During the administration of General Brooke the police force of Havana was completely reorganized, with the assistance of John B. McCullagh, formerly Superintendent of Police in New York. This was done as promptly as possible after the installation of American rule, and by the beginning of March, 1899, the peace and security of the Cuban capital were safeguarded by an admirable uniformed force of about a thousand men. Under the command of General Mario G. Menocal as Chief this body of men rendered Havana as efficient service, probably, as that in any American city of similar size. Police work in Havana, it should be understood, differs considerably from that in cities of the United States, for the reason that drunkenness and its attendant disorder and petty brawls are substantially unknown in the Cuban metropolis, and therefore one of the most prolific causes of arrests in American cities is there non-existent. When the American administration took charge of Cuban affairs it found the insular treasury quite empty. The departing Spaniards had seen to that. But a careful, honest and thrifty management of finances soon provided the island with a good working income. By the first of September, 1899, fully $10,000,000 had been received in revenue from different sources. Major E. F. Ladd of the United States army was made Treasurer and Disbursing Officer of the customs service, and a little later he was appointed Auditor and then Treasurer of the island. In those capacities he showed admirable efficiency and greatly ingratiated himself with the people; ranking as one of the most successful members of the American governing staff. His administration was the more appreciated by Cubans because of the welcome reform of the taxation system which was at that time effected. The old Spanish tax system had been abominable, and that of the short-lived Autonomist regime of 1897-1898 changed it chiefly with the result of adding to the confusion. Early in 1899, therefore, radical reforms were undertaken. An order was issued on February 10 remitting all taxes due under the old Spanish law which had remained unpaid on January 1, with the exception of taxes on passengers and freight which had according to custom been collected and were held by the railroad companies. All taxes on the principal articles of food and fuel were abolished, as were also all municipal taxes on imports and exports. These taxes had formerly been very burden-some and were a source of much grievance and irritation, and their abolition was very gratifying to the Cuban people, who began to appreciate what it meant to have a government whose prime object was to serve them and not to plunder them.