The Politics of Intervention

124 THE POLITICS OF INTERVENTION

for it, looked essentially passive. As defined by General Bell,

however, the Army's role was seen as mediative as well as

deterrent:

Troops are... not expected to take part in an active way in the

suppression of disorder unless an extreme emergency arises in which

it is absolutely necessary for them to protect life and property. Their

duties should be generally limited to tendering their good offices in

preventing friction between conflicting elements. Their presence in a

community should create such a sense of security that the Rural Guards

and local police should be able to suppress disorders. To this end all

officers and enlisted men of this command will exert every effort to mani­

fest all the courtesy possible to Cubans of all parties. They will par­

ticularly avoid taking sides with any party or faction.^8

The Army high command in Cuba recognized that much of
its influence depended on the troops' good behavior and its
own responsiveness to the needs of the Provisional Govern­
ment. Yet its own definition of "moral force" (at least that of
its commanding general) was more than the naked threat of
armed power. Pacification, in the Army's experience, was to
a degree a process of assuming moral leadership. The pres­
ence of large numbers of Americans made this inevitable. The
Army, which "though small in numbers... has nevertheless
shown itself everywhere and has quietly covered every nook
and corner of the entire island," could serve by its example
as a representative American institution.^9 This aspect of the
occupation was explicit in General Barry's message of June
26, 1907. Congratulating his men on their "self-restraint, good
judgement, sound discretion, and intelligent appreciation of
the purposes of our government," Barry pointed out that
the Army of Cuban Pacification had an obligation that
transcended its use as guarantor of peace:

The duty of the Army here, as elsewhere, is to give effect to the
policies of our Government, and if, in carrying out such policies, the
principles of liberty, independence, and self government, as set forth
in "The Declaration of Independence" and exemplified in that national
life of our country, are so demonstrated, it is believed that one of the
essential objects of our presence here will have been accomplished.^10