The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-02-17

tested against the ignoring of the Gu
ban republic by President Cleveland.
He said.
1.-THE American Government has very
| wrongly ignored the fact that the republic
| OF Cuba is not merely name, but an estab-
| lished and maintained institution, with all
| the officers necessary to the proper trans
action OF governmental business. We are
| ever ready to have our friends intercede for
| us In whatever way they may think will re-
dound to our greatest benefit, but we would
wish them to know that we desi to be
party to whatever transaction concerns u.s."
OF Mr.. Mckinley Gomez spoke in
terms Of eulogy. He believed the next
President evil carefully guard the
great land which has 30 rightly honor
ed him, and, at the same time, not for
get that the whole of America belongs
to Americans, whether they be of
Saxon, Celtic, or Latin blood" Con-
tinuing on this subject he said:
~ do not believe that President McKin-
ley will declare the independence Of Cuba
within very brief time after his assump-
ton of office, but / do believe that he will
inquire into the condition Of affairs In this
rights as the law of nations and the die
tstes of humanity entitle us to enjoy"
He expressed pleasure at the selec-
ton of Senator Sherman for Secretary
of State. Asked if he had thought of
retalisting for the outrages committed
by the Spaniards, General Gomez re-
piled:
"Yes, the matter of retaliation has been
thought over time after time, but just as
often have l decided, after consultation
with my officers, that to do so would bring
us to the level of the Spaniards in the eyes
of the world. We we're already branded as
murderers and rufiians, and somehow the
world began to accept such view of u.s.
II we should commit one-half the outrages
that our enemies do, then the world would
believe and know that the Spanish charac-
tization was true. But we shall not retail
ate. We capture prisoners almost every
day, but we do not shoot them nor subject
them to torture. They are prisoners OF war
and are treated as such. There will be no
deviation from this rule while am in po-
sition to control the policy and doings Of
the Cuban army. Weyler may carry on his
butcheries but Maxine Gomez will con-
tinue to fight Spain and her armies without
the shedding of innocent blood in the name
of freedom"
To the inquiry if there would be any
danger of a race war in the island when
Cuba is free the answer was:
"No, most emphatically no. There will
be no color line drawn. There is no such
distinction made to-day, and there will be
none when the Cuban republic is recognized
as such by the nations of the earth. There
is absolutely no distinction made in either
the civil or military branches OF our Gov
eminent. l have negro generals, colonies,
commandants and captains. They have all
won their ranks and titles, and are among
my bravest and most trusted followers.
The proportion of white and colored men in
the army Is about the same. and they min
gle together as brother patriots should do.
President Cisneros has appointed more
than 200 colored men as prefectos and sub
prefectos out Of a total OF about, believe.
$50. They are efficient and willing, and
among the best tax collectors in Santiago
province"
Gen. Gomez then related what he
termed ian amusing feature" A COL
ored perfecto near Guantanamo had
collected taxes amounting to over
$4,000 from his former master and
owner, a wealthy Spaniard of the name
of Rodriguez. The telling of this
story pleased Gomez, and he laughed as
he ended it by saying, land Rodrigues
did not dare refuse to pay either"
Gen. Gomez has 10000 men under
arms, in the various provinces. He
could put 1000 in the field if he had
the arms and ammunition, and that, he
said, would mean the almost immediate
freedom of Cuba. OF Weyler he said:
"All the world knows my opinion Of that
man. He is not soldier, like Campos.
He is not man, like Campos. He is not a
Christian, like Campos."
OF the Captain Generals manifold
atrocities, he spoke with all the energy
of Characterization and denunciation
that man and patriot could feel.
"Cuba," he said, " may bleed and weep
and burn, but God is with US, and the
right will come at last" In the midst
of his denuciation of Weyler, he feel
ingly referred to General Maceo, and
later to his son Pancho, who died with
the famous cavalry leader in Pinar del
Rio, but he did not desire to have his
words repeated. Their deaths have
cast gloom over the grand old sol.
dier's mind, but he seldom refers to
them except in most general way.
To the correspondents last question,
{" How long will this war lastp" he an
swered quickly, Until Cuba is free"
UneQual Representation.