majority, shows conclusively that these controlling officials and Departments of the Government did induce our people who were seeking homes to make investments and to build up business establishments there to proceed with their enterprises. The records of the War Department quoted in the report of the majority of the committee show the following state of facts as to the conduct of General Wood and his powers as military governor of Cuba, succeeding Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, who commanded the Seventh Army Corps, and General Brook in chief command. General Lee and General Brook, as well as General Wood, in whatever government they exercised in Cuba, employed the existing civil law and civil authority we found on the island for the purposes of civil government in subordination to the military power of the United States. This situation was never changed until the government of Cuba was turned over to the organized Cuban Republic by General Wood, on the 20th of May, 1902. As early as May 11, 1898, while the war was pending and our troops were at a position surrounding Santiago de Cuba, the attention of the War Department was drawn to the Isle of Pines by the following letter from Colonel Byrne, chief surgeon at Governors Island, which is printed on page 133 of the report of the majority: HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE EAST, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SURGEON, Governors Island, N. Y., May 11, 1898. SIR: Should a large number of prisoners be captured in Cuba by our forces during the present war, the question as to the best disposition to be made of them will necessarily become an important one, and, to some extent, a hygienic one. I therefore venture to invite attention to the Isle of Pines, which I consider an ideal place in which to confine such Spaniards as may fall into our hands. This island is situated south of and near the western extremity of Cuba, is about the size of the State of Rhode Island, and has for some years been used by the Spaniards as a penal colony for political suspects. One hundred thousand prisoners could be turned loose on this island without possibility of escape so long as its shores shall be properly patrolled. More than half of the island is high and salubrious. It would be much easier and cheaper to confine prisoners on this island than to take them to any point in the United States, and they might eke out the food supplied to them by the Government and obtain healthful exercise by fishing and farming. Very respectfully, C. C. BYRNE, The SURGEON-GENERAL, UNITED STATES ARMY, Washington, D. C. On the 9th of November, 1898, a commission, consisting of Major Almy, Major Butler, and Captain Hart, was sent to the Isle of Pines by order of the United States Cuban Commission to examine the island. and report upon its condition. Their report is printed on page 135 of the report of the majority, and is very clear, concise, and interesting, giving a report without color as to the resources of the island, and the then feeling of the people toward the United States as their deliverers. The Spanish soldiers had not yet been transported to Spain. A Spanish alcalde and a Spanish commander were found by these officers at Nueva Gerona. This appears to be the earliest military occupation of the Isle of Pines by the United States, and it was decisively a sovereign act of domination. It was followed early in February, 1899, by an inspection made by Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, in obedience to orders. He describes the country and the people in his report, and says: There are no industries on the island. The exports seem to be principally tobacco poles, some pine cross-ties, and charcoal. Sugar cane can not be successfully grown on account of the poverty of the land, and the experiments of tobacco growing have not proved successful either, only one-fourth as much tobacco being raised this year as was raised last year. The people are quiet and peaceable. Over such a large area the present small population can be self-sustaining. I found a company of 60 insurgents under a captain there; no one seemed to know for what purpose, and as they were living on the inhabitants most of them desired to have them removed. I do not see any necessity for a military garrison at this point, but in compliance with instructions will send a company over there on Sunday next, that being the day the boat sails from Batabano Playa. On February 22, 1892, Capt. Fred S. Foltz made a further report on the Isle of Pines, giving a detailed account of its productions, etc., in compliance with orders from Lieut. Col. Tasker H. Bliss, chief of customs service, Habana. This report, printed in the report of the majority of the committee on pages 146 to 151 is very complete on all the resources and conditions in the Isle of Pines, which are varied and very attractive. It was circulated extensively by the War Department. On page 20 of the report of the majority is a statement that the Bureau of Insular Affairs gave to the press as to the resources of the Isle of Pines, and was sent out in reply to the many inquiries sent to the War Department about the title to the island and its productive power and healthfulness. This statement shows that a very lively interest had been excited among the people in various parts of our country, who became anxious to occupy the island with homes and as a promising field for investment. It appears that on the 24th of February, 1899, the inquiries that have fairly flooded the War Department about the Isle of Pines began to come in, and