The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1898-12-29

9@--- So
the typical camel to 90 through the
needles eye-the air is filled with the
cracking of whips and the special swear
words without which it is said that army
mules cannot be managed Soldiers. sol
diers everywhere, And wearers of Uncle
Samuel 5 livery are almost as thick as the
warriors OF SPAIN at any rate, the former
are more conspicuous, moving brisklv
about with the confident air of vctors One
misses the late omnipresent Orden Publico
| and Guardia Civl-the Spanish infantry
who performed police duty in guarding
the city, until their deportation few
days ago. They were an admirable body
! of men--to look at. in their picturesque
uniforms of dark blue denim, with trim
mings of red or green and their Mauser
rifles warranted to kill at the distance of
mile and a half All were of Spanish
birth, the pick of the troops in Cuba: and
to be eligible for service in the Guardia
Civil, man must have some education
and furnish references of good character
The latter clause is a delicate bit of
irony which many poor souls will APP
pIeciate. They were the alleged pro-
tectors of the American consulate at the
beginning of hostilities. and Consul. General
Lee passed through more perils from their
bullets than he Will probably ever again
encounter. The Orden Publieo furnished
Weyler and Blanco with local spies in
addition to their other dutes-peeIing
into windows, intimidating children.
servants and women, and reporting scraps
OF overheard conversations which crowded
the prisons and sent whole families into
exile. Their reward fol these distinguish
ed services was such as Spain usually
metes out to her faithful subjects Most
Of the men had families in the mother
country, and in spite OF short pay and
long arrearages, they managed by con
siderable self sacrifice to save little for
the loved ones at home. The money,
which in many cases told of one scant
meal instead of three day, was int1usted
to their superior officers in a kind Of regi-
mental savings-fund, They had not
received a cent of pay for several months,
when it was lately discovered that the
officers had swindled them out of all these
savings
Perhaps the superiors were not so much
TO blame, for their own salary was far in
arrears and they are compelled to main
tain certain amount of style BETTING
their position. No culbstone one-meal-
day system for them The dignity of
old Spain demands that they live in good |
hotels, attended by their Wallets, and order |
their wines, though the cash to pay for it |
comes out of plebean pockets When the
day of reckoning came, the Orden Publcos |
naturally Kicked as the Yankees say. |
Then the question became how to get rid |
OF them peac eaby, as their Just demands |
could no more be met than blood can be |
squeezed from turnip. Early on the |
morning of the 18th, they We're called out |
without previous warning, marched on |
board transport and headed for home |
before they realized what was going on.
The censored press announced: ''The |
different battalions which constitute the |
garrison OF Habana will this morning be
defiled' but what that meant, the rank
and file had no idea. Soon as reveille
sounded, the Saragossa battalion began to |
move, closely followed by detachments
from the Barcelona, the Malacca, and
others, the Guardia Civil and Orden Pub
licos among the rest. Down the beautiful
Prado they marched, flags flying and bands
playing then along Obispof street to the
Caballera wharf-where, somehow, those
to be deported got separated from the |
rest and their evolutions led them over a
gang plank into waiting tugs, ard thence
into transport whose steam was up, all !
ready to start on the long journey across
the ocean. Taken completely by surprise,
the Publicos went meekly as lambs; but
the dullest could see that an eleventh
hour revolt would be useless. The other
battalons under orders were massed close
around, and it was noticed that Spanish
gun boat, which should have been lying
out in the harbor, had been brought up
near the wharf, her guns mounted and
decks cleared for action. Next day Hab-
ana's censored newspapers gave pleasant
account of the affair. They described it
as function presided over by General
Arolas, supreme commander of the garri
son of Habana, assisted by other troops,
to do honor to their departing comrades;
AsToR RIA.
Bears the H1hs Kind You Have Nxsw Bought