Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-04-16


mother country. and then only on such
terms a. spain herself might see Mt
a. grant. The war continued undated.
The resistance ~ the insurgents was in
no wise diminished
The EFFORTS 81 spain were increased.
both by the dispatch of fresh ievies to
Cuba and bY the addition 10 the hor-
rors Of the strife Of a new and inhuman
phase happily unprecedented IN the
modern history ~ civilized Christian
peoples. The policy % devastation and
copccntratiuu inaugurated by the cap
tain generals hando Of october. 1896.
In the province Of Pinar del Rio. was
thence extended 10 embrace all Of the
island 70 which the power Of the Span
Ish arms was able 20 reach by occupa-
ton or By military operations. The
peasantry, including all dwelling In the
open agricultural interior. were driven
into the garrison towns or isolated
places held by the troops. The raising
and moving Of provisions of all kinds
were interdicted. The fields were laid
waste. dwellings unroofed and fred
mills destroyed and In short everything
that could desolate the land and rem
der II unfit for human habltation or
support was commanded by one or the
other OF the contending parties and exc
cuted by all the powers at their dis
posal.
Horrors OF the Concentration Order.
BY the time the present adminIstra-
zion took office a year ago reconcentra-
ton, so called. had been made effec-
tive over the better part OF the four
central and western provinces--Santa
Clara, Matanzas. Havana and Pinar
del Rio. The agricultural population.
to the estimated number of 10000 or
more, was herded within the towns
and their immediate vlcinage. deprived
of the means of support, rendered des-
titute of shelter, left poorly clad and
exposed TO the most unsanitary con-
diticns. AS the scarcity OF food in
creased with the devastation OF the de-
populated areas OF production destitu-
ton and want became misery and
starvation. Month by month the death
rate increased in an alarming ratio. BY
March, 1897. according to conserva-
tive estimates from official Spanish
sources, the mortality among the re-
concentrates. from starvation and the
diseases thereto incident, exceeded so
per centum of their total number. No
practical relief was accorded to the
destitute. The overburdened towns. al
ready suffering from general dearth.
could give no aid.
The so-cailed zones of cultivation.
established within the immediate area
of effective military control about the
cities and fortified camps. proved IL
lusory as a remedy for the suffering
The unfortunates. being for the most
part women and children, with aged
and helpless men. enfeebled by dis
eases and hunger. could not have titled
the soil. without tools. seed or shelter.
for their own support or for the supply
OF the cities Recommendation, adopted
avowedly as a war measure in order
to cut off the resources of the insur-
gents, worked its predestined result As
/ said in my message OF last December,
it was not civilized warfare; II was
determination. The only peace II could
beget was that of the wilderness and
the grave.
A Dogged Struggle.
Meanwhile the military situation in
the island had undergone a noticeable
change. The extraordinary activity
that characterized the second year of
the war. when the insurgents invaded
even the hitherto unframed fields of
Pinar del Rio and carried havoc and
destruction UP to the walls Of the city
of Havana itself. had relapsed In a
logged struggle in the central and
eastern provinces. The Spanish arms
regained measure of control in Pinar
del Rio and parts of Havana, but. I'M
der the existing conditions Of the rural
country, without immediate improve
ment of their productive situation.
Even thus partially restricted. the
revolutionits held their own. and their
conquest and submission, put forward
by Spain as the essential and sole basis
of peace, seemed as far distant as at
the outset.
In this state Of affairs my adminis-
tration found itself confronted with
the grave problem of its duty. My
message OF last December reviewed the
situation, and narrated the steps taken
with view to relieving its acuteness
and opening the way to some form Of
honorable settlement. The assassina-
ton Of the prime minister. Canovas. led
to a change of government In Spain.
The former administration, pledged to
subjugation without concession, gave
place to that of more liberal party.
committed long in advance to a poll
icy Of reform involving the wider prin-
ciple Of home rule for Cuba and Puerto
Rico. The overtures OF this govern
ment, made through its new envoy.
General woodford, and looking to an
immediate and effective amelioration
of the condition of the island. although
not accepted to the extent of admitted