The herald., 1898-02-05
To Take Up Homesteads
On Cuban Lands
AMERICAN OWNERS OF LAND
WILL CUT UP HOLDINGS AND
SELL CHEAP
A Colony Scheme in Which Only
Ablebodied Men Will Be
Asked to Take Part
Associated Press Special Wire

hoooCldtcu L ICSS koPcCi1i WIG
MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi, Feb. A
special to the Journal from Aberdeen,
S. D., says:
John Patterson of Minneapolis, who is
we'll known throughout the northwest
is working quietly but persistently upon
a scheme to take 100, 900 men to Cuba and
land them there on the Fourth of July.
He says he is backed by syndicate of
Americans who have large land interests
in the islands, and claims these Ameri-
cans are anxious to cut up their large
holdings and dispose of small planta
tions to able-boded men. They require
no cash down and all the money the in
tended purchaser needs is enough to pay
| his expenses to Cuba, which, as Patter-
son says, will be nominal. He says there
will be enough steamers at New Orleans
| July Fourth to carry the 100000 excur-
sionists to Havana and other ports on
| the island where they can land. The
! company guarantees protection from
| Spanish interference from New Orleans
| to Cuba and when the men arrive they
will be such a formidable body that
Spain will not dare to interfere with the
peaceful pursuits the immigrants in
! tend to pursue. If an attempt should be
made to interfere, the men will be in
structed to arm themselves and protect
their rights.
The companys agent claims that a
vast amount OF money has been lost by
American property owners over there by
the Spaniards not allowing them to work
their plantations. They intend to place
man on every few acres and if he
stands up for his rights and works the
property he will become the absolute
owner of his plantation in few years
The company guarantees to furnish the
settlers with machinery and arm them
if it becomes necessary. Mr.. Patterson
| has been very successful in securing
men.
| BLANCO'S FAILURE
| NEW YORK, Feb. A dispatch to
| the Tribune from Havana says: Cen
eral Blanco has returned from a trip
to the eastern provinces, which, put in
the best possible light, has failed to
come up to the expectations raised in
Madrid. The Sagasta ministry cannot
longer delude itself with the false hope
that the adhesion of few minor insur-
gent chiefs is evidence that the insurrec-
Ition is disintegrating from within. Its
powers of resistance is shown by the
fact that in such military operations as
have taken place during the last fort
night the advantage has been with the
insurgents. Briefly, the situation,
which by this time must be understood
by the ministry, is that persuasion has
failed to win the insurgents to autonomy
and the army has had no better success
The intransigeants have their remedy
They are not making threatening dem.
onstrations against the Captain-Gen-
eral and telling him that the situation
is insupportable and that the only prac-
tical solution is for him to go home
For the present they are contentine
themselves with advising Madrid OF
these facts. What action they will take
later in the form of dissatisfaction can
not be foretold.
Though Weyler has many partisans
they don't look for him to return to Cuba
in command. They realize that the re-
call of Blanco would be a confession that
the policy he was sent out to indorse is
a failure. They do not expect that the
Sagasta ministry will confess itself out
of office in this manner. They talk
vaguely that the army must be made
supreme in enforcing peace, as though
the army had not been supreme fol
years.
1t is the frank judgment of com
petent military judges that the Spanish
troops in Cuba today are in worse con
dition than the insurgents, though boil
the strength and the resources of tn,
latter may be exaggerated. Wsyle
failed in his campaign in Santiago
Pando criticised Weyler, but he has dom
no better. In two months the sol
achievement Of his forces has been t,
rescue the survivors of the garrison o