Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1896-04-01
IN NINETY DAYS
If Granted Belligerent Rights by
the United States
And Given a Fighting Opportunity
Cuba Would Be Free.
The Spanish Are Now on the Defensive
Every Battle Fought In tho Past Thir-
ty Days Has Been Invited and
Won by the Insurgent Army.

New YORK, March 31.-.Elbert Rap
pleye, the Cuban correspondent of the
Mail and Express, who was recently
expelled from Havana, arrived here
Monday on the steamship Yucatan. In
an interview with reporter of the
United Press, Mr.. Rappleye said: II
come back from Cuba as deportado of
Gen. Weylar. In his decree expelling
me from the island, am called an ene-
my of Spain, that charge being based on
letters published in the Mali and Ex-
press over my signature. Any person
familiar with existing conditions in the
island of Cuba would know that the
only enmity, if any, I've shown toward
without fear or prejudice. This, of
course, has resulted in my ex-
pulsion. As an impartial observ-
er sent to Cuba to study and
inform myself and report the
progress Of events there without
restriction having been placed upon
me when accepted the mission. I un-
hesitatingly state that within three
months the insurgent cause would be
triumphant if the United States gov
ernmcnt would grant the belligercncy
rights and give the Cubans anything
like fighting opportunity. The
Spanish are now on the defensive.
Every battle fought in Cuba in the
past 30 days has been invited by the
rebels The have more ammunition
now than they ever have had, and if
they can maintain source of supply
there is not anything that can prevent
them from winning. Gen. Weyler has
been Spain's greatest mistake in the
war. His name and reputation carried
an odium which attracted the attention
of the world. The best evidence of his
bad gcneralship is his complete
back after they had left the western
provinces of Cuba. Maceo started his
western campaign, which is now COM
plete, with $1,000 men, one-third of
whom had not a single arm to fight
with. Those who had guns went into
battles with one or two cartridges and
fought, knowing that unless they
captured the enemies ammunition they
would have nothing to fight with the
next day. They are coming back now
with the whole cargo from the Ber-
muda and Gen. Weyler is withdrawing
the Spanish defenses from at least one
half of the principal points of the is
land to bar their progress. This leaves
Gomez to do as he pleases in three
quarters of the area of Cuba,
while the barrier which Weyler
is attempting to place before
Maceo is acknowledged by one of his
own generals, with whom L talked be-
fore my departure, to be but little
stronger numerically than Maceo's
army, Notwithstanding the fact that in
all of the invasions heretofore, the
Spanish have unsuccessfully at
tempted to prevent them with the
numbers in their favor, of ut least
four to one. While there has
been some doubt, perhaps justified,
about military organization of the
rebel armies, they need not exist any
longer as they are perfectly organized
with commanders of every rank, at this
time, and all of their operations are be-
ing conducted as Systematically as
those of the Spanish. Their one appeal
to the world is not for sympathy, but
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