the cost incurred by the Military Government in renovating and building the same. The Insular Government was undertaken without a dollar of public money on hand, except the daily collections of customs and internal revenue, and involved the collection and disbursement of $57,197,140.80 during its existence, for improvements in material conditions and the upbuilding of insular institutions. This sum does not include the municipal revenues, only the general insular revenues. The work called for and accomplished was the building up of a REPUBLIC, by Anglo-Saxons, in a Latin country where approximately 70 per cent of the people were illiterate; where they had lived always as a military colony; where general elections, as we understand them, were unknown; in fact, it was a work which called for practically a rewriting of the administrative law of the land, including the law of charities and hospitals, public works, sanitary law, school law, railway law, etc.; meeting and controlling the worst possible sanitary conditions; putting the people to school; writing an electoral law and training the people in the use of it; establishing an entirely new system of accounting and auditing; the election and assembling of representatives of the people to draw up and adopt a Constitution for the proposed new Republic; in short, the establishment, in a little over three years, in a Latin military colony, in one of the most unhealthy countries in the world, of a Republic modeled closely upon lines of our great Republic, and the transfer to the Cuban people of the Republic so established, free from debt, healthy, orderly, well equipped, and with a good balance in the treasury. All of this work was accomplished without serious friction. The Island of Cuba was transferred to its people as promised, and was started on its career in excellent condition and under favorable circumstances. The Government of Cuba, while called "Military," was so in name only. The courts exercised full and untrammeled jurisdiction from first to last. Means of appeal to the Supreme Court of Cuba from the decisions of the Military Governor were provided, in all cases except appeals against such acts of the Military Government as were of a legislative character, such as the promulgation of laws, etc. Nearly all public offices were filled by Cubans, and the government, as conducted, was as nearly a government by the people as was possible under conditions existing. Very respectfully, LEONARD WOOD. |