The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-03-23

| is concentration and desOlati0D. This
is the 'pacified' condition of the four
western provinces. 1t is said that
the owners of these have been able "to
obtain special favors of the Spanish
government in the way of large force
of soldiers, but that they also as well
as all the railroads pay taxes to the
Cubans for immunity. / had no means
of verifying this" said Senator Proctor,
sit is the common talk among those
who have better means of knowledge.
"All the country people in the four
western provinces, about 200 in
number, remaining outside the fortified
towns when Wtyler's order was made,
were driven into these towns, and these
are the reconcentrados. They were the
peasantry, many of them farmers, some
land owners, others renting lands and
owning more or less stock, others
working on estates and cultivatipg
small patches; and even a small patch
in that fruitful cline will support a
family. 1t is but fair to say that the
normal condition of these people was
very different from that which prevails
in this country. Their standard of
comfort and prosperity was not high,
measured by our own; but according
TO their standards and requirements
their condition of life was satisfactory.
"They lived mostly in cabins made
of palm or in wooden houses. Some OF
them had houses of stone, the blacken-
ed walls of which are all that remain to
show that the country was ever inhab-
tied. The first clause of Weyler's or
der reads as follows:
"'I order and command, first, all the
inhabitants of the country or outside
Of the line of Notifications of the towns,
shall, within the period of eight days
concentrate themselves in the town 80
occupied by the troops. Any individ-
ual who after the expiration of this Pc
riod is found in the uninhabited parts
will be considered rebel and tried as
SUCH
1.-THE other three sections forbid
the transportation of provisions from
one town to another without permis-
sion of the military authority, direct
the owners of cattle TO bring the m into
the towns, prescribe that the eight
days shall be counted from the publ
cation of the proclamation to the head
town of the municipal district and state
that if news is furnished of the enemy
which can be made use of it will serve
as 're commendation.'
FoULEsT CONDITIONS.
"Many doubtless did not learn of this
order. Others failed to grasp its ter
rible meaning. Its execution was left
largely to the guerrillas to drive in all
that had not obeyed and l was informed
that in many cases torch was applied
to their homes with no notice, and the
/. | -. aoJ onnh nj nj hinu tbf "
might have Cd, their ste OK and other
belongings being appropriated by the
guerillas. When they reached the town
they were allowed 10 build huts of palm
leaves in the suburbs and vacant place 8
they could. Their huts ale about ten
or fifteen feet in size and for want of
space are usually crowded together very
closely. They have no floor but the
ground and no furniture, and after a
years wear, but little clothing except
such stray substitutes as they can ex-
, temporize. With such large families
,, or with more than one in this little
space, the commonest sanitary provis-
!, ions are impossible. Conditions are
uncomfortable in this respect. Torn
, from their homes with foul earth, foul
!, air, foul water and foul food or none,
,, what wonder that one-half have died
and that one quarter of the living are
, SO diseased that they cannot be saved
A form of dropsy is common disorder,
: resulting from these conditions. Little
. children are still walking about with
arms and chest terribly emaciated, eyes
swollen and abdomen bloated to three
: times the natural size. The physicians
say these cases are hopeless.
- "Deaths in the streets have not been
uncommon. 1 was told by one Of oul
> consuls that they have been found
dead about the markets in the morning
where they crawled hoping to get some
stray bits of food from the early buck
: sters and that there had been cases
. where they had dropped dead inside
= the market surrounded by food. These
' people were independent and self-sup
= porting before Weyler's order. They
. are not beggars even now. There are
. plenty of professional beggars in every
y town among the regular residents bu
!, these country people, the reconcen
:, trados, have not learned the art
g Rarely is hand held out to you fol
J aims when going among their huts, bu
- the sight of them makes an appea
- stronger than words.
q THE HALF UNTOLD.
y "The hospitals-of these need no
e speak. Others have described thei
j. condition far better than | can. 1t i
Y not within the narrow limits of my vo
n cabulary to portray it. l went to Cub
Is with strong conviction that the pic
y ture had been overdrawn; that few
e cases of starvation and suffering ha,
,r inspired and stimulated the press cor
/. respondents and they had given FIRE
If play to a strong, natural and high
/. cultivated imagination. Before start
It ing received through the mail leal
ID let published by the Christian Herol
ID with cuts of some of the sick and starV
lie ing ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS took it wit
d. me, thinking these were rare spec
* mems got up to make the worst poss
lie showing.
ii II saw plenty as bad and worse
fe many that should not be Photographic
I'd and shown. l could not believe tina
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