

I asked Mr. O'Farrill to bring this matter to the particular attention of the President and have been assured by him that the inclosed note embodies Mr. Palma's views as well as his own.

In the instance of Habana, where the need is most urgent and the work will be first taken up, Secretary O'Farrill makes the statement that the municipality is unable to contract a loan sufficiently large to cover the expense of sewering and paving and for that reason the necessary amount is to be jointly provided by the Government and municipality. Mr. O'Farrill believes that the work will not only be begun but considerably advanced within the present year.

I have, etc.,

JACOB SLEEPER.

[Inclosure-Translation.]

The Secretary of the State and Justice of the Republic of Cuba to Chargé

No. 87.1

Sleeper.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND JUSTICE,

DIVISION OF STATE, Habana, February 3, 1906.

MR. CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES: I have received your polite note of January 26 last, in which your honor refers to the reply I had the honor to make to you on the 10th of the said month regarding Cuba's compliance with her engagements in the matter of the sanitation of various of her cities. You say that your Government considers my reply unsatisfactory since but little assurance is given of an early compliance with the treaty engagements.

I reaffirm the expression of my previous notes in which I endeavored to set forth with greatest clearness the desire of the Cuban Government to give an early compliance with the engagements to which your honor alludes in the note which I am answering.

The most important work is the sewering and paving of the city of Habana, which the Government, after consideration, has decided should be done with the Republic's own resources and without recource to a loan, always ruinous, and which could not be contracted for by the municipality of Habana to the necessary amount for the execution of a work so important as that mentioned.

In place of a loan, impossible under the present conditions of the treasury of the capital of the Republic, the Government proposes that the necessary amount

to pay for the work which can be done each year be made part of the national and municipal budgets. To do this Congress will have to be relied upon and a respectable majority is expected in the Congress which will meet next April.

I can assure your honor that the work of the sanitation of the cities referred to in the engagement made by Cuba, particularly the sewering and paving of Habana, will be begun and will have made considerable progress during the present year.

Meanwhile the Government will give particular attention to public health. The success it has had with the present sanitary measures in keeping it in the best condition is undeniable.

I reiterate, etc.,

(Signed)

JUAN F. O'FARRILL.

No. 88.1

Minister Morgan to the Secretary of State.

AMERICAN LEGATION,
Habana, June 11, 1906.

SIR: As indicative of the desire of the Cuban Government to supply the board of health with ample pecuniary means for eradicating yellow fever from this island, I have the honor to inclose in translation a copy of a presidential decree, dated the 6th instant, which assigns certain sums of money to the use of the sanitary authorities at Bolondron, Union de Reyes, and Alacranes, where a case of fever was recently reported, which remain from certain appropriations made for similar disinfecting work elsewhere.

I have, etc.,

EDWIN V. MOGRAN.

[Inclosure-Translation.]

Decree No. 224.]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. As there is a surplus in the treasury, left over from certain appropriations for special sanitary and disinfecting work, provided for in decree No. 91, of March 22 last, on account of the nondisbursement of the full amounts appropriated therefor; and in view of the urgent need of funds for defraying the expenses of the special work being done at Bolondron, Union de Reyes, and Alacranes, to stamp out the yellow-fever contagion at those places, upon recommendation of the secretary of the interior, I order:

First. That the expenses of the special work undertaken for the purpose of stamping out the contagion of yellow fever at Bolondron, Union de Reyes, and Alacranes, calculated for three months at $22,455.55, counting from the 20th of May last, in accordance with the budget presented by the chief health officer, be covered with surplus funds from the appropriations allowed in the aforesaid decree No. 91, to wit:

From Article II, surplus of $1,500 unexpended and of $750 on account of the elimination of the position of vaccinator of Santiago de Cuba; from Article III, section "e," surplus from supplies and transportation, $1,925; section "h," surplus from this appropriation on account of the Manzanillo and Guantanamo disinfecting brigades not having yet been established, $4,000; section "k," because of the inutilization of this appropriation, $4,000; section "1," surplus from this item, $5,000; surplus funds remaining in the hands and at the disposition of the paymaster of the health department from various items of the said decree, $4,492.55; total, $22,455.55.

