"I am sending to Habana the Secretary of War, Mr. Taft, and the Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Bacon, as special representatives of this Government, who will render such aid as is possible toward these ends. I had hoped that Mr. Root, the Secretary of State, could have stopped in Habana on his return from South America, but the seeming imminence of the crisis forbids further delay." Messrs. Taft and Bacon reached Cuba on September 19, 1906. Before leaving the ship they were informed that the Secretary of State and Justice of President Palma's cabinet would call at their convenience. They invited him on board at once and had a short talk with him. They were informed that immediately on publication of the President's message, President Palma had directed a cessation of hostilities on the part of the government forces, and that the insurgents had done likewise. Messrs. Taft and Bacon then called upon President Palma. They told him that they regarded themselves as intermediaries and Peace Commissioners, and did not wish to negotiate with rebels in arms without his permission. He suggested that negotiations be conducted between the two political parties, rather than between himself and the insurgents, and suggested that the Vice-President, Mendez Capote, for the Moderate party, and Senator Alfredo Zayas, head of the Liberal party, be the negotiators. He added that General Menocal on behalf of the veterans of the War of Independence had previously attempted, on September 8, to bring about a compromise, but without avail. [Illustration: William H. Taft] President Palma told Mr. Taft very earnestly and somewhat pathetically of his efforts to teach his people the knowledge of good government gained from his twenty years of residence in the United States, and his association with the American people, and called attention to his successful handling of Cuban finances, to the economy of expenditures of his government, to the fact that he had at all times encouraged the investment of foreign capital, and to the prosperity of his four years as President. He deplored what he regarded as a lack of patriotism on the part of the leaders of the insurrection, and cited a number of instances to prove that they were actuated by motives of greed and desire for office. His demeanor was dignified and earnest, and what he said made a deep impression. The Americans then went to the home of the American Minister at Marianao, a suburb of Havana, where the insurgents had outposts just across the bridge, about 1,000 yards from the minister's house. There they conferred, as President Palma had suggested, with Señors Capote and Zayas, with the Secretary of Government, General Rafael Montalvo, who had charge of mobilizing the forces of the government; with General Rodriguez, and with the American Consul General, Mr. Steinhart, who had been eight years in the island, understood its conditions, and spoke its language.