Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-18
Not by an Enemy From Without,
but the Foe Inside.
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF TIE RIOTS
Hurrying of Cavalry and Infantry to
Restore Order.
CRIES OF THE MOB
Copyright, 1895, by Charles NJ. Pepper)

HAVANA, January 10. 1895.
Havana is in state of siege. 1t is not be-
sieged by an enemy from without. The foe
Is within its gates. l am writing on the
fourth day of the siege. By the time these
lines are printed the semblance of Spanish
authority may have been restored. Calm
may reign on the surface, and official
proclamat.ons may recite that the crisis
is over. That is 4 probability. There is
also remote possibility that the drop Of
loyal Spanish blood, the shedding of which
Will precipitate revolution, may have been
shed. The government may have been put
to the test which is to determine whether
Spaniard will turn his arms against Span
lard IN upholding the policy that was
meant to save young King Alfonso his
crown. l have witnessed three nights of
dread, if not of terror, in Havana. What
may be going on in Madrid we can only
guess. In the meantime the army of Spain
in Cuba has shown as clearly as the insur-
gents in the field that it is not for au-
tonomy.
The Way the army has taken to demon
strate its hostility may have struck the
mortal blow which is to end Spanish SOY
ere1snty. The leaders are not concerned
with that. They do not look so far ahead
Having shown their own position they sui
lenly await the results which must come
from the encouragement they have given
the Spanish classes on the island. The de-
Velopments are likely to make a chapter Of
history. For that reason 1 shall supple
ment the news which the wires Of the cable
have carried by a connected narrative of
what has been going on in Havana these
last few days. If the last stage Of the
ole I,a
may give an insight into the elements
which are fermenting, and which will shape
the course of events IN the near future
If the issue come quickly better under
standing may be had of the surroundings
and the conditions under which the last
stand is made to keep the banner of Cas-
tile and Arragon floating over Cuba.
Preparing for the Outbreak
The government had been preparing for
an outbreak. 1t may have known of a
conspiracy among the intransigentes, as
the blindly loyal Spaniards are called.
Christmas morning, when a crowd rioted
in the public square and cried out for
Weyler and against autonomy, the first
sign was given. On the evening before
New Year l saw the cavalry which had
been brought ip from the country and con-
quick work should it be needed The fact
that artillery was planted in houses close
by was also known. But the outbreak did
not come that night. Nor was it permitted
week later at Regla, across the bay,
when the spectators who enjoyed the bull
fight most kecnly We're the three compa-
nes of regulars. sfhey sat with their
Mausers and Remingtons in a place where
-
seats in the amphitheater. With others l
wondered that afternoon what the authori-
ties could fear. 1t could not be a Cuban
demonstration, for the patrons Of the bull
ring are Spaniards.
But while the government seemed thus
amply forewarned of what the populace
might be planning, it could not have
known of what the army officers were
thinking, else it would have watched the
cafes which they most frequent and would
have had an eye on the men themselves.
Had it been forewarned they would not
have fingered in their favorite haunts till
after midnight Tuesday night planning the
attack on the autonomist newspapers for
early Wednesday morning. Their nominal
purpose was to resent abuse which had
been heaped on the army. That was in
their minds, but with it was the purpose
of making demonstration against au-
tonomy. The newspapers which had
reused their ire were Ell Reconcentrado
and La Discussion. The former is a fly
sheet of a journal, recently started, of lit
tie influence and less consequence, but La
Discussion is an important journal. 1t was
suppressed by Weyler, and it's publication
had only been resumed within a fortnight
1t represents the radical autonomists. Its
former owner is said to be in the camp of
Gomez La Discussion had been criticising
high army officers with severity.
A word of explanation is also necessary
in regard to Diario de la Marina, for it
is source of present irritation and anx-
iety. This ancient and respectable paper
had not criticised the army. In describ-
ing the first days rioting it congratulated
itself with servile complaceDcy because the
officers had not been in the mob that at
tackled its Office. This was true, but the
rioters were after it and they are yet after
it. Diario was once an organ Of the
conservative party. Then it became re-
fcrmista. After autoI omy was decreed
tonomist journal. practically a government
The Havana intransigentes
look on it as n traitor TO their cause. Some
day they are going to wreak their ven
geance.
Swift In Action.
The officers in their actions that -Wednes-
day morning wer. swift. 1t took little
time fer them to wreck the office of Ell
Reconcentrado. Then they proceeded IN
a body to La Discussion. 1t was gen.
tlemanly mob, made up of lieutenants,
oommandants, captains and two or three
majors and colonies. They did not have
things entirely their own way with La
Discussion. The employees resisted them
as though they hal been an ordinary band
of rufaans. The order publico. or police,
made show of interfering with them
Gen. Garrick tore the decorations from the
breast of one captain who was leading the
work of destruction and was himself slap
ped in the face by subordinate, who se-
sented that a general should object to the
method the army had taken to vindicate
its good name. The officers destroyed the
presses of La Discussion and retired to
the street in fairly good order. Some of
them fingered long enough to hear Gen.
Sclano denounce them for dishonoring the