Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-11

tain general through q letter to the Spanish
minister that extensive Zones of cultiva-
ton haze been ofsahiaed, the daily fations
ere provided ~ the state, ana that work IL
fufnishsdH Mr.. Barker also points fut ne
impfaetldAbiiFt q grinding eAae under tie
present conditions. He say4 In his letter Of
the Goth Of NQyembef that he had inter
viewed n8kt 9 the large planters In his
consular district, and they had stated that
unless assured Of immunity from the in
sureaht chief. Gomez. they would not at
tempt to grind, as by so doing they would
jeopardize their property. He adds that it
is IAN unQuestioned fact that the military
are powerless to give this necessary protec-
tion." Mr.. Barker devotes much space to
the suffering and mortality Of the people Of
his province. He places the mortality fig
ures for six OF the principal cities Of his
district for the period beginning with jan
uary 1, and ending November Is, 1897, at
S0.589. He says this is the official record,
and that fully Is per cent should be added
to cover deaths Of which no record was
kept. Undoubtedly he says, ''one-ha,f of
the concentrated people have died, and to-
day Spanish soldiers are companion victims
of the surviving non-combatants. This APP
palling death roll is mute, yet convincing
proof in attempting to subjugate the is
land. With me the conviction is firmly
rooted that within sixty days 30 per cent
Of the populace will reach a state of crav-
ing hunger, nor do feel that am speak
ing Numerically when 1 conclude the rank
and file of the Spanish army. The true
status as viewed at present will bear out
this opinion. The suffering among the
troops, as well as the reconcentrados, SIM
IL, r1,slo fxv,f
ripens daily
DestitutiOn Too narrowing to Recite.
On the 18th day of December, Mr.. Barker
relates the particulars of visit ne hal
made to five of the principal railroad towns
in mis- consular district, which tour had
been undertaken to verify previous state
ments. Speaking of this trip which covered
the towns of Santa Clara, Cruces, Esper-
ANA, Jicotoa and Santa Domingo. he says
1.-The restitution is simply too narrowing
to recite and must become intensified each
day. The death rate for last month shows
an increase of about . per cent. In these
towns 1 got my information from the may
ors Of each. From them 1 learned that
willie there was an issue of food running
from three to five days, beginning on the
2sth ultimo. consisting of three ounces Of
DdCOu OF JeTkCO peer anu SIX OuiiCeS VI
rice for adults, with half this allowance
for children under fourteen years, the pit
lance given was sufficient only for one
fourth to one-tenth of the starving. No
further relief has been given up to date,
and the mayors Of these towns are au-
thority for stating that the captain general
had ordered the discontinrance Of the food
to the concentrates" This order from the
captain general was apparently given be-
cause of the insufficiency of the food sup
ply for the Spanish soldiers. The mayor
of Santa Clara had also told Mr.. Barker
that the military commander had informed
him that he was to give food to no one
having relatives in the insurrection, which
would exclude Is per cent of the destitute.
From this Mr.. Barker concludes that how
ever sincere may be the desire to help
the reconcentrados by the Spanish authori-
ties they are poweress to do SO for want
of means. He also states that all popular
subscriptions have proved total failure,
because the Cubans are poverty stricken
and the Spanards will contribute moth
ing
Mr.. Barker dwells In almost all of his
comm unications upon the paucity Of food
of the Spanish soldiers In this of the 18Th
of December, he says: In my recent trip
l found that the Spanish soldiers are not
only suffering for necessary food, but
was often appealed to by these pitiab'e
creatures for medicine. One has only to
lock upon them to be assured of the needs
complained Of"
In his letter of the 18th Of December, Mr.
Barker repeats his observations upon the
suffering and destitutions among the con-
centrados, saying: How could the situa-
ton be otherwise, since the island is pro-
drcing absolutely nothing, save some grow
ing cane, and at the same time completely
exhausted all of food. Relief alone can be
obtained from the outer world in the way
of charitable contribution. To grind the
same without interruption would be the
means of saving the lives of thousands
who without this or outside aid within
thirty to fifty days must die of actual hun
ger. Over a month since the planters were
officially advised Of Spain's inability to
provide protection in order to operate their
mills. This leaves the sugar growers en-
tirely in the hands Of the Cubans in re-
volt as to whether they will be allowed to
grind without hindrance OF fear of total
destruction of their property. l know that
strict orders have been given to subordi-
nate commanders that under no circum-
stances must mills be permitted to grind
under penalty of violation of the order,
destruction of property.
In several places IN Mr.. Barker's letters
stars are inserted showing that portions
of them have been omitted. These omis-
sions are in places generally where he deals
with the condition of the reconcentrados.
Santiago de Cuba.
The reports on the condition of affairs al
Santiago are made by Consul p. f. Hyatt,
beginning on the 18th Of November last.
Mr.. Hyatt had then but recently returned
to the island, and he begins his reports
With a r.view of the conditions of the in