Second. The lists of employees and budget for this special service shall be submitted by the superior board of health to the approval of the secretary of the interior,

Third. The secretary of the interior is hereby charged with the fulfillment of the terms of this decree, and the secretary of the treasury of that part which concerns his department.

Presidential palace, June 6, 1906.

J. RIUS RIVERA,

Secretary of the Interior.

T. ESTRADA PALMA, President.

No. 23.]

Minister Morgan to the Secretary of State.

AMERICAN LEGATION, Habana, March 29, 1906. SIR: As an additional precautionary measure against yellow fever the sanitary department of Habana on Saturday, March 24, reapplied the regulations for house cleaning enforced by General Ludlow in 1899 during the period of the American intervention, but discontinued in 1900. All buildings in the city are rigidly inspected, and those found to be in an unsatisfactory condition are thoroughly cleaned by a sanitary brigade. Old clothes, paper, and rubbish are carted away, loaded on large scows, and dumped into the sea some 5 miles outside the harbor mouth.

There are at present 120 men engaged in this work under the direction of 5 inspectors. Thirty-five carts are in constant service, but the task has been so much heavier than anticipated that it is proposed to enlarge considerably the brigade in order that the city may be cleaned before the warm and damp season begins.

I have, etc.,

EDWIN V. MORGAN.

ALLEGED OUTRAGE ON AMERICAN RESIDENTS OF THE ISLE OF

No. 135.]

PINES.

Chargé Sleeper to the Secretary of State.

AMERICAN LEGATION, Habana, July 19, 1906. SIR: I have the honor to report to the department that a committee of American residents of the Isle of Pines, composed of J. A. Miller, Charles F. Brown, J. K. Delaney, and E. E. Tolksdorff, called at the legation on the afternoon of July 17 on behalf of Miss Millie Brown, L. C. Giltner, and H. L. Augustine, American citizens imprisoned at Nueva Gerona, Isle of Pines, for the erection of a private telegraph line-which crossed the public thoroughfare-between their respective residences, in violation of military order No. 50, series of 1902, a copy of which is inclosed herewith.

The committee handed me a written protest, in which they complained that the sentence of the Cuban judge was arbitrary and the place of confinement objectionable, especially in the case of the young lady. The committee handed me also copies of letters written by the prisoners to Senator Morgan, of Alabama, wherein they admitted their guilt, but pleaded ignorance of the law in extenuation.

Replying to the committee, I pointed out that since the prisoners admitted their guilt, and since the judge imposed the minimum punishment, the legation could not consider his decision arbitrary. The committee then withdrew the protest and the copies of the letters addressed to Senator Morgan by the prisoners, confining themselves to a verbal request that the legation use its best efforts to obtain for Miss Brown a more congenial place of confinement. I promised to give the matter my immediate attention and to do what I properly could.

After the departure of the committee I called on the secretary of state and justice and inquired what would be the probable attitude of his Government in case a request for pardon should be presented through the legation. He stated emphatically that no pardon would be granted, adding that the prisoners were guilty as charged; that they had been duly warned that they were violating the law, to which warning no attention had been paid, and would be obliged to either pay their fines or undergo the corresponding incarceration. He also said, referring to Messrs. Giltner and Augustine, that he would instruct the warden of the Neuva Gerona jail to treat them with due consideration. He informed me that the judge had endeavored to eliminate Miss Brown from the case. She, however, insisted upon being tried with the men, declaring herself equally guilty; she refused to allow her father to pay her fine, and insisted upon being sent to jail, although the judge wished to provide special quarters for her elsewhere. Nevertheless, in view of my representations, Doctor O'Farrill promised to issue the necessary instructions for Miss Brown's removal to the house of the mayor of Nueva Gerona.