quite a number of them are set out in the letter of the Secretary of War, printed in the report of the majority, pages 13 to 115, and covering the period from February, 1899, to February 27, 1903. After the publication of "The statement given to the press from the Bureau of Insular Affairs" and after the "Assistant Secretary of War Meiklejohn had made public a military reconnoissance of the northern part of the Isle of Pines," printed on pages 20-24 of the report of the majority, it is not surprising that the pressure became great among the people for acquiring lands there for homes as well as for speculation; neither is it in the least to their discredit. Dr. E. H. Gale, of Aurora, Ill., appears to be the earliest inquirer. He wrote Hon. A. J. Hopkins for information, and received from G. D. Meiklejohn, Assistant Secretary of War, a copy of the report of Capt. Frank S. Foltz, which is among the most attractive statements made by anyone about the Isle of Pines. The next applicant for information was William Sigismund, jr., of Fort Reno, Okla., March 19, 1899. To this Mr. Meiklejohn, as "Acting Secretary of War," replied, on the 29th of March, "that an extended description of the island was given to the press on the 15th instant." E. N. Meyers, of Williams University, of Chicago, applied on the 27th of March, 1899, for "full instructions in regard to applying for public lands in the Isle of Pines." On April 3 Mr. Meiklejohn, Acting Secretary of War, replied that "no such land has as yet been opened to settlement." On the 10th of April, 1899, D. E. Pepier, of Fitzgerald, Ga., and on the 12th of April, 1899, P. W. Odom, of Elreno, Okla., applied for information as to the Isle of Pines. On the 17th of April copies of printed reports were sent them. On the 20th of April, 1899, the "Chicago Colony, Isle of Pines, West Indies," sent the following paper to the War Department: CHICAGO COLONY, ISLE OF PINES, WEST INDIES, Chicago, Ill., April 20, 1899. DEAR SIR: Your kind favor of March 17 received, with inclosure report by Captain Foltz on the Isle of Pines to the War Department of recent date. The report is of great value to us and was read with considerable interest, and a resolution of thanks was passed by the association to honorable Assistant Secretary of War Meiklejohn for kindly furnishing us a copy of the report. Any official information in reference to the island you can give us will be highly appreciated. What interests us most now is, Will the island belong to the United States, and does the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain so imply? We are going on the principle that it does. I have the honor to be, yours, very truly, JOHN C. SCOFIELD, Esq., Chief Clerk, War Department, Washington, D. C. G. W. REED, Vice-President. No answer appears to have been made to the letter of the Chicago Colony. Walter S. Chambers, of Philadelphia, wrote John Hay, Secretary of State, for information "as to its form of government, if it is owned by or subject to the control of the United States," etc. The reply to this letter was the mailing of a copy of the report upon the Isle of Pines, June 20, 1899. On August 8, 1899, John B. Altman, of St. Louis, Mo., asked the Secretary of State for information as to public lands, saying: As we are in a party of ten families, we want to settle in there on the mountainous part of the Isle of Pines, but we have not the information what and how to do to get land there. This is the reason I come with this request and wish to have advice. If we have to buy the land, we want to know the legal way to do it; otherwise we may lease land to settle in there. This was referred to the War Department and answered That the disposition of public lands in the islands must await the action of Congress, and to inclose for your information a copy of an official report received by this Department on the resources of the island. George Bridges, of Carlisle, Pa., sent the following letter to the War Department: CARLISLE, PA., August 10, 1899. GENTLEMEN: I am seeking information about the timber interests in the Isle of Pines and would be obliged for any information you would be able to give me, especially what will be the governmental status of the island? Does it come in as Porto Rico, or under the same conditions as Cuba? And how can title be secured? etc. I expect to go in November. For which information I will say thanks in advance. Yours, I expect to operate sawmills. Am no land grabber. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C. Mr. Bridges received the following reply: SIR: Referring to your communication of the 10th respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the S. Doc. 205, 59-1-14 GEO. BRIDGES. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, August 14, 1899. instant, soliciting information Assistant Secretary of War to advise you that the island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is therefore a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the Division of Cuba for governmental purposes. A copy of an official report on the Isle of Pines is inclosed for your information, and you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the action of Congress. Very respectfully, Mr. GEORGE BRIDGES, Carlisle, Pa. JOHN J. PERSHING, Assistant Adjutant-General. On June 26, 1899, A. S. Tubbs, of Tubbsville, Ohio, and on September 6 West & Co., of Detroit, Mich., and on December 20, 1899, L. C. Leith, of Galveston, Tex., sent requests to different departments for like information, and copies of official reports were sent to them by orders of the Secretary of War. This is