The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-18

The reconstruction Of the Island OF
Cuba and the formation of stable
government VIII be the signal for the
immigration ot investors and settlers
to an extent which can hardly be esti-
mated. Within year English-speak-
ing peoples will be docking into the
island by hundreds if not by thou
sands. The intellectual and moral
status of the new Corners Will be so at
variance with the native Cubans that
a, certain shock win be unavoidable. 1t
viii be the contact of the sixteenth
and nineteenth centuries. The native
Cuban, the guajiro, countryman, will
not understand the American and his
ways, because he has not seen his ike
before. The American will not under
stand the Cuban, because he does not
know his history, his unwritten his
tory, q history which can be learned
and understood only by intimate asso-
citation with the people, by knowing
their inner life, their traditions and the
forces which have PEELED them along
certain lines and le.L them in peculiar
RUS
One particular in which a change Is
bound to take place u in the position Oh
the church. The revoidtion has Brought
about a social and theological CRISIS,
perhaps a chaos. In Cuba, as IN the
Philippines, the priests have, from the
time of the first settlement, held almost
absolute sway, not only N things splr-
itual, but in social, and, TO some eA-
tent, in political affairs. WheChef Cups
becomes Independent or is made part
of the United States there is certain to
be On alienation of church and state.
The priests viii have to stand alone IN
competition with the representatives of
other creedS, as they can no longer hold
absolute control Of the lives ana for
tunes of the people. 1t is interesting TO
see how quickly this idea has permeat-
ed all ranks. OF course the church mas
Still plenty Of loyal supporters, but
even these no longer maintain the at
titude of complete dependence which
characterized them when Soaii.s au-
thority was still unquestioned.
To one who is familiar with the pres
ent state Of affairs in the island, il is
needless to say that no love is lost be-
tween the priests and the members CT
the Cuban party. In every attempt that
has been. made to throw off the yoke of
Spain, the church has been consistently
on the side of the mother country.
The first news OF the recent reVolu-
tion received by the military authorities
came from the clergy, learned by them
through the confessional From this
source the Spanish commanders learn
slider means of throwing off the yoke
of Spain. It was in such manner that
the author of those pamphlets which
first instigated the revolt in the prov
iEce of Camaguey, Serapio Recio, was
discovered by the Spanish authorities
and compelled to flee for mis- life. He.
with four associates, had carried the
little hand press with which the work
was done in the dead of night from
the house of one to the other, thus for
many months GLIDING the vigilance Of
SDaim'S secret service. But the confess
sional of the clergy wormed the secret
from the thoughtless wife of Recio,
and within an hours time it was in
the possession OF the governor general
at Havana. 1t is claimed and accepted
as 2 fact on the island that more than
half of the arrests, decorations and
executions were made at the instiga-
ton of secret service agents, who wore
the cloth OF the church.
AS an evidence of the intense hatred
borne towards the insurgents by the
Catholic clergy, an inc .dent which was
witnessed by the correspondent near
Las Minas. in the province of CANA
guey in the summer, may be cited:
Four young men had been arrested
that morning as ''insurrectoS, and
were being marched under guard to-.
ward NeuVitas, when a priest, the
up on his mule. EspyinS the prisoners
with hands manacled. he borrowed a
lieutenant's machete. rode after them,
and with the fiat side of the blade be-
| labore6 the backs of these helpless
boys until he tired of the sport, and
then rode back. delivering the machete
TO the lieutenant, with a smile of sat
isfaction.
There are thousands of acres of the
richest lands in Cuba now held by
representative of the church, and mir
lions of dollars have been shipped to
Spain, al obtained by persuasion o.:
compulsion from religious Cubans. The
descendants Of these Cubans now look
and the priests are afraid OF losing
them b. Il general act of contiscation.
Every large property holder in Cuba
was formerly compelled by laws inSti-
gated by the church to set apart a GER
tain portion Of his domain as Il living
for some member of the clergy. II it
was desired to keep this property in
the possession of the family, it became
necessary for some member to enter
the priesthood and thereby claim it.
Often wealthy men and women were
persuaded, on their death beds, to make
over 4 large part of their estates to
the church Alberto Agramonte Of
Neuvitas pointed out to the correspond
ent few weeks ago a magnificent
"portrero" or field of guinea grass,
several miles in extent, in southern
Camaguey On it were grazing as fine
cattle as can be found anywhere. That
portrero,' said he, was signed away
to the church by my grandfather on
his death bed in 1858 The clergy have
received an annual rental of So 600 in
gold ever since, until the past three
years, when they have been unable to
collect the rentals on account of the
revolution.
All these things have had their ma
tural effect in setting the priests and
the Cuban patriots against one another.
- The revenues OF the church from all
sources in Cuba have fallen off almost
two-thirdS since the beginning of the
revolution. TitheS remain unpaid, and
it is impossible to collect the rents on
church lands, which comprise some of
the most valuable in the island. More
than all, the authority of the priests
is no longer unquestioned nor their
mandate implicitly obeyed. To use the
expression of a prominent member of
the sacred order, We are in diabol-
ical dilemma"
The frantic appeals of the priesthood
to secure some concession which Will
protect their rights and property when
the final disposition of Cuba is set
tied can be understood by their re-
luctance to give up a good thing. Not
only did Cuba pay a large part of the
expenses of the mother
country, but she did a great deal more
than her share in keeping up the state
church. 1t is, of course, impossible to
estimate the amount of these contribu-
tons, voluntary and otherwise, which,
UP to the beginning of the late revolu-
ton, poured into the lap of the church.
a conservative estimate of the moneys
which crossed Atlantic from ClIha