I inclose herewith a copy of the unsigned and withdrawn protest of the American residents of the Isle of Pines, together with clippings from the Habana Post and La Discusion, of July 19, 1906, relative to the matter. [Not printed.]

I have requested the foreign office for a copy of the court proceedings in this case and will forward same to the department as soon as received.

I have, etc.,

[Inclosure 1.] Military Order No. 50.

JACOB SLEEPER.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF CUBA,
Habana, February 22, 1902.

The military governor directs the publication of the following order: Any person, company, or corporation who shall, or shall attempt to construct, establish, or install any telegraph or telephone line or other works, public or private, without proper authorization, as and when required by law; or who shall occupy or attempt to occupy any part of the property of the public domain, without proper authorization, shall be liable to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500; and such persons, companies, or corporations shall also be liable to an additional fine of $25 for each day that such telephone or telegraph line or other work shall be continued in operation, or such occupation shall continue after due notice to discontinue such operation or occupation shall have been given: Provided, however, That if the above-mentioned acts are punishable under special ordinances or regulations now in force, the penalties therein provided shall be applicable.

The fines provided for in this order shall be imposed by correctional judges. H. L. SCOTT, Adjutant-General.

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In connection with the recent occurrences on the Isle of Pines with respect to Miss Brown and two Americans who were sentenced by the correctional court, almost all the newspapers of Habana have been commenting and relating the facts in different forms, erroneous in the greater part.

With a desire to state the true facts in the case, a reporter of this paper held an interview this morning with Señor Juan Manuel Sanchez, mayor of the Isle of Pines, at present sojourning in this city.

Señor Sanchez, in reply to the questions put to him, stated "that, having read in a newspaper written in English, called the Appeal, which is printed in Habana and circulated in the Isle of Pines, that a telegraph line had been installed in the American hamlet called 'Columbia,' which line was highly praised, he ordered, in fulfillment of his duty, that an investigation be made as to whether the owners of the line had complied with all legal requirements for the installation thereof.

"As a result of the investigation it was shown that the legal formalities had been disregarded, whereupon he reported the matter to the proper judicial authority.

"The case having been tried in the correctional court, a fine of $100-the minimum punishment provided by law-was imposed upon the persons who utilized the aforesaid line, who were three.

"Not caring to pay the fine, Miss Brown and the two Americans were sent to jail to serve imprisonment in default thereof.

"As soon as Miss Brown was sentenced her father evinced a desire to pay her fine, in which he later desisted, against his will, upon the repeated requests of his daughter.

"In view of the obstinacy of Miss Brown, who wished to go to jail in company with her fiancé, the captain of the rural guard, who has a sleeping room in the jail building, gallantly offered it to Miss Brown, telling her that she could make use of it as hers. Miss Brown did not accept the offer, stating that she wished to serve sentence with her fiancé in the departments destined to the confinement of prisoners.

"After entering jail her father again attempted to pay her fine, but had to again desist because of the obstinacy of his daughter."

From the foregoing statements, which give the true facts in the case, it will be seen that the individuals in question have been properly sentenced, and if Miss Brown undergoes confinement in company with the men it is only because of her excessive will, and no one else is to blame.

The Acting Secretary of State to Chargé Sleeper.

[Telegram.-Paraphrase.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, July 20, 1906. (Mr. Bacon instructs the legation to make immediate inquiry into and send a full report of an outrage which, as represented to President, has been committed in the arrest of Miss Millie Brown, Lou Giltner, and young Augustine, Isle of Pines.)

Chargé Sleeper to the Secretary of State.

[Telegram.-Paraphrase.]

AMERICAN LEGATION,
Habana, July 21, 1906.

(In reply to Department's cablegram of the 20th, Mr. Sleeper says the matter is fully reported in dispatch 135, mailed this day, and that the alleged outrage is not apparent.)

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