The Politics of Intervention

The Pacification of Cuba 135

less/ and that war with the American forces would be one of
extermination and absolutely fatal to Cuba."^35 In any case,
the Army's inclination was to draw out the occupation as long
as possible, hoping that the "better elements" could be per­
suaded to enter politics; those Cubans now interested in
politics, Army officers in Havana told junketing Republican
congressmen, were unfit to manage public affairs.^36 Still the
American goal was only to find honest leaders, insure repub­
lican government, and keep peace so that Cuba might
prosper. As one colonel put it:

Every year that passes by brings new prosperity to Cuba. Cuba is

for the One Hundred Millions Americans [sic] a wonderful, beautiful

and charming country which lies at its door. She is the sleeping beauty

waitting [sic] the kiss of love. ... It will not be many years before

Cuba will be the delight, the paradise of the western hemisphere. Once

the Cubans are rich, prosperous and happy they will forget talking

conspiracy.^37

Havana's English-language press seized upon the Army's

malaise to agitate for continued occupation and to threaten

potential rebels. The newspapers told their readers that the

Army of Cuban Pacification chafed for action. The Havana

Post declared that the soldiers ("who have not had the scent

of blood since a year ago") would welcome a fight; revo­

lution in such an atmosphere was foolhardy.^38 The Havana

Daily Telegraph, mourning the eventual withdrawal of the

American troops, urged them to stay on, for "revolution is

racial in Cuba and it will take several generations to bring

the people to the point where they can govern themselves.^39

The Army's stay in Cuba, including its relations with the

Cuban people, was more than an experience in alienation and

disgust. First the soldiers had some physical discomforts to

surmount. The major inconvenience was the hurricane of

October 18, 1906. Sweeping out of the Gulf of Mexico (where

it had already pounded Biloxi and Pensacola), the storm

devastated the western end of Cuba. For forty-eight hours,

Havana was a slice of the Inferno—trees ripping from the

ground, live wires sparking in the sheets of rain, roof tiles