San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-05-10
REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE BRUTE
GENERALS shin PLASTERS''
AS MONEY.
He Has Now Gone To One Of The
"Pacifiei" Provinces Where
He Anticipated A COnten-
tratiOn Of Cuban
Forces.

New York, May 10.-A dispatch to
the Herald from Havana says:
There is grim humor in the an
nouncement as to the state of the in
surrection and the outlook which caus-
es a sneer in Havana where food Is
scarce and sound money scarcer. AS
the situation grows worse at every
point the palace reports become more
rose-colored and more at war with the
facts. For instance, for centen,
which is worth $40 in Spanish gold,
one may get the equivalent of $llSO
in paper money today in Havana,
1t is significant that the paper money
of snain is at a greater discount at
this moment, when the reforms are
said to be at hand than at any time
since the war began. During the ten
years war a centen was at one une
worth $1S in paper and no one aouo's
tho hill will reach OF pass that point
again. Two months ago centen was
worth $3.50 in paper, and then there
was less talk of pacihcatloh anu
of reforms than now.
The fact is no one pays any atteh-
ton to Weylre's pacificationoiluek''ps
ton to Weyler's proclamation, OF 10
his talk about the golden time that Is
coming now that the queen regent mas
been kind enough to sign the reforms.
Those things are mere sound. But the
paper money is a grim fact and the de-
termination with which all persons re-
fuse to have it thrust upon them at par
has forced even Gen. Weyler to recog-
nize that the money question is su-
nerior TO his decree and to abandon his
declared intention of Furnishing anyone
who looked twice at those shin plas-
ters."
Indeed Spain, over his head, suggests
that the billetes be accepted in custom
houses with an increase in duties cor
responding to the depreciation of the
paper. The shopkeepers do not accept
any billetes in many cases, or II they
do. the customer must pay twice the
gold price The billete is just so much
deprecated paper and the country will
not recognize it as anything else
. The plight of Spain is bad enough
without the rioting which would be
general if an attempt were made TO
force this paper down the threats of
men already grown sullen because OF
the disastrous and tagging military
policy of Gen. Weyler. No one here
can see how Spain will be able to car
ry much longer the financial burden
with which she is saddled and which
is increased tremendously every month.
Still there are official announcements
that the military outlook is rOseate,
despite the fact that engagements are
daily reported and wounded soldiers
carried into the garrisoned towns
which only prove the activity of rebels
in every province.
There are engagements, too, which
are not reported and these are the most
serious. Two months ago, many
wounded soldiers were carried into
Regla by rail on their way to hospitals
and some of them died in the railroad
station. Officially there has been no
fight of Importance in this province of
late, but the arrival of these men
shows that the Spanish columns have
been ambushed by Gen. Castillo with
his usual success. The fight was at
Govea.
Gen. Weyler is in Santa Clara again
ard his arrival there does not we'll ac-
cord with the announcement he made
so recently that the province was paci-
fed. 1t may be that he heard the same
rumor which reached Havana, and
which was to the effect that Sagua la
Grande was threatened by a concen-
tration of several thousand insurgents
in the hills there, and an attack was
evidently meditated.
No one even at the palace pretends
that Matanzas is pacified and 1 know
that messenger is on his way to New
York, who will tell the junta that the |
insurgents in Pinar del Rio number |
nearly seven thousand armed men and
that four brigades there, who served |
under Rivera, have acted vigorously |
and in harmony ever since his cap
ture, obeying Gen. Gomez's orders to |
engage the Spanish forces until he re- |
ceives word that the time had come.