Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-03-16
IN STRICKEN CUBA.
Condition of Reconcentrados is
Beyond Comprehension.
A Starving People and Fields Blasted by
Fire Among the RecoIlections Brought
Home by Capt. Parker.

Washington, March 15.-Col Myron
Parker who was Senator Proctor's com.
panion in his trip to Cuba, in an inter-
view with a Star reporter today, saiag
You might believe, but you could not
realize. the condition of the reconcen-
trados in Cuba 1t passes the compre-
hension Of a man accustomed to thu
usual phase of life. Their emaciation is
terrible, their suffering indescribable.
We saw warehouses full of starving
women and children. These people have
been forced into the villages and towns
by the Spaniards, and the whole coun-
try where they lived has been devastat..
ed.
In the ride from Havana to Sagua la
Grande, distance Of about 200 miles
or more, the country presented a picture
OF desolation. For miles and miles the
charred stalks of the burned sugar cane
showed where the torch had been APP
piled by the Spanish and insurgents
alike. AT intervals are block houses oc-
cupied by the Spanish soldiers Above
each block house is a cupola where a
Spanish soldier is always on the lookout,
II a reconcentrado attempts to go QUE
Is shot, and if an insurgent tries to come
in he is treated likewise. The trocha
serves, however, to prevent sudden
dashes by the insurgents in the villages,
at night, to burn them
The Spanish army is largely en-
ployed along the railroad but closely as
the road is guarded, the insurgents can
do with 1t as they please. 1t is generally
understood in Cuba that the railroad
tn 10 ivnc 70
for running passenger trains, but they
are alert to interfere with freight and
| troop trains. The day before we reached
Matanzas the insurgents blew up
sugar train only three miles out of that
town. They cross the railroad at any
point they desire and whenever they
| please. In my opinion Gomez virtually
has control of the island. There is not
an estate in cultivation, so 1 was reH-
ably informed, that does not pay tribute
| to the insurgents. The best people in
Havana told me that the young men OF
| the best Cuban families in the island
We're in the ranks of the insurgents,
| just as the best representatives of our
| best families were in the southern and
northern ranks during the war
My informant also told me that the
! insurgent army was never as firm and
as strong as 1t is today. 1t gets a very
| large proportion of its medical supplies
right from Havana and its discipline is
said to be all that can be desired The
| insurgents have complete control of the
4 provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Prin-
cipe They claim to have all the supplies
necessary for their subsistence, having
| great herds of cattle, besides cultivating
a large proportion of the land in the pro-
| vinces mentioned. What they need is
| arms ammunition and clothing.
'It is generally understood in Cuba.
that the insurgents know as presentados
who come in and gave themselves up
to the Spaniards in response to the offer
of pardon, were all men who had met
with the disfavor of Gomez because they
had disregarded the discipline he so
rigidly enforces in his army"