The Portland daily press., 1897-04-07
CUBA's sUFFERINGs.
An Interesting Interview With Gen.
tleman just Returned.

| blCmGA Ouct hGtuIneU.
| Terrible Scenes of Famine-Spanish on.
Lost Their Property-Cubans looking
| to United States.
| A gentleman who has just returned
from Cuba was met BY . PRESS re-.
| porter, at the office of mutual friend
yesterday, and an interesting CONVERSE
ton on Cuban affairs took place.
You known me well enough, said the
gentleman, to know that my knowledge
of "fidelissimA isla de Cuba" is based
upon years of residence and thorough
familiarity with the people and the
customs. You know well what smiling
land 1T was, how full OF plenty, even
when you were there in 1871 at which
time the instruction of that date were
being shot down, seized, and garroted
by the Volunteers, the citizen soldiery.
who were the parents Of the Cuban young
men eager for liberty, these Volunteers
themselves being their Spanish fathers.
You remember how these same Volun-
tesrs killed the Cuban students in cold
blood and gloried in the act. Well, my
dear fellow, its the same old story now.
The Spanjard IL by nature q coward.
The old days of the Bernardo De Carpios,
the plumed knights of high renown, have
all gone by, SO long ago, that theylhave
left none Of their noble traits behind
them. A Spaniard of today Is like
wolf. he shows his teeth If he knows he
Is the strongest and growls and whimpers
like whipped dog II he is the weaker.
The Cuban, on the contrary, Is full of
generous impulses. He is warm hearted,
nourished by the sun Of the tropics He
pines for freedom, and he loves the
United States. Why my dear fellow, the
Clevelands and the Olneys have disap-
pointed the Cubans terribly, and now
they are looking to Mckinley and their
old friend Sherman. The correspondents
and the newspapers, may say what they
like. tell you the Cubans will fight to
the bitter end.
Let me toll you something. The papers
talk of famine in Cuba. Have you ever
seen faminei Well, then will tell you
what have seen and that daily. The
city of Matanzas contains about co. 600
Inhabitants. Into that city at least 1900
to 5000 paysanos, the country farmers
and their families In the immediate
suburbs have been driven because their
little haciendos have been devasted, and
they can raise no crops. All these people
have to get food in some way or other.
There is no work for them to do In the
city, and no money to pay them, II there
was. Well, the citizens do what they can
for them. The leavings of the tAblss-and
the bill Of fare of the citizens is most
frugal one-are given them, and such
other help as is possible. As oonsequ ence
scenes like these are common. A::woman
and her little girl. q child about five
years old, was begging at our house for
food. They seemed too weak to walk. A
plate of food was handed the woman who
took 1t with cry of joy. She had not
expected to be SO fortunate, she had met
with SO many sorrowful refusals because
people hadn't the food to give. All at
once the little girl fell over on to her
face The mother tried to raise her and
gave an agonizsd scream. The child was
dead. Famine had done Its work. The
authorities were summoned. The child
was placed on a rough board and carried
off followed by the wailing mother. sat
at the door of the counting room one day,
and all at once, across the street, q great
bony negro fell dead from starvation,
and 1t was four hours before the authori.
ties found time to remove hin.
You remember how gay it used to be
in the Plaza des Armos. How the laugh
ing fashionably dressed crowds filed the
Louvre drinking their wine and eating
their ices, by the glorious light Of the
southern moon. and the brilliant
electrical display within. Now it is the
Spanish officers ard the few strangers
visiting the island. and few perhaps
who are residents who have contrived to
keep q little money, who patronize this
public resort. And it is those officers that
occupy the few volantes and little
victorias that are left, to ride around the
tourists, if they are lucky enough to find
any.
And for the people who live in these
places, what is there for them to do.
Trade is about ruined. Tbs sugar estates
have been burned and the sugar is the
great product of the island. The men
who have been ruined by this war of an
Inhalation no one can count. 1t ia the
story of the whole island, not small
portion, or few solitary cities. Men
that Portland mer chants have been in
the habit OF doing business with, and
who owned plantations, were considered,
and rightly so. very rich men. are now
without hardly peseta to buy meal.
And they have taken no part in the re-
bellion either. They doubtless sympa-
thized with the Cubans, for there is
hardly an American who doesn't, but
thew took no active part Well nerhans