The Provisional Government and Cuban Stability 191short-term needs of Roosevelt's Caribbean policy. Magoon,
despite his power to rule by decree, was caught between his
allegiance to Washington and his ambiguous instructions to
govern in Cuba's interest. In two different ways he was
restrained from working meaningful reforms in Cuba: his
decrees had to be cleared with Taft as consistent with
American policy and had to be compatible with his own
assumptions about the proper role of government per se.
These restraints limited his activities within Cuba.
At the same time, Magoon had to contend with demands
for "more" government from two intrinsically hostile groups,
the American officers on his staff and the Cuban politicos.
These two groups were not as concerned with the short-range
aims of Roosevelt's Cuban policy as they were with conditions
in Cuba itself. Naturally, their own prescriptions for Cuba's
ills differed widely in both means and ends, but in their own
way the officers and the politicos spoke for Cuba rather than
the United States. While the politicos were to a large degree
excluded from the highest administrative decision-making elite,
the American officers dominated the day to day activities of
the Provisional Government.
The influence of the United States Army in the Provisional
Government grew during the occupation. American officers
became increasingly important in politically sensitive posts,
not only in national government, but in provisional and
municipal government as well. From Magoon's viewpoint, the
Army men offered unquestionable advantages over the Cubans:
they were quick to act, incorruptible, trained in effective
administration and loyal. Whether he realized their basic lack
of sympathy with Roosevelt's Cuban policy is uncertain.
In addition to staffing the executive departments, the
Rural Guard and the Governor's office, Army officers held
other important posts. Colonel Black, Colonel Greble, and
Major Kean, for example, composed an ad hoc Board of
Municipal Aid, which passed on most municipal expenditures.^2
In the Department of Justice, Captain T. B. Steele headed
the politically powerful Bureau of Pardons. Three other offi
cers in the Department of Government handled the admin