The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1898-03-30

| touching statement concerning cuba made
| IN the senate recently by Senator Proctor,
| IF Vermont, it might be well for him to re-
| main silent. but, yielding to the desire ex-
pressed by many of his colleagues ne haa
| consented to give a plain recital OF some
| Of his observations on that unhappy
| island"
| Senator Gallinger then detailed some of
| the events leading up to his arrival in Cuba
| and of his reception by Consul General
| Lee.
| "Gen. Lee" said he. 'is deserving of the
| highest possible praise for the manner III
| which he carries himself in Havana. Cool
| and fearless in the midst of difficulties and
dangers, he never loses sight of the TACT
that he Is an American citizen, nor is he
unmindful of the tremendous responsible
tiles and duties of his position"
Referring to his call upon the autonomist
cabinet, Senator Gallinger said it was evil
dent that the president of the cabinet was
not encouraged in the work THE truth
is" said Senator Gallinger, autonomy Is
fiat failure
Senator Gallnger recalled that he had
heard during debates in the senate denials
made that state of war existed In cuba,
but it required only brief personal OBJ
servation to convince one that war actual
y did exist. A desolated country and It's
stricken people told the story more elo-
quently than it could be conveyed In words.
THE war in Cuba, however" he said, lis
war of starvation and determination
war more cruel than the world has ever
known.
THE scenes in the streets of Havana are
narrowing beyond description. People in
want and suffering are everywhere seen,
and walking skeletons meet one on every
hand. Naked children. emaciated and
ragged women and diseased and starving
men throng the streets, the hotel lobbies
and every place of public resort. 1t Is
terrible sight-one that sickens the heart
and quickenS every impulse of human
sympathy and love"
A detailed story of visit to Los Focas,
the place where the reconcentrados daily
assemble to get food, was also given A
few weeks ago when Miss Barton discov-
cred the place there were 645 people lying
on the floors. many of them entirely nude
and all suffering the pangs of starvation.
vivid picture was then drawn by Sen
| ator Gallinger of a trip to the city of
| Matanzas. All along the route We're
| wretched people In rags, but not until the
| city was reached was the full extent of the
suffering realized. 1T occurred to me as
| l looked upon the scenes of suffering and
horrors that the Cuban reconcentrados
might well have adopted the words of
| Dante: Who enters here leaves hope be-
| hind when they were driven from the
| fields and herded like cattle in the cities and
| towns Of this fertile land. The truth Is
| that Weyler devised a scheme of human
| suffering and sorrow that put Dante's In
| ferno' to the shade and converted con-
| tented. prosperous people into a herd OF
| suffering, starving unfortunates.
| THE number of people who have starved
| in Cuba will never be definitely known. 1t
| is estimated that 100000 were driven from
| their homes into the cities and towns
| had 1t from Spanish authorty-that accord
| their npnrps have
| perished but II is said that the Red Cross
| society is in possession of figures showing
that 425000 Cubans have died as result OF
| Spanish cruelty from starvation and that
| 100000 more must inevitably die.
II have been asked many times, what OF
the Maine? / do not know. This, how
| ever, 1 do know: A government that will
| deliberately starve 100000 of it's own people
| will do pretty much anything. If the shiI
| was blown up from the outside, wha
| should our government do? Perhaps
| should forbear to discuss that question
| now; but this will venture to say: Human
| life purposely taken cannot be paid for ir
| gold or silver Mark my words 'purposely
| taken and If 1t shall appear that such wa:
the fate of $50 brave American sailors, ther
| Heaven pity the guilty parties. 1t will no
| be a question for arbitration, but q ques
ton involving the dignity and honor of tht:
| great republic"
As to what should be done, Senator Gal
| linger felt that sooner or later this govern
ment would of necessity absorb Cuba, blu
| IL annexation cannot now be accomplished
| let independence speedily come. "Ameri
| can interests in Cuba" said he, in con
| clusion, "have already suffered enough
| We have patrolled our coast in the interes
| of Spain as long as we should, and we have
spent quite too much money in protecting
our people from epidemic diseases coming
to our shores because of the unsanitar,
condition of the harbor and city of Ha
vana. Spain has failed to meet the require
ments of an advanced civilization. Let thu
United States or Cuba take up the problem
| and solve it,"