The Politics of Occupation 159By mid-winter the leading Liberals had fallen out among
themselves. Part of the power struggle stemmed from the
popularity of the military chieftains of the August Revolution
and the conflicting views on the presidential nomination for
the promised elections. Another factor was traditional per
sonal and regional rivalries. One more divisive influence was
the struggle for the patronage which Magoon, in the name
of fair play and party harmony, had promised to distribute.
As early as January, 1907, the Liberal Committee was inter
nally split over patronage control and the presidential nomi
nation. The leading contenders, Jose Miguel Gomez and
Alfredo Zayas, were soon trying to line up supporters, and
the Liberal party dissolved into two shifting factions.^41
The Liberal split complicated what might have been a
ludicrous issue: the repeal of the laws banning cock-fighting.
In February, acting on a Zayista tip, the Havana police broke
up a private pelea de gallos arranged for some American
officers and arrested Jose Miguel Gomez and Pino Guerra.
Their arrest sparked a mass rally, organized by Monteagudo,
in Havana and a mob of fifteen thousand demonstrated in
front of the national palace for repeal of the ban. Impressed
by the crowd's reaction, the Miguelistas made repeal a cam
paign issue, which angered the Havana SPCA and the con
servatives. Although Magoon believed Wood's law ill-advised,
he (on Taft's advice) declined to rule on the problem. Pri
vately he was dumfounded at the furor such an incident
could create.^42
By the spring of 1907, the Liberals were completely divided
into Miguelistas and Zayistas on national matters, while
strong men held local power in the provinces. In anticipation
of elections to be held in June, two separate slates of candi
dates were prepared by the factions. The Military Information
Division gave Gomez the balance in Pinar del Rio and
Camaguey (thanks to Loynaz del Castillo and Cisneros
Betancourt). Zayas held the city and province of Havana
(his home) and Oriente, where he was supported by Juan
Gualberto G6mez and Castillo Duany. Provincial jefes Gen
erals Eduardo Guzman and Jose Luis Robau held Santa