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Show CUBA IS IN BADJPLIGHT Election Is Due on Island and Treasury Is Depleted Havan, Sept. 23. It is generally felt that Cuba Is approaching a crisis In its history as a republic Two serious seri-ous questions occupy the public mind- Can Cuba survive the present state of her finances? Can she hold an honest hon-est and orderly election for the presidency pres-idency with a loyal submission of the defeated party to the will of the ma jority? That the treasury Is empty, tint the last dollar of the $16,500,000 Spey-er Spey-er loan has been spent while the work of sewering and paving of Havana, the principal purpose for which thn plan was authorized by the United States, is not finished and Is in danger dan-ger of Interruption If not abandonment; abandon-ment; that the government i fit its wits' end to find money to meet its vast expendltui er, .vhile receipts from customs and the lottery iiave ieicheu their lowest point all this is nusorted by the enemies of the government and most of It is frankly admitted. Last month the government defaulted, default-ed, for the first time, on the account due the sewering and paving contractors contract-ors for work done in July amounting to $420,000 The government declared it found Itself unable to meet the bill simply because it had no more mon-cv. mon-cv. Tho contractors appealed to the American legation and sufficient pressure pres-sure was brought to bear to convince the government that payment was Imperative. Im-perative. "The folio .vlng day the money mon-ey was forth omln?:. Much Speculation. There has been much speculation as to whether the government will be able to satisfy the claims of the contractors con-tractors due the end ot this month, but there are indications that President Presi-dent Gomez, realizing fully the peril of another default has made an extraordinary ex-traordinary effort and will bo pro-pared pro-pared to meet the obligation and thus tide over thet crlnls for another month. The press continues to be filled with .;esslmistlc articles bewailing the financial fi-nancial and political perils that besot the republic. Careful estimates show that the Gomez administration has spent during its two and a half years at least $140,000. Reports declare that the ouly hope for Cuba lies in cutting down her expenses ex-penses at least 50 per cent. The present aspect of the political situation appears to justify reasonable reason-able expectations that General Mario Menocal can carry the election, especially es-pecially as be has just formed an alliance al-liance with the wing of the llboral party par-ty under tho leadership of General lirnesto Asbcrt, goeinor of Havana province Both conservatives and liberals are making strong bids Tor tho ncgio vote the former endeavoring to excite the animosity of the negroes against the liberals on account of the fatalities to mou of their race during the laat insurrection In Oriente and the latter endeavoring to placate them by promises prom-ises of unconditional pardon to thousands thou-sands of negro prisoners. |