island.
Conversely he wished to show that he and his government had nothing to
do with the work of the Convention.

The Constitution thus auspiciously brought into existence declares Cuba
to be a sovereign republic. The powers of government are much more
centralized than those in the United States. The six Provinces have no
such rights as have the states of America, though they have a liberal
measure of local governmental power. They are not states or provinces,
however, but mere departments--fractions of the whole instead of
integral units. Each has a Governor and an elected Assembly. So each
city and town has a mayor and a council. Municipalities have the power
to levy taxes for local needs. The control of railroads and telegraphs
is a national function, and the judicial system is also national. There
is freedom of speech, of press and of worship. No prisoner may be held
longer than twenty-four hours without judicial process. Congress
consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. There are six
Senators from each department, elected by the municipalities for six
years, one third retiring every two years. Representatives are elected
from districts by the people for four years, there being one member to
every 25,000 inhabitants. Senators and Representatives must be
twenty-five years old, and if not native citizens must have been
naturalized eight years. The President and Vice-President are elected
for four years by the people through electoral colleges, with a
provision for minority representation, each citizen voting for only
two-thirds of the number of electors to which his district is entitled.
Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed for life by the President
with the ratification of the Senate. The civil law and constitutional
guarantees can be suspended in case of emergency only by Congress when
it is in session, but by the President when Congress is not in session.
The House of Representatives may impeach the President, when the Senate
may suspend him from office, try him, and upon conviction remove him
permanently. Amendments of the Constitution must be voted by two-thirds
of both Houses and ratified by a popular convention specially called for
the purpose.

There can be no question that this was a highly creditable production,
and one which amply merited the qualified approval which was given to it
by Elihu Root, Secretary of War of the United States, when he said: "I
do not fully agree with the wisd