158 THE POLITICS OF INTERVENTION
mittee was to advise the Governor on the Liberal position
on controversial issues and suggest candidates for appoint
ment. Its membership (by agreement of the Liberals them
selves) reflected the rapid rise in the Liberal ranks of the
military leaders of the August Revolution: Pino Guerra
(president), Eduardo Guzman (vice-president), and Ernesto
Asbert (secretary). Only Enrique Loynaz del Castillo was
excluded. The committee also included the prerevolt Liberal
notables, but they were temporarily eclipsed.
October, 1906, was the Liberals' honeymoon month. For
two weeks they promenaded, dined, and orated in Havana,
and capped the celebration with a victory rally at the Payret
theater on October 15. They considered the insurrection suc
cessful and their influence with the Provisional Government
strong.^38 They would not have been so jubilant had they
known that Taft had instructed Magoon that American policy
was to "neutralize" and "prevent" Liberal efforts to dominate
the next elections.^39 Unaware of this instruction, the Liberals
pushed Magoon on the question of patronage, telling him
that Taft had promised them that Liberals would replace all
the "undesirables" in the administration. They held to their
argument that they stood for honest government, impartiality
in the appointment of officials, and free elections. Juan
Gualberto Gomez reminded Magoon that Cubans would not
tolerate further injustice:
... A country never has a revolution without it is necessary. A mob
or street disturbance is brought about by half a dozen people, but for
a revolution it is necessary that the whole people participate....
When the people have been impelled to revolution it is a mistake to
impede the development of that idea of revolution, because in such
case what is done is to prepare a second revolution. That is what we
wish to avoid here.^40
Magoon, however, held firm to his position that no new
secretaries would be chosen, that only qualified men would
be appointed to other positions, that the congress would
remain in recess, and that the Liberals would not control
Cuban politics.