The next question taken up was the method of distribution, and while General Gomez and your Commissioner reached no written agreement, the general plan verbally agreed upon was as follows:
“Memoranda regarding the distribution of funds appropriated by the United States Congress to be expended on behalf of and for the relief of the Cuban army, as discussed at Remedios, February 1, 1899, by General Maximo Gomez and Robert P. Porter.
1. That a Cuban officer shall be appointed in each province to co-operate with the American officers in the distribution of funds; and furthermore, General Maximo Gomez, as commander-in-chief of the Cuban forces, is hereby named to confer with Major-General Brooke, U.S.A., in the selection of this committee on distribution.
2. That these officers shall immediately meet at some convenient point and decide as to how, when, and where this fund shall be distributed, and such other details as will assure a prompt distribution.
3. That the sum paid each man shall not be regarded as part payment of salary or wages due for services rendered, but to facilitate the disbandment of the army, and as a relief for the suffering, and an aid in getting the people to work again.
4. That Cubans shall surrender their arms to the Cuban Assembly, or its appointed representatives, or make such other distribution of the same as may be agreed upon by the aforesaid committee on distribution.
5. That the committee shall use its best endeavours in the payment of this fund to distribute the military population of the Island so that all may secure work and the wounds of war be healed as rapidly as possible.
6. That the money thus appropriated ($3,000,000) shall be placed subject to the order of the Governor-General, U.S.A., of the Island of Cuba. Immediate action is necessary.”
The appointment of a Cuban and a United States officer from each province will be necessary, because no fair distribution of this fund can possibly be made without a knowledge of local conditions and a personal acquaintance with the troops. In Santiago, for example, no two persons would be so well qualified to advise with General Brooke as Major-General Leonard Wood and General Castillo, and officers of similar experience in both armies will of course be called in from the other provinces. Another advantage of such a committee, and one which appealed to General Gomez, and subsequently, on your Commissioners returning to Havana, to General Brooke, is that the question of policing the Island can be taken up at the same time, and a plan agreeable to all concerned agreed upon. The men called together to deal with the disbandment of the army will be able to supply considerable information in relation to local conditions and to the needs of each community. This is a problem upon which General Brooke is at the moment seeking enlightenment, and a Cuban general from each province will be a valuable addition to his own sources of information. The utter impossibility of considering the payment offered by the United States, to help the Cuban army to disband and get to work, as part payment of salary or wages due for services rendered was explained by your Commissioner, and in response General Gomez said he understood the attitude of the President on that subject, and could make no objection. Other phases of the question were discussed, such as the advisability of making the payment absolutely on the per capita plan, or only to those who needed help. For example, many of the soldiers have already been provided for, notably in Santiago, and later in Havana, on the police force. These men are drawing good salaries from the municipality and are not the objects of State aid. There is no necessity to include such cases. This will leave more for those who must be helped back to the land. These questions of detail, however, it was finally agreed, should be properly left to the committee. As a matter of fact, the Cuban Commission only claimed 30,000 privates. The total pay earned by these privates, according to the Commission’s report,—based on the same rate of pay as United States soldiers receive,—was a trifle over $9,000,000. It is not likely, however, that the committee to be called together by General Brooke will find anything like this number of soldiers who need the assistance herewith proffered. There is no controversy over the other paragraphs of the memoranda.
The actual basis of distribution will undoubtedly be the most troublesome question to be adjusted by General Brooke and General Gomez and the officers of both armies called in to advise. It can be settled, however, with the proper local information, and settled to much greater advantage, in the opinion of your Commissioner, to the Island than by a payment of one hundred dollars all around. If, however, the committee cannot see their way clear to a more equitable distribution they can, of course, resort to the original proposition of the late General Garcia to the President of one hundred dollars all around to the privates; or, if the silver dollar is used—and that is still the basis of payment in Cuba for day labour—the $3,000,000 will take in all, including the commissioned officers.[21] The above was the sum and substance of the conference. General Gomez was exceedingly gracious, and several times said he had no doubt of the friendly attitude of the President toward Cuba and toward him personally, which good feeling, he said, was reciprocated. He sent the President and yourself his cordial wishes and thanks for the courtesy extended and said he would telegraph the President and General Brooke direct, and would accept the latter’s invitation to see him in Havana at an early date. He wished your Commissioner to assure the President he would do all in his power to aid in the work of reconstruction of Cuba. Turning to Captain Campbell, he said: