Evening star., 1896-12-03
SMALLPOX AND SUGAR
Under the Same Roof at Regla, Near
the City Of Havana.
WAREHOUSES; USED as HOSPITALS
DepIorabIe Sanitary Conditions in
the Spanish Lines.
TALK WITH A n A TT Y E


Senior Perez Vento. for long time citi-
zen of Havana, passed through Washington
yesterday, on his way from New Orleans to
Philadelphia. Senior Vento left Havana
about ten days ago. He conyersed with
representative of The Star during his brief
stop in Washington. declining. however. to
talk of the military aspect of affairs In
Cuba or the prospects for the Cuban cause,
explaining that he did not care to discuss
the politics of the island. He was quite
willing, however, to talk of the sanitary
conditions which he regarded. in very
serious manner.
Gen Losado. the Spanish sanitary in
spector. in his report of November 10.
said SenOr Vento, said there were l1,WO
sick Spanish soldiers in the Island OF CUBA,
and, from what saw before my departure.
| believe it would be safe to estimate the
Eumber now at 10000. The mortality Is
frightful, especially among the young SOL
diers fresh from Spain. The most recent
reports showed that an average OF forty
seven dead were taken out of the hospitals
daily and that the great majority of the
fatalities were among men from twenty
to thirty-three years old. In the hospital
at Artemisa there were reported to be 100
sick and wounded when 1 departed. The
chief diseases from which the SpaniardS
suffer now are yellow fever and virulent
smallpox. Before 1 left Col. Rotger had
the sick and wounded Spanish soldiers from
the trocha into Havana. They were
brought to the city in carts. travelling in
trains, and the patients would come TWO
or three hundred at time. The steamer
Triton, which runs from the north coast
of Pinar del Rio to Havana, also brings
to the city from three to four hundred sick
or wounded on each trip
overcrOvvtlinE nnd Lack Of Treatment
"Are these sufferers we'll cared for?" in
quired the reporter.
Not at ALL" answered Senor Nento.
Such has been the influx of the sick and
wounded into Havana that all of the hos
pitals were long ago filled. the orphan asy-
lums and converts were also crowded ana
finally the large sugar warehouses at Regls
across the bay from Havana were taken Tor
the use CT yellow fever and smallpox pa
tents. These warehouses occupy space
of about seven blocks and the rooms are
very large ones. A great deal of sugar IS
stored in these warehouses. yet shipments
of it are being regularly made to this and
to other countries.
"Oh, yes. the patients and the sugar are
under the same roof. and whenever sugar
IS removed for shipment the place 1t occu-
pied is Immediately used for cots for addi-
tional patients, as the warehouses are
crowded All the patients in the hospitals
are very badly attended and medical care
is in the hands of military surgeons who
rush through their work fearful of taking
the infection themselves. The recent tee-
grams announcing the outbreak of typhoid
fever among the Spanish soldiers at Las
Paiacios Hospital in Pinar del Rio do not
surprise me. and 1 would not be astonished
to see the same thing happen in Havana
and other places, because the sanitary con-
ditions at the hospitals grow worse every
day, and even those in Regla are getting
overcrowded.''
Danger of Infection.
would it be possible for yellow fever
and smallpox to he conveyed from the nos
pitfalls at Regla in the sugar shipped from
the warehouses thus Used?" asked the re-
porter. t..-
Il am not a physician he replied. "and
am not familiar enough with the subject
of germs and their transmission to give
you reply. but I imagine that such ship
ments would be menace to the health of
any pert they reached and perhaps a cause
of Infection of any vessel that carried
item. They were speaking before my de-
parture of using the Irijoa Theater In Ha-
vara for another hospital"
DiscOntent of Spanish Soldiers.
Would you mind stating how the Span
ish soldiers in Havana feel over their life
and duties in the island?"
|. Well" said Senior Vento, after some
hesitation, "it would hardly be natural for
men far away from their homes and their
families and subject to dangerous dis
eases. that are often deadly. and most fire.
quently so in the case of the unacclmated,
ton. The fact is. the Spanish soldiers in
Havana are very discontented. and the
families of many of them In Spain. l know,
have been raising sums sufficient to buy
the discharge of sons and brothers who are
now serving in the army in Cuba. l am
informed that in Spain itself the fear of
the conscription now going on Is driving
hundreds Of people out of the country.
1 have seen Ell Piaz. the Madrid news
paper of the date of November 15 which
contains report from Caicia stating
that boatioads OF families. including able
bodied men, are flying from the conscrip-
ton and leaving the country. The paper
says that many farms are abandoned and
houses are closed and that horrible misery
threatens the region of Galic!a
"Tnese people have heard the reports of
the hard times suffered by their soldiers
who have been sent to Cuba. and are rat
urally opposed to having a like experience
if they can by any means avoid it. can
imagine no lot worse than that of a young
Spaniard in Cuba. There may not be SO
much danger to him from the bullets Of
the insurgents in Havana but he is con-
stantly exposed to the greater dangers of
the pestilential diseases that are so fire.
quent in the island