Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-25
A SPANISH VIEW OF 1T
Exceptions Taken to Statements of Star
Correspondent.
Defense of the Spanish Officers in
Santa Clnra-The' Matter of
Barbarity.

to the 31tCat1On IN Sdnld cara, "neTe tHere
are some 1900 or 10000 Spanish troops.
he says II at mo movement of any import
ance has been made in weeks; also that
the comm ander claims (meaning, doubtless,
admits that he does not know in which
direction to move If no movement has
been made it is simply because the insur-
gents refuse to show themselves. and if
they insist upon skulking like wolves in
the Businesses of the forest, any one who
krcws the country will readily understand
the difficulty of getting at them. AS to the
Spanish commander Claiming that he
does not know in which direction to move,
he has certainly claimed no such thing,
or, If he has it is the first instance on rec
ord where a general ever made such an
imbecile admission. Gen. Martinez Campos
mas been all over that ground before lin the
last insur1 ection), and he is thoroughly
familiar with the country and the lnsur-
gent tactics. He knows what he Is about,
and Is too old a campatgner to leave Santa
Clara almost disheartered,' as your CORE
spondent puts 1t. 1t is not the business of
a commander to get disheartened, and. least
of all, to publish such fact and to admit
that he does not know in which direction
to turn The Spanish general has laid his
plans we'll end urless / am very much
mistaken. his $4,000 or 10000 troops will
very shortly demonstrate that they are not
in Santa Clara for nothing.
Little Fevers
Your correspondent lays stress on the
ravages of yellow fever. The truth Is, and
it has been confirmed officially and in other
ways, that there was never a season when
there was less yellow fever and of milder
type than during the present year. Not
three per cent of those attacked have sue
cumbed to the disease, this immunity being
due largely to the care taken of the troops
and also to more scientific treatment and
a liberal use of Quinine
If the black small pox has made its ap-
peararce, as stated by your correspondent.
l pity the insurgents, who are mostly ne
groes. The Spanish troops have little to
fear from it, for they are all carefully vac
cinated and will be revaccinated If neces-
sary. but no such precaution is taken with
the insurgents. and as this is a disease to
which the negroes are peculiarly liable. l am
confident, from observation, if it once makes
its appearance among them there will be lit
tie left for Spanish bullets and bayonets
to do.
Your correspondents allusion to Mirabel,
the bandit, is somewhat amusing to any one
acquainted with the latter's history. This
murderous wretch was for years before
the insurrection the terror of the district
in which he operated. He murdered and
robbed right and left-whether Spaniard or
Cuban, white or black, it was a matter
of indifference to him, SO long it yielded
him few dollars-and he has long been
under sentence of death for his numerous
crimes. 1t is this wretch who is represent
ed as patriot giving all his wealth (stolen)
for Cuban liberty"
The Question of Barbnrity.
Your correspondent describes the warfare
in Cuba as barbarous! 1t certainly is as far
as the insurgents are concerned. Witness
Roloffs atrocious dynamite warfare on rail-
road passenger trains, blowing them up and
killing and mutilating innocent, non-com-
Blatant passengers; witness Gomez's order
to burn the sugar plantations and to kill
all found working on them; witness Maceo's
threat to lay the island in ruins. and his
savage hanging of poor country people for
the sole offence of taking their produce to
market so to sustain their families, ard
finally witness Estrada Palma's cynical ad-
vocacy of the hellsh doctrine that 1.-The
end justifes the MEANS thus seeking to
condone every crime in the CALENDAR.
The New York Sun and Mr.. Don Dickinson
and Senator Call and other pro-insurgents
have q great deal to say as to Spanish cruel
ties, but l observe they simply content
themselves with making vague assertions
without ever attempting to adduce facts in
their support To any one who is familiar
with the characteristics of the Spanish Of
hcer and the Spanish soldier, these aSSer-
tionS appear calumnious. 1 have come into
close contact with representatives of the
Spanish army both in Europe and Cuba and
will say for the average officer, you might
search the world over and You would not
| find a more courteous and cnivalrous ind:-
vidual; and as to the private he is, as rule
neither more nor less than the sober, simple
kindly disposed and polite young country
fellow so well known to and esteemed by all
who have Travelled in Spain. 1t is not in
men like these that you find cruelty.
The Spanish Artillery.
But the most astonishing statement made
by your correspondent is that wherein he
refers to the arrival at Havana of several
Maxim guns made by Krupp," adding
that none of the military officers here dn
Havana) knew aIght regarding them;
therefore the government has cabled to
Eissen, Germany, for instruction in their
USE"
Really. one would suppose this was with
reference to some African savages in the
junges instead of the Spanish artillery
officers. The truth is that if there is one
branch of the service to which more than
| any other the Spanish war office has al
ways devoted special study and attention,
| it is the artillery. Spain has ever prided
herself upon this arm of the service and
| so notorious is the fact throughout Europe
| that when, under Costelars republican
| regime many of the officers of the Spanish
army resigned their commissions and went
| ABROAD artillery officers, such as OrdoneZ,
| Houtoria and others, were eagerly sought
| for by the German and French govern
| ments and were offered commissions
| in those armies. So thoroughly is
| artillery studied in Spain that it may be
safely said that there is not gun from
the Krupp to the Armstrong or to the
| Ordonez pattern which Is not well I'M
| derstood by Spanish artillery officers as
| by the inventors themselves, so that when
your correspondent says that Spanish OIL
| GERS in Havana did not understand the
| Krupps he must have been made victim
| of joke. Krupp guns, have long been
mounted on the Havana forts, MORO and
Cabana.
McllO's Denial. 49,
| Your correspondent further says that
British navy captain Informed him that
Admiral Mello, late of the Brazilian navy.
was in command of IAN armed insurgent
steamer, which had been fitted out at Tou-
len, France This Hritish captain must
| have been "jollying" your representative,