The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-12-17

General Betencourt was formerly
physician in Matanzas; he is a most
intelligent, Wcll-eduCatCd man, ana
perhaps represents the best type OF
Cuban commander. In order to show
me how much better the insurgents
were faring than their enemies the
Spanish soldiers, he led me into a large
Shack which he used as a Comlnissary
warehouse. From floor to roof it was
piled high with barrels of beans and
corn-mcal.
I asked General Betencourt where he
got the supplies in time of peace.
"Why, the explanation is simple" he
said. "TheY are contributed to us reg
Uarly by our friends in Matanzas; to
be sure it is a sacrifice for them, but
they are willing to make it for the
cause of Cuban liberty"
What q characteristic Cuban incon-
sistoncy' Food enough to support Sow
en- hundred ablc-bCdiCd men, all ah'e
to take care Of themselves, who ought
to be Il home tilling the fields, but not
a centuyo Tor the hollow-cyed women
who fall dead with their babies in their
arms every day only four miles away.
In the cafes of MatanZaS men will sit
for hours discussing a possibility for
the presidency Of Cuba; any unusual
animation in the discussion will draw
a large crowd. geSticulatng and eX-
cited. But l saw a seVcntecn-year-old
girl fall dead from starvation as she
passed by the markct-place. Her
! death attracted no more attention than
that of cab horse on Broadway.
\ BAD ATMOSPHERIC.
The background of the sad picture Of
! Cuba today is the tropical imaginative,
unreliable character Of the inhabitants
of the island.
"There is something I'm the atmos-
| phere here" said a prominent Span
! lard in Havana to me, (which seems to
! bring dishonor and disgrace to every
! one on the island just as completely as
| yellow fever turks in every summer
! breeze that blows from Havana har-
! Dor, No matter how honest a man
| may have been in Spain, the minute
he lands in Cuba his one object in life
| seems to be how much he can steal
! from the men who trust him"
Corruption and dishonesty have al
ways been the curse of poor Cuba.
| They have reached their climax since
the signing OF the protocol. Every off,
clal, from the highest to the lowest, is
| engaged in a mad rush to line his
| pockets before the curtain falls on the
last act of Spanish rule. A great deal
of stealing is done openly. / have FIRE To
quently heard Spanish officers and
custom house men justify their thiev-
cry on the ground that corruption in
Madrid had defrauded them out OF
their salaries, now irretrievably over
due, and that they stole only to retail
ate on the men who had cheated them.
There are many interesting person
| alities in this wild sea OF politics. Co
mez said recently: Cuba has reached
! the stage where il needs a Gambetta
what Cubans had better do is to find
one" Gambetta has not yet appeared
THE FUTURE.
What will be the outcome no one can
| predict. In Cuba the fact that the
! United States have pledged independ-
enCe to the island is usually regarded
as an insuperable obstacle to anneXa-
tion. Independence has many dangers
and Is connected with may problems
The prevailing idea In Cuba seems tC
be that an American prOtectorate that
recognizes the Cuban republic i'm some
such way as England does the Khedive
of Egypt will be the ultimate result.
Only a few weeks before Jose Mart
made the wild dash into Cuba which
cost him his life, he was unfolding tC