The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-02-24
|IIISzyDS STARVING
,,,,o, Of the People in the
P''' province Of Matanzas'
apt OF CRUISER MONTGOMERY

|IfVh
,.,,m..ed That No Less rnan ,, .S
r''i@ - destitute and without Food
People n nsrging In the streets Were FOR
~, weIl-to-Do = So"ru ~ Crowd.
D' per-. Naval omoers Followed Ds oso~
'''' Hungry People When They A""'''
80 de- Cuba, Feb. 24.-Whiie the
sanuS s,otes cruiser Montgomery was
l' Sstauuas recently a board OF, Oh ON tno
ha'a" anoolnted to inquire into the
rs ,, saT Of the people of that province.
|ndl'iOA ,ne exact terms of the report
n0 ~, known, it may be said. that IN
s' ~, it sets forth that there arc
uDs''ns son,e absolutely without FOOD
w ,, p within the city limits.
S,nt 1000 of these live in sma'i mus mus
lOOus hranches. These huts form
pam anorate villages beyond the
nlss ~ nortions of the city. The oth-
uI y oaS nnfortunates live in the streets
l'' o,tv and are absolutely without
~ or shelter. These $4,000 people
0u' !, the laboring class, VINO nave
driven into the cities from 'heir
een homes. which have been de-
Founu, n the war operations. Most
TUyeS ore women and children ana
~ are all emaclated, sick ana Amos.
VA relief unless they can nave tne
s,Sst of the regular treatment In the
snsn' As it is they are dying III
y. streets for want of FOOD
..,,,ng Mortality from starvation.
,arprding to statistics gathered from
host official sources the NUMBER Oh
~. IN the province of Matanzas
starvation is $4,000. and the num-
~ If starving people at present In the
n,n0o e estimated at $4,000, out OIL
wa, ronulation of 253,616 in Deem
y, 1897. and the number or starVihs
w., ,, -. ,s rapidly increasing. In the city
sswotanzas alone there have been about
GOO deaths during the past year, ano
number is increasing daily. The
so,h rate at present averages forty
.v ner day. as shown by the reports
Avn tho cemetery. The increase in the
Iso,b rate is due to the fact that the
Ms,ross is no longer confined TO th'
,.horine class, most of whom have al
rsodv perished. 1t has now EXTENDED
\ those people who before the wa
here in moderately comfortable circum
Stances. Those who are now begging
n the streets. were in a large part
vell.to-do people, or the children o
,he well-to-do. And in addition tn
citizens of the city of Matanzas them
selves are beginning to suffer Tor Tn
actual necessities of life, having de
Doted their resources in order to sup
Xiv the needs of the laboring class, Wh
have been quartered upon them.
Relief Measures Inadequate.
The citizens of Matanzas have an OF
sanized system of relief for the stary
ing people, but it is entirely inadequat
and is daily becoming more glaringly s.
for the residents who were well-to-d
\,re rapidly diminishing, while the do
1nand for food is constantly increasing
AT one Of the relief stations the boar
cfOficers found 100 starving people, tn
being the actual number of persons Il
whom the citizens had been able to PR
vide rations there. In a room acro'
the court yard of the building were i
tin pans and as many spoons. The'
\pans were filled with a cooked mess
rice and fish and were arranged in rov
ready for distribution among the fan
ishlng people, who were waiting In a.
other part of the house. But, as q
ready said, the three relief places
the city of Matanzas do not begin
adequately supply food to the 14,O
people who are there starving in {
streets, for the citizens are only able
issue food three times a day at ea
place. and then to only about 100 at
time.
Citizens Cannot Do Much More.
II should be added that a large nul
Der Of the citizens of MatanZas ha
fed the starving in the streets in fro
= themselves are feeling the pinch a
priyation and unless assistance so
comes to them they will be compel
IN self-protection to cease the work
CHARITY in which they are now engage
and which is seemingly the only s.
Walton for the starving thousands. I
only other public relief at Matanzas
mat given to the poor sick children
lne management of the Emerger
hospital, which is under the directi
Oh the volunteer fire department of N
'anzas. There about eighty childl
are treated daily and are furnish
with nourishment under the direction
The city physicians.
importuhed by Clamorous Crowds.
These statements are the conclusio
facts and figures arrived at by bot
OF United States naval officers. WI
he United States naval officers lant
uiey We're constantly followed by ella
Oring crowds of starving men. won
anu children, who importuned them
.ne most heartrending manner for a
ue food, for the want Of which Il
were slowly dying.
Inc United States consul at Mat
.as mas done everything possible
uer the circumstances, but when
mOn'gomery left there, in the first d
0reoruary, the consul had only emo
.a'ohs remaining to last about
weeks, after which the fund approI
s'ed by congress would have been
aausted and then the sufferers of
anzas would include the American {
-ens at that place, who have hith'
c c.Velved relief through the I'm
states consulate. At that time the {
.ul mad received petition signed
ue american citizens of Matanzas
uis forth In detail the need In WI