Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1897-04-18
ELKO, NEVADA, SUNDAY, APRIL Is, 1897
THE CUBANS WILL WIN.
An Insurgent Oh1cer Talk, OF tho
War with Spain. o..

If the people of Florida had the:;
way about it Cuba would be free t.
morrow. The state is PRACTICAL.
unanimous in favor OF the independ.
encc OF the island from Spanish rule.
The war hns practically destroyed til,
tobacco ard cigar industry of he.
West, Tampa and Jacksonville, locking
up thousands of dollars OF capital in
vested in property fit only for tobacco
manufacture in some form, and throw
ing out Of employment thousands OF
men who are unable to find employ.
mcnt in any other industry, and VIII
urc i'll the main unsuited for any other
Il am using up my last bale of to-
oacco to-day" said N dealer to the Sun
correspondent, ''and shall have to close
down my factory. l can't get any to-
bacco. How many men will be i.
out OF employment? \ very ..sIe
number, and when added to the others
in this city and the state, will maLH
quito small army whose means of
subsistence have been destroyed by the
war in Cuba. But we all, laborrrs and
manufacturers, bear our losses cheer
fully. We feel that it is necessary to
make the sacrifice that Cuba may be
free, and We feel certain thntit will be"
The sun correspondent had the good
fortune to meet three officers OF the in
surgcnt army, who have just come over
from Cuba upon n special mission. One
,, OF them spoke English fairly well. lie
is II colonel, and looks il every inch.
lie said:
"Wcyler has under MS command In
the island fully 100000 men. 1t is e.-
timnted that from 10000 to $4,000 of
them arc laid up in the hospitals. The
remainder of them stick to the cities.
When they sally forth it is ia large
numbers. Are they afraid Of the Gu
hans?" The colonel shrugged his
houldcrs, and Il comical smile agitated
the stiff hairs of his mustachc. The
idea Of Spnniard being afraid of a
Cuban" said he. ironically. NO, il
must not be that. Oh, no; something
else must keep them in the cities. The
Cubans have fully 10000 armed mon in
the field. and fully 10000 reserves
ready to fill up the ranks us fast rs
they are dccimated by the enemy
We have plenty OF men, il we could only
equip them. II is estimated that we
hnvc three men to every gun.
Every armed column has an unarmed
column following il, and whenever u
soldier falls there il o mad scramble
| for his weapon.
Sen. MnNimo Gomez commands the
eastern department. Gen. Antonio
Mncco commands the western depart
mcnt, comprising Las Vegas. MatanzaS,
havana - II.
principal operations arc today. The
Maceos have glorious record" sad
the colonel. "Thcre were n.rc of ;hc
brothers, OF whom Gen. Art0uio :. the
only SURVIVOR. All the othc:s we're
killed in battle, fighting for She in.lc-
pcn1cnCc OF Cuba. This is record Of
which Spartan would have been
proud.
What are our prospert< to-d..r" We
shnll win. We can't fn;:. In ~" tr;'.
years war the insurgents did rC, IN
wade The province of MaiuyaS ~ al
they were kcptouto Of il. EutGyn.MnccC
has gone further than That, - that
Wcylcr has not only TO drive us out o;
CnmnEucy and Matanzas, hut ont Of
Pinar del Rio us we'll. We have the
eastern department in our Erir. IL IS
the more important OF thc two ,iCpnrt.
menis, and the inability OF the Span
iards TO collect any taxes there s one O 1;
the scyCrcat blows the insu! S-sr,G kuN,
inflicted upon them
"Thc Industries OF Cuba are para
lyzcd. The extent OF the paralysis may
lie inferred from the fuct that i; is CE.
timatcd that not ono bag Of sugar will
l'c sent out of the island this year.
Last year Wcylcr ordered the planters
to grind their cane. The insurgents
were opposed 10 their doing so. Now
he has no power to command them to
grind. There will bc no sugar crop
this year. All tho tobacco that was col.
lcctcd has been burned, nnd that which
remained In the fields has been ruined
"rhc policy OF the insurgents has
been TO destroy the sugar and tobacco
estates in order to cripple the revenues
OF Spain.
"Thc people OF cuba arc determined
TO achieve their independence. They
nrc tired of Spanish cxtortion md tyr
unny, and prefer death to further sub
mission. The war began February 81,
1906. We gained more In the first six
months of tho wnr than wc gained In
tho whole timo Of tho tcn-ycars' war.
When Spain could not crush the war Of
1868, whom II wos con6ned 70 enc prov.
ipce In ten ysars, with the sacrifice Of
100000 men, how can she do no now.
when we have the run OF the island
from ono end TO the othcr7
"Thcn II should not be overlooked
that In the tcn.ycars' war our men
numbered hardly moro than 1000 with
nrma; to-day wc have more than 10000
armed mcr, with 10000 unnrmcd re-
serves. Thr men nrc 20 eager 10 fight
'Ha: they contend with each other for
'.'.' - 80 v. Sun.