The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-01-12
THE HORRORS or CUBA
As Detailed bya United States Gov
eminent Official. :
THOUSANDS STARVING TO DEATH.
Hon. Charles w. Russell, Assistant
Attorney In the Department of JUS
tice, Declares That 10000 Have AL
ready Starved-Need For Relief.

Hon. Charles w. Russell, Assistant
Attorney In the Department of JUS
tice, Declares That 10000 Have AL
ready Starved-Need For Relief.
Washington, Jan. 12.-Hon. Charles
w. Russell, assistant United States
attorney in the department of justice,
returned yesterday from Cuba. where
he has spent two weeks investigating
the conditions prevailing on the island.
To reporter Mr.. Russell said:
II am very glad to be interviewed on
the subject of Cuba, because l feel it a
solemn duty to humanity to endeavor
to make the American people realize
the terrible distress which exists there
Much has been written on the subject,
but, juding others by myself, I feel
quite sure that, because we do not
commit and have not in our history
committed such atrocities as Spain Is
committing on that island, the Ameri-
can reading public regards the reports
as biased by the preconceived opinions
of newspapers. or grossly exaggerated.
II spent just two weeks In Cuba, Wis
tied Havana, went south to Jaruco,
southeast to Guines, northeast to Ma
tanzas, eastwardly about 200 miles
through the middle Of the country to
San Domingo, Santa Clara and sagua
la Grande. l visited Mariana, short
distance west of Havana, and saw
along the railroads 80 or 40 towns or
stations. In Havana I visited the Fos-
sos, the hospital prison Aldecea, where
I talked with the father of Evangelina
Cisneros, and place called the Jacoba.
I found reconcentrados at all these
places, and begging everywhere about
the streets of Havana.
1.-THE spectacle, at the Fossos and
Jacoba houses Of women and children
emaciated to skeletons, suffering from
diseases produced by starvation, was
sickening. In Sagua ! saw some sick
and emaciated little girls in a chill
dren's hospital started three days be-
fore by charitable Cubaie, and saw a
crowd of miserable looking reconcen-
trados with tin buckets and other re-
ceptacles getting small allowances of
food doled out to them In q yard. In
the same city, in an old sugar ware
house, saw stationed around the In
side walls the remnants of 20 or 30 Gu
ban families. In one case the remnant
consisted of two little children Of seven
or eight. In another case there were
four individuals-a mother a girl of A.
and two quite small girls. These four
were all that the order, of concentration
had left alive out of IL.
AT San Domingo, where two rail-
roads join. the depot was crowded with
women and children, one of the latter,
swollen up with the beri heri, begging
in the most earnest way CT the few
passengers. San Domingo Is little more
than a railroad station in times Of
peace. but at present 1t has consider
able population living In cabins, thach-
ed with the tops of royal palm trees,
composed of survivors Of the recon-
centradoes. The concentration order
requires these people to live within a
circle Of small blockhouses, commonly
dignlfed in the dispatches by the name
of forts. ] do not know the exact
measure Of the dead line circle drawn
around them, but there was certainly
nothing within 1t upon which human
being could subsist. Practically they
are prisoners. At every one of the
numerous stopping places along the
road similar collection Of huts could
be seen, and at most of them beggars,
often nice looking women and beautiful
children invaded the cars.
IAN along the railroad as far as could
be seen were stretches of the most fer
tile and beautiful country, with very
few trees, even on the low mountains,
and most Of these the royal palms.
saw many dozens of burning cane
fields, and one evening, going from
Guines to Havana, saw the sky lighted
up along that road with fires principally
of the tall grass of the country, but
partly of cane. The whole land was
lying perfectly idle, except that l saw
two or three or four sugar mills where
cane was growing, but in all such in
stances the mill and cane were sur
rounded by forts, manned by soldiers
who are paid by the owners.
Except In the cities ! saw no indi-
cation that any relief whatever was
being afforded to the starving people.
Neither in Havana nor elsewhere did
any priest, religious woman or other
person seem to pay any attention to the
wants of the starving. except at the
FOssos and some other places charitable
Cuhans were nursing the sick. The
church, being state institution, was.
SO far as l could see, leaving the VIC
tins without either bodily or spiritual
relief In fact the general indifference
10 suffering which seemed to prevail
everywhere Is astonishing.
las the country was stripped of its
population by the order of concen-
tration, ii is easy to believe that 400 600
persons were gathered behind the forts.
without being given food. medicine or
means of any kind to earn a living, ex-
cept where in the larger cities some
few could find employment in mental
offices. believe that half Of the 400, 900
have died as the result of starvation.
! know from the official register of the
city Of Santa Clara. which ordinarily
has a population of about 14,OO0. that
the number Of deaths for November
was over LOCO, and for December over
900.
II wish merely to state in such a way
as to be convincing that in consequence
Of the concentration of the people some
zoe, 900 Cubans are daily suffering and
dying from diseases produce by a lack
Of nourishmeut In the midst Of what !
think the most fertile country in the
world, and that something must be
done for them on a large scale and at
once, or a few months will see heir
determination. So far as | could see
they are a patient, ar,iable. intelligent
set of people, sumo of them whom
saw bessng having faces like Ma
donnas.
What they need ls instant pecuniary
assistance to the extent of $40. 900 a
day distributed by our consus. Pri-
vate charity will hardly, it seems, pro-
duCe that amount Whether congress
should make an appropriation, as in
the case of the San Domingo refugees
and other cases is not for me to say,
but | beg the charitable to believe the
statements Of fact which ! have made,
lnd to try to realize what they mean"
CA.a5