The convention adopted the• foregoing articles reluctantly, after considerable delay, and relying upon representations made to cer tain delegates by President McKinley, Sena tor Platt and other officials at Washington, that the tariff on Cuban products sent to the United States would be reduced, as a proper concession in view of the surrender by Cuba of such valuable privileges. The Congress of Cuba (elected 31 Dec. 1901 and 24 Feb. 1902): was convened in Havana 5 May 1902, to ex amine into the credentials of its own members and to count and ratify the electoral vote. At 12 o'clock noon, 20 May 1902, the Republic of Cuba was established; Tomas Estrada Palma being President and Luis Estevez Romero President. The transfer was made in the ception 'hall of the palace of the military gov ernor. A salute of 45 guns was fired while the document of transfer and President Patina's reply were being read; the troops of the 7th United States Cavalry, formed in the plaza before the palace, presented arms; the band played the American national air, and the Amer ican flag was lowered. Next the Cuban flag was hoisted and greeted with the national salute of 21 guns by the U. S. S. Brooklyn; the Cuban national air was played; the American troops saluted the Cuban flag and then immediately embarked.
Cuba Independent—There remained on the island, at Santiago, Cienfuegos and small forces of artillery, for the preservation and care of the coast defenses and to avoid leaving the island entirely defenseless against external attack, pending such arrangements for naval stations as were contemplated. Though the failure to secure tariff concessions from the United States as promptly as was expected increased the difficulty of their financial prob lems, the people of Cuba have a fair record for the first year of their independence. An intelli gent effort was made to keep the most important industries moving along in the usual way and to preserve order throughout the island, the single conspicuous exception being the strike of tobacco workers in Havana (November 1902). From the first the balance in the treas ury showed a tendency to increase. The com pletion of the central railway, connecting Santa Clara with Santiago, and the western with the eastern provinces for the first time by a con tinuous line of railway transportation, gave a new impetus to industrial development in 1903. The treaty of reciprocity between the United States and Cuba, having been approved by the Senate of the United States, 17 March 1903, and by the Cuban Senate, 28 March 1903, was submitted to and accepted by the House of Representatives at Washington, convened int extraordinary session 9 Nov. W03. Violent
putes between the Cuban Liberals and Moder-, ates, culminating in the insurrection of 1906 which the Palma government was unable to sup press, led to the second American •intervention.. A census of the island was taken and fresh-deo, dons were held in 1907; and in January 1909 the: American troops were again withdrawn; On 16 March 1912 the hull of the battleship Maine, having been raised by American gineers, was towed three miles outside of Havana harbor and sunk. On 20 May 1913 Gen. Maria Garcia Menocal (Conservative) was inaugurated as President and Dr. Enrique Jose Verona as Vice-President. In 1915 the Cuban delegation to the Pan-American Financial ference reported most favorably in respect to the important and very close commercial and financial relations between the United States and Cuba, so essential to the latter's well-being and political stability. This favorable condition is due in great measure to the bene• ficial operation of the reciprocity treaty entered into between the two countries in. the year 1903, as may be seen by the statistics showing the increase in the reciprocal trade relations since the treaty was put into effect( (Memorandum submitted by the Cuban delegation, page 384). Again, in the group conference report, page 379: clearly has it been recognized that these special relations (which were established by the reciprocity treaty) existed between Cuba and the United States that many measures are already in force for promoting intimate com mercial and financial relations which in the case of other countries are only in the preliminary stage. From the beginning the national 'loans of Cuba were taken by Atherican bankers and are still held largely in the United States. The means of transportation and other public utili ties have also been, to a large extent. established and are now operated by American capital( (For the expansion of Cuba's trade with the United States, and a summary dated 1 May 1916 of the island's whole foreign trade, •see under Conatrece). On 11 Feb. 1917 two com panies of soldiers encamped just outside Havana mutinied, and on 12 February, three days before the date set for the new presidential election, nearly the entire force of government troops in Cite de Avila, Santiago de Cuba and other towns in the eastern part of the island revolted and took possession forcibly of those districts. The Cuban government met the crisis with energy and had the moral support of the government of the United States; accordingly the revolt was suppressed in less than two months (before the middle of April 1917).