The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1898-04-20

! the CalItal lnNTSItNt ~ 'ti 'ittH' IL i-'
! Cuba has been largely lost. and the tenn
! per and forEearanrc OF our people have
| been so Sorclv tried as to hegcta peril
| ouS unrest among our own cltlZenS,
| which has inevitably found It's cNprrS-
| ,iOn from time to time III the national
! legislature, 50 that issues wholly "Nt"r-
| nal 70 our own ECdy polite cngrosS at
| tention and stand III the way OF that
| rlCsc devotion to domestic advancement
! that becomes self contained commGn-
wealth whose lrimal maxim has he,n
! the avoidance of all forei gn CntanS'c-
| mcnts.
All this must needs awaken. and has
! indeed aroused the utmost concern on
! the part of this government, as well
| during my predecessor term as Ill my
! OWN.
In Arril. 1896, the evils from which
! our country suffered through tic Cuban
war Eccamc so CnerOuS that my predc-
| ccSSOr made IN effort to bring about Il
; Ieacc through the mediation of this
! government in any way that might tend
| to an honorable adjustment OF the con
! test between Spain and her Tcvoltcd
| colony. Oh the basis Of some effective
| scheme of self government for Cuba
! under the flag and sovereignty of Spain.
1t failed. through the refusal OF the
! Spanish government then III power to
| consider any form OF mediation. or IN
! decd of any plan OF settlement winch
| did not begin with tEe actual >ubmlS-
sion of the insurgents to the mCther
country, and then only Oh such terms as
| Spain herself might see fit to grant.
! Tic war continued Tnahatcd. The re-
sistance of the insurgents; Was in no
wise diminished.
! War of determination.
| The efforts of Spain were increased
" the dispatches of fresh levles OF CuLa
| md by the addition to the horrors OF
he strife of new and inhuman phase
happily unprecedented in the history OF
,,iyi!ized Christian peoples. The policy
Of devastation and concentration lnau-
:urated by the captain general Oct. J,
1896, in the province of Pinar del Rio
was thence extended to embrace ali OF
>he islands to which tie power of the
Spanish arms was able to reach by oc-
:uration or by military operation.
The peasantry. including the dwell
.rs in the open agricultural interior,
were driven into garrison towns or $50
! ,atCd places held by the troops. The
razing movement in the provinces OF all
kinds were inaugurated. Fields We're
laid waste. dwellings unroofed and fired,
mills destroyed and in short everything
that could desOlate the land and render
it unfit for human habitation or support
was condemned by order Of one OF the
ccntending parties and executed by all
the powers at their disposal.
BY the time the present administra-
ton took effect, year ago, a reconcen-
tration-socalled-h been made ef-
fective over the bett T part Of the four
central Or western provinces. santa
Clara, MatanzaS, Havana and Pinar del
Rio. The agricultural population, to
! the estimated number of 100000 or
more. was herded within the towns and
their immediate vicinity, deprived fam
, lies of support, rendered destitute CT
shelte:. left poorly clad and exposed to
! the most unsanitary conditions. The
scarcity cf food increased with devasta-
/ ton OF the population areas and the de-
/ structiOn and want became misery and
starvation. Month by month the death
rate increased in an alarming ratio.
The Mortality Great.
Bv March, 1851. according to cOnServ
; ative estimates from official Spanish
! sources. the mortality among the recon-
! ccntrados from starvation and the dis
! eases thereto incident exceeded 80 per-
! ccntum Of their total number. Pracu-
, cal relief was accorded to the destitute.
, The Overburdened towns, already suf-
! fering from the general dearth, could
! give no aid. Socallcd zones Of cult
vation." established within the imme-
! diate area effective military control
; about the cities and fortified camps,
! proved iiluSory as a remedy for the sui
fering. The unfortunatCS, being for the
most part women and children with
aged and helpless men. cnfeebled by dis
ease and hunger, could not have titled
the soil. without tools, seed or shelter,
for their own support or for the supply
of the cities. RECOMMENDATION, adopted
avowcdly us war measure III order TO
cut off the resources Of the insurgents,
worked its predeStincd result. AS l
said in my message OF last December, 1t
was net civilized warfare; it was cXter-
mination. The only peace ii could be-
get was that Of the wilderness and the
grave.
Meanwhile the military situation III
the island had undergone noticeable
change The extraordinary activity
that characterized the second year OF
the wur. when the insurgents invaded
even TIE hitherto unharmed fields OF
Pinur del Rio and carried havoc and de-
Struction up to the walls Of the city Of
Havana itself. had relarScd into a
dogged struggle in the central and east
cn provinces. The Spanish arms re-
gained measure of control i'll Pinar Gcl
Rio and parts of Havana. but, under the
existing conditions Of the rural COun
try. without Immediate Improvement Of
their productive situation. ETcn tins
partially restricted the rcvc!utiOniSt>
held their own and their conquest and
submission, put forward by Spain as the
essential and sole basis Of peace. seemed
;S far distant rs n tie outset.
In this state OF affairs, my adminiS-
tratipn found itself confronted with the
grave problem Of its duty. My message
Of last December reviewed the situation
and narrated the steps taken with Il
view &c relieving its acut"neSS and open
: MS inc way 10 S0llie lOI!h VI H'iolapic
settlement. The assassination of the
prime minister. Canova>. led to a change
of government III Spain. The former
administration, pledged 70 Subjugaticn
without concession, gave place 10 that
Of more liberal party. committed long
in advance to policy Of reform involv-
ing the wider principle of home rule i'll
Cuba and Porto Rico. The OvcrtureS of
this governmcrt-tH l. through i+s now
April Wisdom.