The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1896-04-01
THEHORR0RSOFWAR
MURAT HALSTEAD GRIEF STRICKEN
OVER cU5A's DEVASTATION.

! population.
Murat Halstead, writing to the New
York Journal from Havana, gives the
following frightful pictures showing the
depths of Cuba's present desoIation:
have witnessed the terrors and hor-
rors Of war at home and abroad. but
never saw sadder evidence of the sorrows
OF strife than in this noble city and it's
surroundings.
Now that have studied Cuba for a
month | am surprised that I so little ap-
preciated the wonder of its resources and
charms, so inadequately estimated its
fortunes, SO little sympathized with its
misfortunes and SO little understood it's
Importance to Spain, to the United
States of America and to the world at
large.
l have been in the country almost to
the skirmish line, and it is glorious
country-the deep black and red soil.
the avenues of royal palms leading to
stately residences, all the splendors Of
the tropics
But the people are disheartened and
desolate. They talk of the glories of
former days. Now are empty palaces,
deserted villages, paralyzed industries,
business depression on all sides, and the
strain is growing more intense day by
day.
This is the carnival time, but it is
only the dismal ghost of its former self.
There is little to do, Money is scarce,
hope depressed The anxious faces in
| the thronged palace are waiting chance
to see the captain general tell Of trag-
edies past, present and to come
The game of war is slowly played
here. General Weyler expects great re-
suits speedily, and his energies will be
an important element, but such a war
may last long time. The government
means business when it's organization is
complete
General Marin has described the rebel
terrorism in the country, and the recent
orders seem to be meant to equalize the
conditions. Extraordinary power is Civ
en- to commanders of columns. The
country stores, often serving the rebels
as depots, are removed
Emigration goes on. One paper in
Santiago de Cuba says if it goes on we
will be without population. The same
tendency is evinced here, and the ques-
ton of policy in issuing passports is one
Of painful interest.
Since the beginning of the present
| rehn1liOY1 h,,Siuacc affaira have bco,, 80
ting from worse to worse on this island.
Many houses that before would have
been able to meet all their obligations
in very short time are in a rather
helpless position now, and many will
declare themselves insolvent before
many weeks pass.
Among the lines of business suffering
the most we must name iron and ma.
chinery, sugar and tobacco.
In the first line nothing is at present
done on this island, as planters and
farmers have no money to buy machin-
cry, which they would have in normal
condition of the country.
OF sugar little needs to be said. as it
is well known that the insurgents burn.
cd most of the canefelds in order to de-
prive the Spanish government of the
revenue coming from this product. OF
1886 plantations which grind every year
there are at present not one-tenth part
manufacturing sugar, and most of these
are in the province of Matanzas. There
are quite a lot of chemists who come
from Louisiana here every year in order
to superintend the grinding and anaIyz-
ing the sugar in the sugar houses here
in Havana who cannot find any work.
Many of them have not even received
their wages of last year. The grinding
is always done in the months of Janu-
airy and February, and the chemists
coming here make about 81 900 in these
two months, according to the capacity
of the mill and the plantation.
/ The three districts where most of the
tobacco is produced are the Remedies
district, the Partidos and the Vuelts
Abajo. In the first of the three named
districts the crop will be reduced this
year to nearly tenth of the regular
one, as the tobacco has been DESTROYED
by the troops when in that region. This
class of tobacco is used most for filters,
while the two other districts produce
filters as well as the wrapper leaf In
the Partido district half crop will
be harvested and packed, SO it is esti-
mated. The crop here and in the IA
nous Vuelta Abajo showed prospects
Of very good output, but as the war is
now in these districts many fields have
been abandoned, many acres have been
destroyed, tobacco houses burned and
the planters have neither time nor mon.