Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-25

dOned. IL Is true that General WeYler
has been recalled; 1t is true that our
President received such assurances as
enabled him 10 advise Congress that
spain mad modified the horrible order OF
concentration and had undertaken TO
care for the helpless and permit those
who desired to resume the cultivation OF
their fields 20 do so. assuring them of the
protection of the Spanish Government
wnlle IN lawul occupation
CONDITIONS CONTRASTED.
Through this country of desolation and
waste we approached Matanzas. / have
tried to tell you what it was at one
period. Let us see what IT is now. There
are in the suburbs of that town. confined
within the trochas, over 1890 women
and children, I'm all conditions of starva-
tion. We visited their camps and hos
pitfalls. In one ward there were about
$50 women and children. While we stood
there five died i'm few minutes. The
man in charge said that before morning
probably fifty more would be dead. /
afterward learned that between fifty and
sixty died that night-all from starya-
ton. / remarked to Miss Barton. who
was standing near me, that probably
these scenes were not unusual to her.
She replied that she had never seen star
walton before; that the most dreadful
scenes in Armenia were not comparable
TO these we were then witnessing.
1.-THE little food they had had was en-
tirely exhausted. They could appeal only
for cold water.
I'm limekiln In Matanzas seventeen
of these reconcentrados were sheltered
They were unable to build for them
selves even huts. When swarms OF vnl-
lures and the stencil of dead bodies
brought discovery. only four of them Were
found alive. They were Identified as
living human beings. They were merely
skeletons with the skin stretched hard
over their bones, like parchment on
drum.
THE THOUGHT SICRENING.
81 cannot permit myself to continue
this line Of thought. What applies 10
Matanzas applies TO every town and VII
lage in Cuba. It's recollection is horri-
bic nightmare. l sometimes wish | had
only seen it through other eyes. My OBJ
servation, after travelling over four pro-
vinces of the Island of Cuba. and talking
with leading influential citizens, inclines
me to this belief. The best blood Of Cuba
IS in the Cuban army. All Cubans are in
surgents; the educated young men are
In the Cuban ranks. Those best informed
in Habana will tell you that General
Gomez mas to-day an effective army OF
$1,000 men. They are not a disorganized
oand OF guerrillas, as | had been led 10
suppose. and composed mostly of blacks;
but. on the contrary, they are well dis
| ciplined and well fed. About one third OF
them are colored, but all who know say
they are the best Of soldiers; that they
Will endure more hardships on less FOOD
tnan any others, and VIII on long
marches continued many days, keep up
with the cavalry.
"1he insurgents under the command OF
General Gomez nave. practically, control
of the island. The Spaniards hold only
narrow strip. along which passes the
! railroad. and the seaport towns The pro-
yInces of Puerto Principe and Santiago
de t,uba. the two eastern provinces, are
almost entirely under control OF the IN
surgents. Here they have large herds OF
cattle. and raise enormous crops. lndeed'
in all other parts of the island can De
round these organized insurgents.
"No sugar is ground except by permits
sion of Gomez on which the insurgent
government Is paid so much a sack.
Even the railroads pay tribute Tor belng
permitted to run.
CAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENI
.orhe Cubans are educated, humane,
and CAPABLE of self-government. Gene
raj ArTengurin was Snot Nllilh l"Ni's
FIVE miles of Habana, and his brigade Is
now i'm command Of a celebrated Cuban
doctor of Habana, and is operating IN
that immediate vicinity.
cit is estimated that out or 22o,OO men
sent by Spain to Cuba, only $1,000 are ef-
fectivs. In my judgment 1t Will never be
in the power of Spain to subjugate these
patriotic Cubans. Autonomy Is admitted
nv all TO have come too late. The Gu
bans realize that their homes have been
burned. their wives and children starved
TO death. and that there is nothing now
left them but independence. That in
my Judgment they will fight for, If ne
cessary, until the last man has been
shot.
'"Their island surpasses all other lands
for fertility, and, commercially, would
he of inestimable value 10 the United
States. l found the climate cooler than
in Florida. Even in the hottest part OF
the season a breeze springs up at night
necessitating covers. Smallpox and yell
low-fever rest largely in imagination
LET us hope that an early Intervention
by our government Will hasten the cause