The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-05-08
PROGRESS IN CUBA.
Growth and Success Of the Pa.
triot Movement.
wEvlER HAS FAILED UTTERLY.
New york sun.

interview with J. Frank Clark. SszG cor
respondent 81 the United Press, who has
,slst arrived from Havana. &r. Clark sad
yesterday;
Three conclusions force themselves up
on me as the result of.fSe months osser-
yafaon of the progress OF the revolution In
Cuba The Insurgents are making a re-
markedly gooi nght Span has demon
straiess her inability 70 rgt them down.
The end is not il sight bat Cuba is surely
ss.prins away from Spain. and unless some
new element Is Introduced, she viii De lost
10 the mother country. Meanwhile atrcci-
ties arc being committed and methods Of
warfare are being followed which are not
ccuntensnced by civflixed nations. ! have
made two trips to Cuba. The nrst was at
the beginning of April. issS when the In
snrrection was in It's Infancy. I remained
two months. returning 10 the United States
in June Early In January l went back
10 Cuba. finding that Gomez and Maeeo.
whom left In the mountains OF the east
esn district. had marched CO.. milcS carry
Ing the wave OF revolution westward. and
were then almost at the gates of the CAPT.
tai city. When'I left Havana week ago.
the inSurreetion was larger. more formida-
BILE, AMI apparently more promising of sue
cess than at any time in the fourteen
months since the CuSans rosa against
Spain.
II went TO Cuba not as the representative
OF any one newspaper with an editorial
opinion Of its own. but as tho correspond
ent of the United Press. an association
whose sole mission Is 10 obtain facts and
disseminate news. In the early part of the
struggle. before the insurgents had made
much progress. my reports were criticised
by Cueans as unfair to them. Now that
they have swept over tho island. pushing
the troops OF Spain before them and max
ing record that will live In history. Span
iards say that my reports are unfair to
Spain. In both cases / have told the truth.
Before the arrival OF Gen. weyler cor-
respondents were permitted TO accom-
pany Spanish columns. and In the early
stage Of the war Spanish generals even
permitted correspondents 10 visit the en-
emy's camps. Since the enemy has grown
from scattered hands TO organized and
fairly well armed and drilled columns. 1t
Is q matter Of life and death for = corr
respondent to penetrate the rebel lines.
He would be welcomed by the insurgents,
but shot upon his return to Spanish
camps. have had experience with four
captains cenerai-Calieja. Campos. Marin
and Wcyler. The last IL the only one of
them who made the life OF a war corre-
spondent burdensome. Suave and courfe-
Gus in his talk. profase In his offers TO aid
correspondents In sitting truth from err
ror. polite In his reception of all Ameri-
cans. yet he has a way of impressins
upon correspondent without putting II
into words that II would conduce to his
personal safety to report nothing but
Spanish official news. As these reports
fall to mention a single insurgent Sue
cess from the beginning, and arc a rec
ord Of many Spanish victories which ex-
LIST ON paper only. the correspondent who
accepts them at face value beguilea his
readers. III Spain were winning battles
why not permit accredited correspondents
TO accompany columns OF troops and re-
port from personal observation? II bat
Ties are fought whenever announced on
eiaIiy, why are safe-conduct passea re-
fused to correspondents when all II overf
II the affair at Guatao was a battle and
not butehery, why were two correspond
ents thrown into Moro castle charged
with having visited the place, which -
only twelve miles from Havana? The
Spanish correspondents OF Madrid papers,
the Spanish reporters OF Havana papers,
all subject to the press censor and tho
American correspondents are penned up
In Havana. and every effort Is made to
keep the world In darkness as to what Is
being done In Cuba Every cable dispatch
Is carefully edited before II can be trans
mitted. Everything nnfevoraiie to Spain
or favorable 10 the Cuban cause Ia elm
mated. Tho mails are searched to pre-
vent newspaper correspondence being
sent on. But with all these precautions
the truth cannot be suppressed, and every
Wednesday and Saturday the papers of
the United States arrive In Havana and
long accounts OF rebel victories and Span.
ish brutalities. which arc true are read
by tho EnRiIsh-spaaking residenta ana
translated for the benefit OF gpsniards
THE situation In Cuba is not difficult 10
gauge Spain has sent 10000 regulars.
and COCO volunteers have been raised n,
the cities or the island. The latter are
used almost entirely for home defence.
or the regulars approximately e 90 have
succumbed 70 bullets and disease during
the year. i5.ao9 are in the hospital or have
been relieved from duty, and about loo go
are available for active operations. These
figures are estimates made by an army
surgeon, and are very near the truth The
Spanish official loss OF $500 men from all
causes during the year IL too absurd 70
be considered. Fully half Of the regulars
available for active operations are re-
CURED for garrison duty in cities and
towns About 1000 small forts or block
HOUSES have been built. and these ara
occupied by the troops. The establish
ment Of the latest frocha, that between
Mariel and Majana. absorSs sgeso regulars
for the defense OF tho line. There are
about io,o"o regulars divided into fying
columns of !. SO TO 2eoo men each. oper-
at.ng aggresstveiy against Maceo Just
west OF the trochA In Pinar del Rio. and
In al OF the other provinces there are
not more than $500 troops in tho field
against the enemy.
Gen. Weyler made numerous attempts
TO surround and crush Macco and CO.
mez during his first month or the islsnd
He did not succeed. He then resorfed TO
the well-worn Spanish device called fro-
cha. which had been abandoned by Cam
pos and Marin as usesess In order TO
make II a strong line he has practically
stopped aggressive operations In all the
provinces except the western one. ard
concentrated his troops there. Gomez.
Lscret, jose Maceo. Caiix.o Gare5a and
other insurgent leaders with large forces
are unoppoeed. They move from one Prov
incc TO another. constantly recruiting, and
spreading the fame Of rebellion. They are
gaining accessions daily from the better
classes and their followers can no longer
be designated as ignorant blacks TIE
number Of insurgents under arms II nov
fully Sseo. csbans claim anywhere frera
ee6S 10 7s.e13. but these figures include
unarrned camp followers and men who's.
only weapon is the Enaehsfs.
s,spanlarsis gay that cubsns VIII not
fight. but I have seen many train loads
OF wounded Spanish solsiisrs brought into
Havana and other cities. sfd American
planters upon whose estates encounters
have taken place declare tire Gabsas ars
absolutely reckless under fire. They go
into a fight with two or three rounds OF
ammunition to the man, knowing thar
they must capture cartridges or they can
not sight on the morrow When their last
sboi Ia gone. they charge upon the rnuis
train with machetss and generally OBJ
tain supplies for the next day. II 10 true
they avoid general engagements. They
have not the ammunition nor the artillery
10 operate a. q fully equipped army. They
therefore resort 20 guerrilla warfare. and
-
There ere many reasons for iris. In the
arst mac ltarnsx ard Haaen are frissl