The evening times., 1898-09-06
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER c, 1898.
Hccansc OF HIanco.

The state of things existing in Cuba
Is horrible. and we do rot see how tie
rss ponsibilit. can be shifted from the
shoulders of our own Government It
is due entirely 10 the cruel and mex
plicable policy of allowing General
Blanco to retain his command at the
capital Throughout the island. save
at the one point where General Law
ton is stationed, Cubans OF all con-
ditions are dying of starvation. OF the
nearly four hundred thousand recon-
centradcs gathered in by Weyler 10 be
gradually eXterminatcd by starvation
some five or six thousand were still
alive when the protocol Eas signed.
Naturally the first thought Of the Red
Cross Society ard of humane Ameri-
cans was that this poor remnant
should be saved They have died, to
the last woman and child. since the
white dove of peace descended. Not
only that. thousands Of others, includ-
ing people who had been rich before
the war. have Joined the hungry
masses and are dying.in the privacy of
their dismantled homes.
II is plain that we forgot what was
one of the strongest reasons for our in
tervention between Spain and her Gu
ban subjects. The chief argument We
made To the nations Of the earth in
defending American action WAS that
under the conditions Of the time, inno-
cents were subjected to the most terri
BILE and shocking of all deaths-that of
slow starvation. We exhibited heart
rending pictures Of little children re-
duced to skeletons and mothers unable
TO feed their crying infants. 1t was
this spectacle more than the destruC-
ton Of the Maine. more than the jus
tice of the Cuban cause. that caused
the American clamor for instant in
reference. II was the ever-present
thought ot the suffering of women and
children under the imp!acable hand of
the Spaniards that caused US to urge
haste in war
Then we forgot. Spain was defeated
and we made our own terms. 1t was
our boast that no consideration for that
barbarous nation and no fear of the
European powers could influence our
demands. In shaping them we forgot
that throughout Cuba there were the
dying remnants Of a large population
that might yet be saved by prompt re-
lief Miss Barton took it for granted
that since this was one of the chief
causes Of war, our terms implied our
purpose to feed the starving. We think
The Times alone fOresaw the trouble
and the tragedy that must follow the
retention of his authority by Blanco.
and it called again and again on the
President to remove him at once.
no matter what complications ii might
cause. He was and is allowed to re-
main.
His first act after the signing of the
protocol was to issue a manifesto in
which his purpose was plain to carry
out the threat of Sagasta to make
American rule in Cuba difficult. as a
means of revenge. Since then he has
refused to allow the Red Cross. which
was early in the port with supplies for
the starving, to land anything except
under impossible conditions. He has
defied even the American Government
and has refused to allow it to land
provisions for the people without pay
ing high duties unless he is put in
charge of their distribution. Our Gov.
ernment has virtually decided to re-
call the supplies and let the people die
because of BlancO's Yindictive obsti-
macy. Thus. one of the most vital oi
all our objects in the war is defeated
We foresaw all this and more. Tha
he would use his power and influence
TO lure the Cubans into revolt agains
American rule was a reasonable fear
He has sent Pando to the Junta in
New York, we may guess with what
aiF,o