The herald., 1897-04-27
Means the Starvation OF
All Cuba
FARMERS cooPED IN CITIES
REDUCED TO MISERY AND PRAY
ING FOR DEATH
The Policy Of Concentration In Towns
Produces Results Too Terrible
to Be Described
Press Special wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
NEW YORK, April Pa special to
the World from Havana says: Private
letters from the interior report whole
sale starvation. Some of the cases are
especially heartrending. Children are
dying In the streets of Matanzas ana
babies have been found dead in the arms
of their exhausted mothers. your
correspondent has been through the
provinces Of Pinar del Rio, and has seen
whole villages of living skeletons pray
ing for death to release them from their
sufferings.
General weyler is seizing the cattle OF
the citizens for the use Of the troops In
Santa Clara.
Rafael Rubio, an American citizen,
lost 81 head of cattle in that way. When
he complained to the Spanish author
tiles and demanded pay he was told he
was impudent to ask Spain to pay ior
what the insurgents take with impunity.
A guerrilla corps raised and armed
and mounted by Spanish cattle owners
Of Sancti Spiritus went out and drove
in 200 head of cattle to be Slaughtered
for the benefit of the needy people OF the
city, but Weyler ordered all the means
sent to Manzanillo for the soldiers.
The effect of concentrating the coun-
try people in fortified towns is seen in all
its awfulness in Santa Clara province.
Santa Clara has many cities, five or
which are of large population. Santa
Clara is in the center, Cienfuegos and
Sancti Spiritus on the south and Sagua
La Grande and Remedies on the north.
There were S50,00O people living In the
five districts, of which these five cities
are the capitals. OF this population
$50, 900 lived outside of the cities. All
these have been compelled to leave their
farms and move into the cities and fofti-
fed towns. In some of the latter the
concentrates outnumber the original
population. They have no money, and II
they had there is not food enough to
supply ALL Bark hute have been built
and they are crowded with poverty
stricken refugees. They are half naked,
sick from exposure and dying from hum
ger. They are peaceful. Woodworking
people. On their farms they would not
only be self-supporting, but able to sup
ply plenty of vegetables, eggs, meat and
fruit to the starving people of the cities.
900 people are suffering, and 100000 DOOM
ed to die for lack of food, which they
could easily obtain If allowed to work
This policy, ae a war measure, is worse
than useless, from the Spanish stand
point, for it has forced hundreds of men
to Join the rebels rather than be forced
to see their families starve in the cities
and towns At other places in Las
Itvarx
Stiallatos, before the order was given,
had 100 people. 1t now contains 1000,
including soldiers. The farmers or
dered in have built $50 huts, and are
slowly dying from starvation.
Weyler has had all the cattle killed
in the fields by the guerrillas and left to
rot but a pound of meat cannot be
bought except for the troops. The own
ers of sugar plantations are not allowed
to grind, but they muet protect their
property. They built houses and SOL
diers were put in them. This makes
fortified plantation. and inhabitants
move in. Not a druggist dares sell any
drugs or fill any prescription to be taken
outside the regular fortified towns. If
a grain of quinine goes out it means
death to the sender If caught The in
Surgents IN arms are mucn Detter OIL
than the concentrated pacificoe. They
kill beef in the fields when they choose,
but when they have taken what they
need they generally send word to the
owner to come and get the rest of it, or
they try to get it in to the starving peo-
| pie around the cities.
A CUBA EXPEDITION
PHILADELPHIA. April 26.-Another
big Cuban expedition embarked from
near Sea Isle City, N. j., last night.
Arms, ammunition and men were trans
| ferred to an unknown steamer from
two tugboats that came down the coast
from New York and from a steam
| launch which took two loads of men
from Sea Isle City TO Avalon. The ex-
pedition is said to have carried Hotch-
kiss gun, 5000 rifles, 100000 rounds of
ammunition. 200 machetes, a guam
tity of medicine and an experimental
flying machine, to be adapted, If possi-
| bic, to the use of dynamite. Several
militiamen from this city Joined the ex-
pedition. 1t is not known who leads
| the party.
|