ite empty. The departing Spaniards had seen to
that. But a careful, honest and thrifty management of finances soon
provided the island with a good working income. By the first of
September, 1899, fully $10,000,000 had been received in revenue from
different sources. Major E. F. Ladd of the United States army was made
Treasurer and Disbursing Officer of the customs service, and a little
later he was appointed Auditor and then Treasurer of the island. In
those capacities he showed admirable efficiency and greatly ingratiated
himself with the people; ranking as one of the most successful members
of the American governing staff. His administration was the more
appreciated by Cubans because of the welcome reform of the taxation
system which was at that time effected. The old Spanish tax system had
been abominable, and that of the short-lived Autonomist regime of
1897-1898 changed it chiefly with the result of adding to the confusion.
Early in 1899, therefore, radical reforms were undertaken. An order was
issued on February 10 remitting all taxes due under the old Spanish law
which had remained unpaid on January 1, with the exception of taxes on
passengers and freight which had according to custom been collected and
were held by the railroad companies. All taxes on the principal articles
of food and fuel were abolished, as were also all municipal taxes on
imports and exports. These taxes had formerly been very burden-some and
were a source of much grievance and irritation, and their abolition was
very gratifying to the Cuban people, who began to appreciate what it
meant to have a government whose prime object was to serve them and not
to plunder them.

One tax was greatly increased, namely, the excise tax upon all alcoholic
liquors, and this was made a part of the revenue of the municipalities
instead of the state, thus compensating the municipalities for the loss
of the tax on merchandise. Despite the temperate habits of the Cuban
people, the very general consumption of some form of alcoholic drink
made this impost amount to a considerable sum.

A matter which urgently needed reform, but which unfortunately was
reformed with more zeal than diplomacy, caused much dissension in that
first year of American administration. That was the marriage law. Under
Spanish government marriage was held to be exclusively a function,
indeed, a sacrament, of the Roman Catholic church, and could not legally
be performed by any other authority