The Politics of Intervention

152 THE POLITICS OF INTERVENTION

ment of Public Instruction temporarily went under American
control in 1908 when Lieutenant Colonel Bullard became act­
ing secretary. As for the role of the officer-advisers, one
American observed that

... they are de facto secretaries. Of course, to placate the Cubans,—
and it does seem as we are afraid of them, strange as it may seem,—
or else diplomacy is the fetish just now,—there must be acting secre­
taries, but they simply sign papers and do what the advisors tell them.^21

Secretary Taft personally selected the department advisers,
and his criteria for appointment, understandably, was prior
experience in Cuba or the Philippines in civil government.^22
His chief advisers in the selection process (which began on
September 27, 1906) were Captain Frank R. McCoy, Leonard
Wood's trusted aide, and Frank Steinhart, consul-general and
former chief clerk of the Military Government. Thus it is
not surprising that most of the officers detailed to the Pro­
visional Government had a striking common denominator:
they had been effective administrators in Leonard Wood's
Cuban government.^23 Those who were not part of Wood's
coterie had seen equally extensive service in the Philippines.
A survey of the officers who played major roles in the Provi­
sional Government indicates the breadth of their experience
in pacification operations and colonial administration:^24
Colonel Enoch H. Crowder.—Military Secretary and Legal
Adviser to the Military Governor of the Philippines. Judge
Advocate General, Department of the Philippines. Associate
Justice, Supreme Court of the Philippines. 1898-1901.
Lieutenant Colonel Edwin St. John Greble.—Adjutant
General, Department of Matanzas-Camaguey. Superintendent,
Department of Charities and Corrections, Cuba, 1899-1902.
Lieutenant Colonel William M. Black.—Chief Engineer,
City of Havana. Chief Engineer, Department of Cuba. Super­
visor, Department of Public Works. Cuba, 1899-1902, "Good
record and has confidence of Cubans."