The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-07-12
CAUSES OF THE WAR.

s,ardIng outside the capitol the other
evening and permitting himself q min
ute Of gossip, the Spanish war would
never have occurred.
Drbe war can be laid to two things
more than all others put together. one
WAS the death of General Antonio Ma
ono wbo was killed by treachery De
,sD,ber l. 1886. and the other was the
blowing up OF the Maine.
",Tbe day after Maceo's death OF
when the news reached this county.
r ",,s could hardly be restrained
Srom taxing definite action on the Gu
nan question, and mass emeetings lOF
coincidence for the Cubans and SYM
nathy for Cuba were he'd IN ChlSaso'
81 Louis, San Francisco, New orleans
and New York. Such men as GnaEtes
a, Dana, Bourke Cochran. senator
Tones and Senator Cannon maus
speeches openly in favor OF CUBA, anu
for n while It looked as thOush '"e
Spanish war was upon US; .,.
with the new year OF W the eA '.ISe
mont died down and II was possible mat
%ssn for an event which took place four
4scn months after the death OF General
SIarco, This was the blowing up Oh the
Halted States battleship Maine IN ha-
vana harbor, February 10. 1888, IN wmch
oG6 American lives were lost and Vs.
900 battleship destroyed. -,
AFTER chat there was no holding Dack
the neople. II Spain had Immediately
sent over her check for 100000 ana
mad maid indemnity for the lives OF the
sailors perhaps all would have been
Vol ard we might after all have al
lowed her to get on with Cuba the best
gbe could: but Spain did nothing OF the
sort on the contrary, her board OF IN
agtry reported a month after the blow
inc nm OF the Maine that 1t was due
wholly TO an accident OF Internal dasar-
rangement-probably to the careless
methods employed by American sailors
in handling their ships. r
"ThIs was the last straw, and on Aprl
10 the President prepared an ultimatuns
10 spain demanding the evacuation OF
cuba within three days. This was prac-
tIcaily declaration OF war,
. "The Cuban trouble began so gradual-
" and so quietly that many were 9h-
aware OF It until 1t had been brewing
over a year. In February 1888 IlttIe
more than three years ago, an insuErec-
zion broke out In three of the six prov
iDces NJ Cuba, For years Cubans have
TebsIled against Spain, but matters had
been comparatively quiet until then. On
February "a the insurgents drove the
Standards out OF three provinces ard
Governor General Cajella cabled over TO
Madrid for 400 additional Spanish
troons These were sent to Cuba ana
were nut under the leadership Of Gen
eral Caiella. He gathered them In one
vast army and started out to subdue the
Insurgents, when, to his surprise, he
found an Immense insurgent army rae
General Antonio Maceo was COM
rrander Of the insurgent army and Flor
Combet and General Ruiz Rivera were
in command Of other divisions. General
Cajella was repulsed so severely by the
Insurgents that the Spanish cabinet de-
manded his recall, and on April H. 1898,
General Campos came over to take MS
place.
Spanish soil than he gathered all his
troops, and. like his predecessor MADE
q charge upon the provinces occupied
by the insurgents with the intent to DIS
perse them for ali time. But hardly
had he got well out OF Havana before
he found a body Of men under General
Gomez, ard the two armies fought the
historic battle Of Guantanamo with the
result that 400 Spanish soldiers were
killed, while Gomez did not lose man.
II was another Manila, with Gomez as
the Dewey.
"But all was not plain sailing for the
{ns,,rrebss. ard q few days later, Just
three years ago this month, Jose Marti
was killed and his regiment cut to
pieces. The following day General Go
ineZ and ZOO horsemen were repulsed 80
severely that the old general did not
collect the remnants of his troops.
"But Maceo was hard by ut santa
Clara. and hearing the noise OF the guns,
came up with 1900 men and defeated
5000 Spanlsh troops. Campos. who had
occupied position in the rear, now
took 10000 men and marched again upon
Gomez, who, meantime, had reachea
his army, with the result that CampoS
was driven back with terrible loss.
1.-THE beginning Of the year 1885 tound
Campos back in Spain In disgrace. he
had been defeated by Gomez ana de-
feated by Maceo. Ruiz had driven him
back and Marti, in the last fatal strug-
gle had hurt the Spanish severely.
Plainly CampoS was not the man 70 put
down the struggle in Cuba
Accordingly on January II, General
Butcher Weyler was sent over to take
the place Of Campos. Weyler arrived
there in so much pomp and was SO
puffed up with pride that he would not
condescend to confer with Campos, and
for a. few days both Weyler and Campos
were in the palace Of Havana, neither
speaking nor planning with each other
Finally CampOs set sail for Madrid and
Weyler took sway over the struggling
island of Cuba He had brought over
with him 10000 Spanish troops, ana
these he sent into the field.
ION February II, 1895, Weyler Issued
his famous reconcentrados proclama-
ton. The reconcentrddos proclamation
was that all Cuban-born people out
side OF the cities should be brought into
the cities to dwell. They were called
concentrates. a few days later he
ordered that they be confined to certain
streets, and then they were named re-
concentrates. They had been recon-
trated into snaiier quarters. This proc
lama,loH started the WeyleT reign OF
terror In Cuba, and began the great
starving system by which the butcher
intended TO exterminate the Cuban race.
Meanwhile Weyler was not idle in
the field. He sent out his army in all
directions and informed the insurgents
that they must surrender or retreat, To
retreat meant practically, to surrender
for the sea lay back Of them and on
every side Of them. and were they to
retreat far they would be back into the
ocean and be drowned. This the cum
ming Weyler knew and he relied upon
their surrender.
But Gomez declined to surrender. He
gathered 5000 men together and crossed