all, substantially, that has been given out by the War Depart ment during the year 1899 to inquiring citizens as to the conditions of the Isle of Pines, in respect of government there, and as to the ownership of the Isle of Pines. These inquiries were anxious, honest, intelligent, and for the purpose of acquiring homes and establishing industries in good faith and by men of means, to improve the island, who lived in various States of the Union. To all these inquiries official reports made to the Government were sent in reply. An examination of this "Statement given to the press from the Bureau of Insular Affairs," which is printed in the report of the majority on pages 20 to 24, shows that the Government was presenting an alluring picture to the people which was calculated, if not intended, to impress them with the conviction that the Isle of Pines was an inviting place of residence and offered strong inducements for its settlement by small farmers, fruit growers, fishermen, and lumbermen, and that it was almost without an equal as a health resort. has been seldom, if at all, that our Government has prepared such invitations to our people for colonizing any place not a part of the continent (if it is not a part of North America). We have made no other such a propaganda. It It is no injustice to our history to say that at that time, in 1899, it was a wise policy of the United States to declare, as was done by the War Department in the letter of John J. Pershing to Mr. George Bridges, above copied. At that time the Platt amendment had not been enacted by Congress. It was enacted March 2, 1901. From the date of the letter to Bridges it was a year and nearly a half until the Platt amendment was enacted, and that letter stood, in right and honor, and with full knowledge of its intent by every Executive Department of the Government and with the implicit confidence of the people and without question by any official, civil or military, as a pledge of the Government to our people at large. The question of the ownership of the Isle of Pines was referred by the War Department to the Department of Justice in April or May, 1900, for decision, and no answer has been given, so far as the records of the War Department show. (See the letter of Acting Secretary of War, Mr. Meiklejohn, to Hon. R. K. Polk, on page 39 of the report of the majority.) No department or officer has ever disputed, or charged, or questioned, officially, the ruling of the War Department on the 14th of August, 1899, in the letter to George Bridges, until it was repudiated on the 15th of December, 1903, by the Acting Secretary of State, Hon. A. A. Adee, in the following correspondence: DECEMBER 16, 1903. SIR: I have the honor to inclose for your information copy of a letter from Mr. William Flindt and others and of the Department's reply relative to the status of the Isle of Pines. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, The SECRETARY of War. ALVEY A. ADEE, Acting Secretary. (Inclosures from William Flindt and others, December 8, 1903. To same, December 15, 1903.) DECEMBER 19, 1903. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your communication of the 16th instant transmitting, for the information of this Department, copy of a letter from Mr. William Flindt and others and of the reply of your Department relative to the status of the Isle of Pines. Very respectfully, The SECRETARY OF STATE. ELIHU ROOT, Secretary of War. SPENCER, IOWA, December 8, 1903. DEAR SIR: We desire to call your attention to the following facts in relation to the possession of the Isle of Pines, viz: That by the treaty of Paris Spain relinquished all claim over and title to Cuba by article 1 of said treaty; article 2 of the same treaty reads as follows: "Spain concedes to the United States the Island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the Island of Guam in the Marianas or Ladrones." On August 10, 1899, George Bridges wrote the War Department seeking information respecting the Isle of Pines and asked: "Does it come in as Porto Rico or under the same conditions as Cuba? I expect to go there in November, and for this information I would thank you in advance." to which the War Department replied on August 14, 1899, as follows: "Referring to your communication of August 10, instant, soliciting information respecting the Isle of Pines, I am directed by the Assistant Secretary of War to advise you that this island was ceded by Spain to the United States and is therefore a part of our territory, although it is attached at present to the Division of Cuba for governmental purposes. A copy of the Isle of Pines is inclosed for your information and you are advised that the disposition of public lands must await the action of Congress. "Very respectfully, JOHN J. PERSHING, "Assistant Adjutant-General." It was with the understanding and pursuant to such general information as contained in the foregoing letter that the undersigned, with others, invested in the Isle of Pines, some of whom are now residents of the island and are continuing to invest and make improvements upon the island. In all fairness to the American citizens living upon and interested in the Isle of Pines and in the interests of the Cubans of the isle, we are unalterably of the opinion that the Isle of Pines should remain American territory. We believe also that such would be in the interests of the people of Cuba and Cuban Government. Hoping that this matter will receive candid and serious consideration, we are, Respectfully, yours, Hon. JOHN HAY, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. WILLIAM FLINDT. |