The Dickinson press., 1898-04-02
THUR6T0N'6 CUBAN SPEECH,
An |mpasSioned Appeal 10 Stop De5oiation In
Cuba---(aH For Force Of Arms To
Sweep Spanish Tyranny AWAY.

they have an established form of gov.
eminent, levy and collect taxes, main
tain armies, and generally levy q tax Of
tribute upon the principal plantations
in the other provinces, and, al is CON-
monty believed, upon the entire railway
system Of the island.
Under the inhuman policy of Weyler
not less than 400. 900 self. supporting,
simple. peaceable, defenseless country
people were driven from their homes in
the agricultural portions Of the Spanish.
provinces to the cities, and imprisoned
upon the barren waste outside the resi-
dence portions of these cities and with.
in the lines Of intrenchment established
a little way beyond.
Their humble homes were burned,
their fields laid waste, their implements
OF husbandry destroyed, their live stock
and food supplies for the most part con-
fscated.' Most of these people were old
men, women and children. They were
thus placed in hopeless imprisonment,
without shelter or food.
There was no work for them in the
cities to which they were driven. They
were left there with nothing to depend
upon except the scanty charity of the
Inhabitants Of the cities and with slow
starvation their inevitable fate. T
Revolutionists Unoonquered.
It is conceded upon the best ascer-
'ftainable authority, and those who have
had access to the public records do not
hesitate to state, that upward Of 21O.-
900 Of these people have already perish
ed, all from starvation or from diseases
incident to starvation.
Spain cannot put an end to the exist
ing condition. She cannot conquer the
insurgents. She cannot re-establish her
sovereignty over any considerable por-
ton Of the interior Of the island. The
revolutionists, while able to maintain
themselves, cannot drive the Spanish
army from the fortified seacoast towns.
The situation, then, is not war as we
understand it, but . chaos Of devasta-
ton and depopulation of underlined dura-
ton whose end no man can see.
There has been no a~melioration Of the
situation except through the charity Of
the people Of the United States. There
has been no diminution in the death
rate among these reo%onoentrados except
as the death supply is constantly dimin-
ished. There is no relief and no hope
except through the continued charity
Of the American people until peace has
been fully restored in the island and
until a humane governments has restored
khoao noonJo 10 thosr honooo onI hts
provided for them anew the means With
which to begin again the cultivation Of
the soil.
AS an instance of the discipline
smnng Spanish / cite the fact that I
bought the maohete Of Spanish soldier
on duty AZ the wharf in Matanzas, on
his offer, for % in Spanish sillyer. He
also seemed desirous Of selling me his
only remaining arm. q revolver.
The pictures in the American news
papers Of the starving reoonoentrados
r true. They can all be duplicated by
the thousands. Isnever saw, and please
God I may never again see, so deplora-
bic q sight as the reooncentrados in the
suburbs of Aatanzas. loan never forget
to my dying day the hopeless anguish
in their despairing eyes. Hpddled about
their little bark huts, they raised NO
voice of appeal to Us for aims as we
went among them.
For the United States to Answer.
The government Of Spain has not and
will not appropriate one dollar to save
these people. They are now being at.
tended and nHrsed and administered to
by the charity Of the United States.
Think Of the spectaolel We are feeding
these citizens Of Spain; we are Nursing
their sick; we are saving such az can
be saved, and yet there are those who
still say it is right for us to send food,
but we must keep onr hands of. I say
that the time has come when muskets
ought to go with the food.
We asked the governor II he knew Of
any relief for there people except
: through the charity Of the United