what was known as
_vale_, or a receipt, to the owner, and if the owner happened to be an
able bodied man, they usually compelled him to join the so-called
"Constitutional Army." Congress at that time happened to have a Liberal
majority, and it refused to consider or vote upon the budget of the
coming year, thus practically compelling President Palma to use as the
basis of expenditures the budget of the preceding year. The Liberals
boasted that they had thus compelled the President technically to
violate the Constitution, and that they were therefore justified in
calling themselves the Constitutional Party and in forcing him out of
the Presidency.

The Cuban republic at this time had an armed force of about two thousand
men, scattered throughout the island. These were the Rural Guards, and
they were efficient, and as a rule loyal to the Palma government; but
they were not sufficient in number to protect the sugar estates, and
other properties. As before, President Palma refused, until the last
moment, to believe that a serious uprising or revolution against his
government was possible, on the ground that Cuba, although a young
republic, had been very prosperous, that money was plentiful, that work
was abundant for any man who cared to occupy himself, and that there was
no real reason that would justify or cause a revolution. He cited the
history and motives of previous revolutions in Cuba, and of those that
had occurred in many other countries, insisting that this uprising could
not be serious, and that the people of Cuba would not support it.
Unfortunately he was not a politician. He had lived too many years in
the safe and sane atmosphere of the United States, and did not realize
the intense desire on the part of some of the people in Latin American
countries to get into office, regardless of their qualifications or the
means employed to accomplish their sordid purposes.

All of this resulted in a sad lack of preparation. President Palma's
Secretary of Finance, Colonel Ernesto Fonts-Sterling, and General Rafael
Montalvo, Secretary of Public Works, realized the threatening dangers
and urged immediate action; and finally against the President's will,
twenty machine guns were ordered from the United States, and shipped to
Cuba, together with 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition. A call for
volunteers was then issued, and in response numerous Americans from
various parts of the island, and others from Texas, New Mexico and
Ar