The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-03-23
CUBAN INFERNO
Is Pictured For the United
States Senate
By Senator Gallinger Who Has
Seen 1t.
425,OOO HAVE DIED
From Starvation and Spanish
Cruelty.
And Many Thousands Are Be-
yOnd Recovery.
WAR SHOULD CEASE
WAR SHOULD CEASE
Though the Spanish Govern
ment Be Swept Away.

Washington, March Ex-senator Gal
| linger addressed the senate today on
| the subject of Cuba.
| In opening his speech, Mr.. GalIinger
| said that after the calm, dispassionate
| and touching statement concerning Gu
| ba made in the senate recently by Mr..
| Proctor of Vermont, it might be well
! for him to remain silent, but, yielding
| to the desire expressed by many of his
| colleagues, he had consented to give a
plain recital of some of his observa-
| tions on that unhappy island He
referred to the efforts made by the Gu
bans in 1929. in 1874 in 1848, in 1885, in
1851, in 1868 and again in 1895, to break
| the chains that bound them to Spain in
| order that they might establish for
| themselves a free government" upon the
| soil that was rightly THEIRS
Save the last, all these efforts have
| ended in failure. That failure is his
| tory and need not be recOunted.
| Mr.. Gallinger then detailed some of
| the events leading up to his arrival in
| Cuba and of his reception by Consul
| General Lee.
| Mr.. Ganinger recalled that he had
| heard during the debates in the senate
| denials made that a, state of war ex-
| listed in Cuba, but it required only a
| brief personal observation to convince
| one that war actually did exist. A des-
| Olated country and its stricken people
| told the story more eloquentIy than it
| could be conveyed in words. THE war
i in Cuba, however, he said, ''iS a war
| of starvation and determinations war
more cruel than the world has ever
| known
He said: "The scenes in the streets
/ of Havana are narrowing beyond de-
| scription. People in want and suffering
| are everywhere seen, and walking Skel-
etons meet one on every hand. Naked
children, emaciated and ragged women
and diseased and starving men throng
| the streets, the hotel lObbieS and every
place of public resort. 1t is terrible
sight-One that sickens the heart and
Quickens every impulse of human SYM
pathy and love.
Under the very shadow of Cathe-
| dralS and churches, where Spain'S auth
| Ority is absolutely unquestioned. the
most horrible conditions are conceded to
| exist. Many have refused to believe
that a great government was waging a
war of determination instead of war
| of honor, yet such is an absolute fact.
A visit was paid to the orphanage which
is now under the care of Miss Clara
Barton. 1t contains now about so chill
| dren, almost every one of whom is a
victim of starvation. DR.. Lesser, one of
| Miss BartOn's assistants, has had ex-
perience in the Armenian and India
| famine but he declares that the famine
| in Cuba is worse than that in Armenia
| and pictures he drew of the terrible suf-
fering and starvation in the island
more than confirmed all that has been
| written upon the subject
A detailed story of a visit to Los
| Focas, the place where the recOncen-
| tradOs daily assemble to get food was
| also given. A few weeks ago when
| Miss Barton discovered the place there
were 645 people lying on the floors, many
| of them entirely nude and all suffering
| the pangs of starvation. Much has been
| done by the Red Cross society to al
/ 1eviate the condition of those who still
remain but scores of men, women and
| children are yet there gaunt and bo-
ney, almost as a skeleton, many of them
! covered with sores directly traceable to
/ insufficient food. What chapter of
! horrors and death is that!" said the
| senator.
And still the tragedy goes on. How
much longer it shall continue largely
depends upon the fOrbearance of
| great people, who through suffering and
/ sorrow achieved their own independ-
| ence and whose sympathies have al
ways gone out to the oppressed OF all
nations of the world"
A vivid picture was then drawn by
| Nr. Gallinger of a trip to the city of
/ Matanzas. All along the route were
\ wretched people in rangs, but not until
/ the city was reached was the full ex-
| tent of the suffering realized. 1T oc-
| CURED to me-" said he, :as 1 looked
/ upon the scenes of suffering and nor
| rOrs that the Cuban recOncentrados
! might well have adopted the words of
Dante Who enters here leaves hope
| behind when they were driven from
| the fields and herded like cattle in the
| cities and towns of this fertile land.
| The truth is that WeyIer devised a
| scheme of human suffering and sorrow
! that put Dante's inferno to the shade
| and converted a contented, prosperous
| people into a herd Of suffering, starving
unfOrtunates.
"Matanzas is literally place of beg
gary and death. Never before did my
| eyes behold such suffering and never
| again do I expect to see such havoc
wrought through cruel and inhuman
decree A visit to the Matanzas hOspi-
tails revealed an even more shocking
| condition that the streets. Members OF
the Red Cross society who had visited
one of the hospitals two weeks before
| were almost overcome upon discovering
that nearly every one of the inmates at
that time had since died. There power
| ty, sorrow and suffering were depicted
in their worst forms, children, gaunt in
face but with abdomen and limbs ter
riblv swollen, women in the last stage
| of ernaciation and men there were rap
idIy drifting to death. If there was
food in these hospitals said Mr.. Gal
finger. L did not discover it, neither
were there signs of medicine or of
proper nourishing and care"
The governor of MatanZas Informed
Mr.. Gallinger that the first day he oc-
cupied the palace fifteen persons had
died in the court yard He said fur
ther that in the city 1,20o had died in
November; l. 200 in December; 700 in
January and 500 in February. The
death rate was decreasing, simply be-