Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-11
THE TYRANT HAS LANDED 'Weyler Will Now Begin His Bloody Work. IA HARD TASK BEFORE HIM He Has 100000 Men and Forty-six Men-of-
 War and Gunboa.s. SPAIN FORTlFYlNG HAVANA The Preparations Seem to Be tor Others
 Than the Insurgents Most of the
 Guns Are Old Timers and Al- most Useless.
SPAIN
F0RTlFYlNG

10.-General Weyler has opportunity to achieve world wide fame. He succeeds Spain's greatest general, and has much more difficult task than the latter faced when he arrived from Spain last April. The insurrection has spread until the whole of Cuba is involved, and instead of organized bands in the mountains, he has fairly well organized army oper- ating In the open against the soldiers of Spain He has many capable generals to carry out his orders, and an army of reg
 ulars and volunteers numbering 100000 men. Forty-six men-of-war and gun boats patrol the coasts and guard the harbors. Small forts and block houses have been built at all important towns on lines of railroads. and barricades have been erected at hundreds of other places. A trocha, or strong line, has been established across the island from Havana to Batabano. Railroad cars for the movement of troops have been ar mor-clad, and the Spanish army now has methods of moving bodies of men, con- centrating strong forces and pushing the war against the enemy, which were lack ing in the beginning. It required time to make these preparations, and without them effective work could not be done against the rebels. Now that the strength of the enemy and his elusive ways are appreciated by the Spanish and his general plan of operations under stood, General Weyler need not fight in the dark, as Campos did for time, but may be expected to dispose his superior forces in a way that will crush the enc my and put an end to the army of liber- ation These are the probabilities. The short time that remains before the rainy season sets in may prove handicap, and the mysterious way in which the enemy grows stronger after every defeat may make the task of putting them down diff ficuit However all loyal Spaniards look to General Weyler for great things, and predict their accomplishment. peace before calamity engulfs all busi- ness hope that Weyler will follow the methods of modern warfare. treat pris- oners properly, prevent wholesale ar rests of suspected citizens, and give the enemy chance to care for the wounded. They hope to see the war fought in the field, and not in towns whose citizens have not risen, and hope that Spain will fight armed men only, and that those who sympathize with their race but re- main quiet will not be declared traitors and spies.
 Spain is fortifying Havana for any emergency that may arise. Recently four coast defense guns of about sixty tons each arrived from Spain. They are now being moved along temporary tracks | modern of Havana's Notifications This battery is built on a rocky hill between the city and the sea. It is about one mile west of Moro castle. It commands the approach of vessels from the north and west, while battery beyond Moro does similar service toward the east. Neither of these batteries commands the land ap- proach, or can even point gun toward the city itself Of all of Havana's forts these are the only ones containing mod ern guns The manner in which they are being strengthened shows that Spain is preparing for others than the insurgents. When the news of the action of the com mittee on foreign relations of the United States senate reached here one of the most prominent political leaders here said to me: "We are preparing for any emergency Tell that to the people of the United States. Go down to La Machina yourself and tell them what guns we are unloading and placing in our forts N This gentleman meant no threat. He believed that the surest way to prevent foreign war is to make show Of strength. A glance at some of the big ouns around Havana Is disappointing if one looks for strength. Most of the guns are half a century old; some are still more ancient. For decorative purposes they are equal to those on Castle Will liam and some at Forts Wadsworth and Hamilton, N. Y., harbor. For active ser vice they are practically worthless. The few modern guns here would be e1rectlve If well manned. As to what the spanish runners would do with them can make 5o puess. The Chinese had good guns m their ships and in their forts, but 5apan showed that there Is more In men behind guns than in the guns themseives. peA'''- J. F. CLARK.