Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-22
1t is the Dominating Political Power
in Cuba.
THE MEN ARE POOR AND BADLY PAID
But They Will Fight When Or
dered by Their Officers.
A G AINST UTON MY
Copyright, 1898, by Charles NJ. Peppar.)
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

tCOpyr1ght, 1875, Dy Cnaries NJ fepp'r.J
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
HAVANA, Cuba, January 10, 1898.
Spain's army in Cuba is the coming po-
litical lower. In itself the organization is
not one to be feared by other countries. but
it is a menace to Madrid. If the army can
not quen the insurrecton, it may upset
ministries and overthrow dynasties. A sin
gle week has been enough to show its
strength. 1t has kicked over what there
was of the requiem of autonomy. The Sa-
gesta ministry has taken the hint, and the
limited freedom which was allowed the
press has been further restricted. In Cuba
1t has been abolished. The army is sensi-
tive. 1t must not be criticized. So the first
fruit of the liberal system of colonial gov
ernment which was to be implanted is to
wipe out the liberty of free speech and free
press. The ''estado mayor" or general mil
itary staff is the controlling authority and
not Governor General Blanco or the autono-
mist cabinet. The cabinet is a pasteboard
one.
Before analyzing the political relation Of
the army, q word may be said about it's
military side. The organization would prob
ably not appeal to European or American
military men, but In this, as in other mat
tors, Spain must be judged by standard of
her own. The effective troops in Cuba
number somewhere between $4,000 and co.
600. The hospitals hold 10000 sick soldiers
OF the 100000 men sent out from the penin-
sula during the last three years, this is all
that remains. death or a decoration was
the exhortation Of Gen. Martinez Campos
to the young recruits. Death for the ma
5ority of those who came to Cuba is sure.
They do not have an equal chance for the
der
give them open battle. The fevers are GER
tain to prove in time more deadly than the
bullets and the machetes, and the insur-
gents can AFFORD to wait. Four-fifths of the
troops In Spain are young fellows, some of
them the merest lads If Spain has sea-
sened veterans. she keeps those veterans
at home. The soldiers in Cuba are docile
obedient and ignorant. Many of them can
not either read or write. Their discipline
Is lax Their drills are awkward. The
eVoiut1ons OF squad of them are often
mirth-provoking 1t takes a long time for
rn EN- to learn how to use their Mausers and
Remingtons. But they can fight,
The Spanish Soldiers.
An idea obtains in the United States that
In case Of war with Spain a single brigade
would walk across the island receiving the
surrender OF the Spanish troops. The de-
lusion would not last long. The Spanish
troops would be beaten but they would not
run away. I have heard insurgents who
were In the field in the early stages of the
war, when there was real fighting, give
the most sincere praise to the steady bray-
cry Of these soldiers. Gen. Gomez himself
appreciates the qualities they show and
their endurance of hardship and danger.
He has eulogized them more than their
own commanders. and he has had the
chance to learn OF what stuff they are
made. Abused and robbed by their officers,
the privates respond quickly to guod treat
ment 1t is not the common thing to ind
columns whose commanders show an inter-
est in the welfare of their men. Never
theless. there are exceptions. 1 have often
observed the contrast in the country when
the columns were moving. A considerate