The gold leaf., 1898-03-24
(By Nemo.)

Sufferings on the Island?
(By Nemo.)
Three years and more have elapsed
since the present Cuban rebellion
broke out. 1t is probable that in
history past or to come no parallel
to it's conditions will be found. The
rulers of the island, unable to defeat
the insurgents are themselves unde-
feated; and the insurgents, elusive
and triumphant and enduring beyond
usual measure in guerilla warfare
are no nearer the actual accomplish
ment of their purpose than they were
at the out tbreak of hostilities. Nature
and her CHASTITY hand-maiden. Pesti-
lence have fought for the insurgents;
but natures battlings have been bal
anced by new arrivals of Spanish
sOldiers-men, some OF them; boys,
many of them-forced almost at bay
onet point to take the places of the
diseased and the dead. Against the
| doggedness of the insurgent, the
pride of the ruler has been matched.
The insurgent can hold out indefi-
nitely; the Spaniard will.
While the stubborn warfare Of
these unyielding forces has proceed
ed with fluctuating results that in
the long run have practically bal
anced each other, third army OF hui
man beings have been slowly ground
to destruction. OF their woes we
must think and, having thought, we
must act. Though the Spaniards
have been chiefly confined within the
limits set up by themselves; prison
ers, in fact, within their own fortifi-
cations, yet they have retained fear
compelling power over the feeble
minds of the children and the timo-
rous natives of both sexes who. were
afraid to fight and did not dare to
flee. These pacifcos quietly obeyed
| the government when orders went
forth through the country regions to
gather within town limits and stay
there. The expected freedom to live
in peace under the surveillance of
of the Spanish arm, changed at once
into death-dealing bondage. Unable
to cultivate land to any great ex-
tent, herded together in huts unfit
for swine, suffering from lack of food
and by lack of food rendered more
helpless and weak-spirited than be-
fore, they have died like flies in au-
tumn; and in dying have suffered
woes that are unequalled even by the
bloody sufferings of the Armenians
or the plague-ridden starvation of the
Hindoos. The language of moder-
ate woman like Clara Barton, the fa-
nous Red Cross heroine; and the
stories pictured by the truthful cam
era, more than justify these COM
parisons. In one hospital alone
"a place where care and tender
oversight are expected-four hun
dred of the pacifcos have died of
starvation. The burdens of the in
surgents, who, in rebelling did so in
full expectation Of the fortunes and
misfortunes of war, have been naught
beside the woes of these unhappy
non-combatants. When Spain has
slain it's hundreds by fire and by
sword, it has slain its HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS by hunger and neg
lect This has taken place and still
doing so within ninety miles of the
land that declares in favor of life, lib
erty and the pursuit of happiness.
This war-measure of Spain against
harmless ones will ever stand out
prominently in the ANNALS Of the
brutalities of which our race is cap
able. This is not WAR with its
glamour of excitement and OF chance,
but relentless MURDER without the
shedding of blood.
When a man sees a weak one perse-
cuted and refuses to side with the
weak he is no man. The rule for a
man is the rule for nation. Muir
der of women and children, helpless
and enfeebled and starving, is at our
door, at last we begin to appreciate
it. Their broken lives, their untime-
ly deaths, their rights to happier
condition are making themselves
slowly understood among our people.
Every stratum of society is perme-
ated The great underlying love of
fair play is stirring this nation North
and South. And it is girding itself
to punish and not to wage war.
Let us be careful that our motives
are pure and our minds unconfused.
The wild talk of a laundering official
like DeLome is nothing to our great
conservative millions. War or even
the thought of war over such mat
ter is unworthy our contemplation.
1t would be an absolute reversion to
the barbaric irascibility Of olden
times. We have grown away from
such things.
The selfish motives Of tobacco fac
tors and sugar gamblers in pointing
out to a great, fair-minded country
a chance to tilch from Spain, because
she is weak, that which is hers as
truly as New England is ours, has
moved us only to condemn and not to
approve. We refuse to add to our
racial problems at the nod of self
seeking men. The heart of the ma
tion is unresponsive to such tempta-
ton, and furthermore even the ter
rible Maine disaster. with its sorrow
and its loss has grandly shown to
! the world that we are slow to anger
and plenteOus in conservatism. De-
spite all guesses to the contrary our
people have refused to believe that
the Spanish government could be SUI
icidal enough to have direct connec-
tion with the disaster. We believe
that she would foresee more damage
to herself than to us in this sudden
and horrible event. If this were all
that had happened, an indemnity
would be sufficient and war be
quite contrary to international pre-
!, cedents.
But while this nation. set in might
to lead the Western hemisphere, can
| stand insults to its vast self it can