ty was simultaneously undertaken by districts under the
direction of officers having authority to proceed along certain
established lines. Episodes illustrating these "established lines" are
many, but there is space here, for only one or two of them.

It developed at the outset that there was food and meat in the city
which the people could use, but which was beyond their reach on
account of the high prices. General Wood no sooner heard {115} of this
than he "established a line of procedure" to correct it. He sent for
the principal butchers of the city and asked:

"How much do you charge for your meat?"

"Ninety cents a pound, Senor."

"What does it cost you?"

There was hesitation and a shuffling of feet; then one of the men said
in a whining voice:

"Meat is very, very dear, your Excellency."

"How much a pound?"

"It costs us very much, and ..."

"How much a pound?"

"Fifteen cents, your Excellency; but we have lost much money during
the war and..."

"So have your customers. Now meat will be sold at 25 cents a pound,
and not one cent more. Do you understand?"

Then, turning to the alderman, he charged him to see that his order
was carried out to the letter, unless he wanted to be expelled from
office.

Thenceforward meat was sold in the markets at 25 cents. The same
simple plan was evolved for all other kinds of supplies. Naturally
such high-handed methods caused a great hue and cry {116} amongst
certain of the citizens and no such method could have been carried out
by any one but a military commander with absolute authority. Some of
the newspapers, all of which had been given a free hand by Wood and
were allowed for the first time to say what they liked, started a
campaign against the new administration and its busy head. But hand in
hand with this autocratic procedure went the organization of native
courts, the appointment of native officials for carrying on the
government, native police to catch Cuban bandits and native judges to
give decisions and impose sentences. Furthermore, in these same days
of autocratic action, the people gradually discovered that although
everybody was forced to work all those who did got paid--something new
to the Santiago-Cuban consciousness--that the invading American army
was not arresting natives in the streets and thrusting them into jail,
but that their own native police were doing this work. Gradually, as
the city became clean, as prices fell, as payment for work