Richmond planet., 1898-01-15
THE HORRORS OF CUBA
AZ Detailed by a United States Gov
ernment Official.
THOUSANDS STARV1HaTo DEATH.

Hon. Charles W. Russell, Assistants
Attorney In the Department. OF jus
tice, Declares That 100000 Have Al
ready starvod-Noed For Relief.
Washington. Jan. 17.-Hon- Charlie.
W. Russell. assistant UniteA States
attorney In tha AsPartnsnt Of Justice.
returned yesterday from Cuba, where
he has spent two weeks investigating
the conditions prevailing On the islana-
To . reporter Mr.. Russell said:
II ara very EIad to be interviewed en-
the subject OF Cuba. because I feel Il =
solemn duty to humanity - sndsavsr
to make the American people realize
the terrible distress which exists there.
Much has been written en- the subject,
but. juaizg ethers by myself, I feel
quite sure that because We de- not
eemmit and have not In eur history
committed such atrocities a. epaiH IL
committing en- that islana. the Ameri-
can reading public regards the reports
as biased by the proconesivsd opinions
~ newspapers. or grossly exaggerated.
spent Just awe weeks In Cuba, viz
ited Havana. went south t. Jaruco,
southeast to Guinsx. northeast to Ma
tanzas. eastwardly about roe miles
through the middle of the country TO
San Dorningo. Santa Clara and Sagua
In Grande. visited Marianne. a shert
distance west OF Havana, and saw
along the railroads 80 or - towna or
stations In HavanG visited the FOs-
SOS. the hospital prison Alaecoa. where
talked with the father or Evangelina
Cisneros, and a place called tina Jacoba-
found resoncentrados at ali these
places. and begging sverywhsrs abSue
the streets OF Havana
The spectacle, at the FoHsou anG
Jacoba houses. OF women and children
emaciated te skeletons. suffering from
diseases produced by starvation, was
! siekening. In Sagua saw some sick
and smaciated little girls In q chill
dren's hospital started three days be-
fers By charitable Cubans. and saw a
crowd or miserable looking reconesn-
trades with tin buckets and ether re-
eeptaeles getting small allowances OF
food dolsd out 70 them In a yard In
the same city. IN an old sugar ware
house, I saw stationed around the In
| side walls the remnants OF 20 or so Gu
ban families. In one ease the remnant
consisted OF two little children OF seven
or eight. In another ease there were
four indivi6uals-a mother. . girl of II,
and two quite small girls. These four
were all that the order OF concentration
1 ~
AT Bsn Domingo where tive rail-
reads Join. the depot was crowded with
women and children. one OF tha latter,
swollen up with the beri berf, begging
In the most earnest way Of the few
passengers- San Domingo IL little more
than Railroad STATEN In times af
peace, but at present II has consider
able population living in cabins. tkaeh-
ed with the tops Of royal palm trees.
composed % survivors Of the recon
eentradces. The concentration Order
requires these people TO live within a
circle of small bloekhouSkx, commonly
dignired In the dispatches by the name
Of forts. ] de not know the exact
measure OF the dead line circle drawn
around them, but there was certainly
nothing within 1t upon which q human
being could subsist- Practically Trey
are prisoners. At every ona of the
numerous stepping plaess along the
read similar collection Of huta could
be seen. and at most Of them bsgEars.
often nice iseking wOmea and beautiful
children, invaded the earS.
-An along the railroad as far az could
be seen were stretches Of the uost fer
tile and beautiful country, with very
few trees. even on the lew mountains,
and most ef these the royal palms.
saw many dozens OF burning cane
: aelds, and one evening, going from
; Guines to Havana. saw the sky lighted
: up along that road with rres principally
OF the tall grass OF the country. but
partly OF cane. The whole land was
b. lying perfectly Idle. except that I saw
two or three or four sugar mills where
cane was growing, but in all such ia
i, stances the mill and cane were sur
+ rounded by forts. manned by soldiers
Z who are paid by the owners.
J Except In the cities saw no sndi-
cation that any relief whatever was
being AFFORDED to the starving people.
Neither Ia Havana nor elsewhere did
any priest. religious woman or ether
q person seem to pay any attention to the
. wants OF the starving, except at the
a Fossos and seme other places charitable
l Cubans were nursing the s.sk The
d church, being a state institution, was
l so far as I could ses. leaving the VIC
: tims without either bodily or spiritual
Q relief. In fact. the general indifference
1 | to suffering which seemed 10 prevail
d everywhera is astonishing.
}. "As the country was stripped OF itu
d population by the order OF concen.
= tration. It II easy to believe that 200 O0t
+ persons were gathered behind the forts
= without being given food, medieine y
a means OF any kind to earn a living, OK,
Z CCDN WncEo lu the ldrEef cities some
few could find employment in menia
offices. believe that half Of the 400 o0l
have died as the result OF starvation
q know from the oficial register Of the
= city Of Santa Clara, which ordinarily
has q population OF about 1900, thai
the number OF deaths for Novsrnbe,
= was over 1000. and for December evsl
= 500.
~ II wish merely to state In such q way
~ Rs to be convincing that in consequence
Of the concentration OF the people some
100000 Cubans are daily suffering and
\ dying from diseases produce by q lacl
Of nourishment In the midst ef what
think the most fertile country In tn,
world, and that something must b
done for them On q large scale and a
once, or a few months will see theil
IL determination. So far as I could Sc,
ir they are u patient, amiable. intelligent
20 set Of people. some OF them whom
y saw begging having faces like Ma
n donnas.
d What they need Is instant pecuniar,
t. assistance to the extent Of $50, 600 I
0. day. distributed by our oonsuls. Prs
vate charity will hardly, 1t seems. pro
duce that amount. Whether congress
should make an appropriation, as II
the case OF the San Domingo refugees
and other cases. Is not for me to say
but beg the charitable to believe tn
o. statements OF fact which have made
Ia and to try - realize what they nnsaA