Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1898-04-01
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Spirit Of the Dress.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

MISREPRESENTATION
Nothing in the past weeks discussion
of the relations between Spain and the
United States has been of such real and
definite importance as the statement laid
before the senate by Senator Proctor of
Vermont, and based upon his recent per-
sonal experience and observation in
Cuba. This furnished precisely that
calm, unimpassiOned view of facts which
the public has in vain sought from news.
paper Cuban CORES pondence. Senator
Proctor not only made lucid and COM
prehensive survey of the actual condition
of affairs he also expressed in striklngly
concise and sometimes epigrammatic
sentences the critical points involved.
lie found that two of the six Cuban
provinces (the eastern ones are practi.
cally in the hands of the insurgents. and
are spoken of generally as CUBA Libre;"
that outside of Havana "it is not peace,
nor is it war; 1t is desOlation aud distress,
misery and starvation:" that every town
and village is surrounded by a trOcha
(trench), sort of rihepit guarded by a
wire fence and by loopholed block
houses; that these form what are vir-
tually prison yards into which the peo-
Pile have been driven, to subsist as they
can; that outside the fortified places and
the equally fortified railway stations
there is in the four western provinces
hardly any human life or habitation-no
crops, no pastures, no animals; that, in
other words. in these provinces 1.-THE
! Spaniards hold just what their army sits
on; few and only few sugarmlls are
running, protected by the Spanish gov
eminent, and also, it is said, paying trib-
ute to the insurgents. As to the recon
centrados," about 100000 people were
driven into the towns by Weylers army,
and Blanco's much-talked-of modifica-
tion of the order has done little good.
! These wretched people in many cases
/ saw their homes burned before their
eyes; now they live-those who still
| live at all-in palm-leaf huts, under
abomnabe sanitary conditions, herded
| together with foul earth, foul air, foul
water. foul food or none. The little
/ children suffer the most, and are dying
daily. 1t is believed that over half of
/ these 400, 900 people have already perish
ed. If the Spanish authorities. who have
/ brought this infamy about have done
anything to help these people, systemat,
/ icaily and efficiently, it does not appear
/ to have come to Senator ProctOr's know
/ ledge. Relief to some extent is now
coming through American contributions
administered through the central relief
committee and Miss Clara Barton of the
Red Cross, Senator Proctor saw in one
/ Havana hospital (since improved by
| Miss Bartons agents -four hundred
women and children lying on the stone
floors in an Undesirable state of emacia
ton and disease" And he adds that in
other cities the conditions are worse.
No possible rhetorical passion could add
to the horror excited by this simple fact.
Turning to the military and political
situation. Senator Proctor observes that
out of 2000 Spanish soldiers sent to
Cuba there are now about 10000 fit for
duty the rest have died of disease. are
in hospital have been killed in lighting
the last class being comparatively small.
The soldiers are small, Young, light in
weight. They have no artillery, no
tents or field equipment, do not drill,
have no adequate idea of infantry tactics.
Cavalry rading comprises most of the
fighting. The Cubans have about 30,
600 men in the field mostly in the east
ern provinces, but including always
some bands in Havana province itself.
Ruiz and Aranguren were both killed
within less than twenty miles of Havana.
About third of the insurgents are
negroes. OF the total population of
Cuba (l,600. 000) one-eighth are Span
iards. The political situation is thus
summed up:
The dividing lines between parties are the
most straight and clear cut that have ever
come to my knowledge. The division in our
war was by no means so clearly defined. 1t
is Cuban against Spaniard. 1t is practically
the entire Cuban population on one side and
the spanish army and Spanish citizens on the
other do rot count the autonomists in this
division, as they are so far too inconsiderabe
in numbers to be worth counting. General
Blanco filled the civil offices with men who
had been autonOmsts ana were still classed
~ According to the novels