The Reconstruction of the Cuban Armed Forces 237Permanent Army, the Rural Guard, and a militia. No missions
were assigned the different forces, and the militia clause
meant only that males from 21-45 had some vague military
obligation. General Rodriguez continued as commander of
the Rural Guard. The Zayista Liberal and hero of 1906,
General Pino Guerra, took command of the Permanent Army.^44
In assessing the political impact of the decrees, Magoon
wrote Taft that the compromise plan had "given general—I
might say, universal—satisfaction." Rodriguez, his officers and
advisers, and the conservatives were happy with the strength
ened Rural Guard, while the Liberals were satisfied with the
Permanent Army. Public opinion and the press were equally
pleased. Magoon, looking back over the controversy, believed
that the need for more troops was obvious from the start and
that the Rural Guard's partisan taint made it inexpedient to
continue it as the sole armed force. Magoon was quite opti
mistic about Guerra's appointment, for Pino had been out of
politics for a whole year. His appointment had won Liberal
plaudits and the conservatives recognized his military prowess.
"This puts an end to insurrections; nobody will want 'Pino*
to go after them; he would not bring in prisoners—he served
to [sic] long with Maceo for that"—such were the comments
Magoon said he heard. In any event, the Provisional Governor
pointed out, the character of the new armed forces hinged
on the way the laws were executed.^45
La Discusion, in a representative editorial, extolled the new
army as a keeper of the peace and the embodiment of
modernity and patriotism: "What the country demands is a
military machine, disciplined, scientific, robust, ready at all
times at the defense of the constituted power." La Discusion
(whose editor voted against the law in the Advisory Law
Commission) added, however, that it would be a good idea
if the army had American advisers, since they had been so
successful with the Rural Guard.^46
Viewed from the perspective of the Military Information
Division, the Governor's decrees cast a different shadow.
Guerra's appointment, Captain Furlong reported, was viewed
as a Zayista triumph and a stunning setback for the Miguel
istas. The latter had already stepped up their efforts to