Evening star., 1898-01-12

l say that the official register Of that city,
which in peace contains about 14.C00 peo-
PIE. shows death list of November of
eyer a thousand. and for December. in
clrding the goth only, the day before 1 was
tiere. of 97l.
'As there are twelve months in the year
you may judge from this of the effect of
the concentration at Santa Clara. l talked
there with the registrar, who is also Il
lawyer and Judge of the court, and the
facts which 1 have just stated seem TO
re TO tell the whole story SO far as mere
statistics can do so. An official of that
place who has a plantation told me that
ne had sent some reconcentrados a few
miles out to his place to take charge of it,
and that colonel OF guerrilias, with his
troop, had come along and ordered them
back to town.
Practically No Relief Measures.
"As l was informed on all sides that the
troops Were six, seven or eight months in
arrears as to their pay, and the civil ctti-
cials in little or no better predicament and
was Informed in a way that left no doubt
in my mind that contractors were re-
Iuslns In some cases TO furnish supplies
Tor the troops. l have no doubt that the
best intentions on the part Of the Spanish,
IL they have them, would not supply the
needs Of the starving population. Every
one speaks of Blanco as a better man
than Weyler, and it is quite possible that
for reasons of kindness or policy if Spain
had a full instead of an empty treasury,
something would be done. Bus practi-
cally nothing is being done for the re-
lie! or this vast number of suffering human
beings. who are Americans of very old
American stock. largely imbued with Amer
lcan IDEAS and are living six hours by boat
from the American city of Key West in a
country which may be regarded. geographic
cally, as an extension of Florida Even the
Spanish soldiers are suffering for want
OF food. to say nothing of smallpox, beri-
beri, dyscntery and other diseases. In two
OF the hospitals on the waters edge at
Havana 200 of them were sick when
left, many CT whom had been dying of
yellow fever in the same great open build
ing with those suffering frcm other dis
eases. 1t must be remembered that the
Spanish soldier is subject not a citizen.
Talk of the War.
or course, l heard an immense amount
Of talk. and read great deal in the papers
or Havana, about what every one calls
war. Also, of course, every one was pref
udiced on one side or the other and be-
heved largely what he wanted to believe.
Wfat l observed particularly about the
papers was not what they did put wnat
they did ret, contain. No facts were r.
ported, except such accounts of small con-
HlctS WITH groups CT Insurgents and TIE
or Surrendering of men, women
and children to the number of five in one
place, and seven or eight in another, as we
have read stree the trouble began, tending
to show the condition Of affairs between
the insurgents and the Spanish trXucdi-
tfors by Gen. Pando were under discussion
and he was going to accomplish great re-
suits. lnsurgent chiefs, with Il hundred
f0ilowers, were going 10 present them
selves. The United States were going to be
very vigilant tc prevent fi!ibustering expe-
ditions, one of which landed on the north
ern coast while ! was down there after
faVing narrow escape from an American
vessel near Key West. In fact the things
which going n happen
good ard very numerous None of the good
things happened while ! was down there so
FAR as l could learn. So far as the twenty
five or thirty thousand armed insurgents
are concerned, the Cuban chiefs have is
sued proclamations and scattered them
broadcast, such the following which I
obtained in Sangua la Grande signed by
the general who commands in that districf.
ITO the Cubans-
'Compatriots, you have read the elo
1uent and wel-reasoned manifesto given to
the people of Cuba by our government at
Cuvitas, in which it repes In a firm and
worthy manner the autonomy which con-
quered Spain offers US. If Spain had the
most remote hope to vanqu.sh us by arms
would she tcday bring us autonomy? No.
This proves her impotency. We are fight
ing for absolute independence. The tri-
umph of our cause is recognized by all ma
lions. W hen Il people takes the firm re-
solve to break the chains which oppress it
there is no human power which can pre-
vent. Soon 1t will be three years that We
have fought, and during that time Spain
has sent to this laEd 2DD,OOD men. and yet
today we find tha; not single province
has been pacitied. On the contrary. our
iihcratlng army occupies the whole island.
and in it reigns enthusiasm and frenzy for
the strife, seeing the certain triumph of the
liberty of Cuba.
= 'Cubans, the republic of Cuba soon viii
be beautiful reality. ana under the three
coorcd flag will be able to cover them
selves men of good will, without distinction
as to what they have been.
" 'Cubans. viva la Independence.
(Signed) JOSE LUIS ROBAC.
" "'Campos de Cuba L.bre,
'Noyiembre 81 de 1897
The crying question with u.s. said Mr..
Russell In conclusion lis with such pros
poets of continued struggle between Spain
and the twenty-five or thirty thousand men
in arms, who are aided by half the popula-
ton of the towns and cities. what is to
become of the 2on,0JD people now actually
starving in all parts Of the island. except
the western half, where the insurgents
have long been in almost undisputed con-
troll. except at the seaports. These people
must all be eXtern1inated or Immediately
aided by the government or people of the
United States with vast sums of money"
THE COlRTS