The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-04-12

gress considerable portions of the inn
portant communications, and especially
these marked confidential, are omitted.
General Lees correspondence runs
over the period from November II, 1897,
to April L. 1898.
Under date of March 81, General Lee
enclosed u statement from two gentle
men whom he knew as men of yeracity,
telling of the condition Of reconcentrados
in 1.-The bitches" ON the outskirts of Ha-
yana. Among 400 women and children.
whom they found there, 40 or 30 were
dying daily. giving relatively, it is stated,
TEN days of life for each person.
"In one crowd" says the report, "a
poor woman was lying surrounded by
her children, who contemplated her in
silence. without lament or shedding a
tear, they themselves. being real spec
ters of hunger, emaciated in Il horrible
manner
Again it is said If any young girl
came in, anyway nice looking, she was
impoltely condemned to the most
abominable Of trafi'ics. Between Au-
gust and November all but 397 of the
LOO people who entered the bitches
had died"
On December |, 1897, General Leo
telegraphed the department that he had
advices from tae Consul at Matanzas.
of IAN extensive and dangerous con
spiracy" there under the ex-Goyernor of
the province. directed against Amcri
cans"
Action against them,' says General
Lee. ito be contingent upon the move
ment of the United States government in
favor of independence Of Cuba"
Two days later General Lee sent Il
mailed report, saying: Il still think that
two warships at least, should be at Key
West, prepared to move here at short
notice, and that more of them should b.
sent to Dry Tortugas. and a coal station
established there
March II, General Lee enclosed a let
ter from Consul Barker. of Sagua, who
requests him to transmit the following
letter. which is addressed TO him, teen
cral Lee:
Dear Sir: will thank you to com
municate to the department as quickly
as possible the fact that the military
commander and other officers of the
military. positively refuse to allow the
reconccntrad0es, to whom | am issuing
food in its raw state, to procure fuel
with which to cook the food"
Consul Brice, at Matanzas sent in
seven or eight reports and most all of
them of the terrible suffering in his dis
Itrict He said he saw the daughter of
a former Governor of the provinces beg
ging incognitO, on the street He des-
cribed the Intellectual attempt of the au-
thorties to relieve the starving people.
Thousands had died of hunger.
Consul Barker covered the conditions
IN Santa Clara province in Il number of
communications. His letters conStitu
ted one long story of distress Of sick
ness, destitution and death, until indeed
the picture. even as drawn in the plain
language Of official communications is
revolting.
The reports ON the condition of affairs
at Santiago were made by Consul L. +.
Hyatt. He told of the awful death
rate from insuffic;ency of food and also
described the attempts made to- force au-
tonomy ON the Cubans In concluding
one of his reports he says:
1T is beyond the power of my pen to
describe the situation in eastern Cuba.
Senalidity, starvation, sickness and
death meet one in all places.
JOIN f. Jova, Vice Consul at Sagua
La Grande. under date of November II,
1897, stated that the autonomist party in
that district could not exist. In describ-
ing the suffering he says:
No history in the world ancient or
modern( saw an instance of this fright
full. dreadful suffering. Perhaps civiliza-
ton has not seen its like"
ApATJS,rIcIS re, nnocr .T1rrr