Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1898-05-17
IDOL. OF THE CUBANS.
INTERVIEW WITH GENERAL MAKING
GOMEZ IN HIS CAMP.

He Say. II VIII Take Six Months to Drive
the spAniara. Out-Doe- Not Want Amer
lean Troops. He says. but Only Arms and
Ammaaition-Ms any Disagree With Him.
A thin, wiry little man, with slight
" stopping shoulders and the whitest
Of white hair and beard, light brown
eyes that snap and CLEAN through steel
ahmed spectacles, a rnan somewhat
given to gesticulation and mod ulated
voice-that is Maxine Gomez, the lead
er, the hope, the idol of the Cuban peo-
pie, as he is today in his camp in the
Juan Lopez mountains.
Maxine Gomez, sitting under his
"casa compana' and writing dispatches
ON the little camp stool that serves as
table, looks all of his threescore years
and ten. But let him straighten up to
give an order to one of his aids or to
discuss anything connected with Cuba
or the war and no one would take him
TO be more than 80. You forget in an
instant the dignified, scholarly old let
ter writer and see only the valiant sol
der whom Spain has never conquer ed
General Gomez was the only officer in
his camp who did not wear the regula-
tion white blouse and trousers of the
Cuban uniform. His costume was more
nearly that of an officer in the United
States army. He wore a dark gray
SLOUGH hat. black top riding boots, dark
trousers and a blue waistcoat that hung
-unbuttoned over colored shirt. ON
which a knotted white handkerchief
he Of II
coat. His officers say he seldom does.
For all the Cuban commander in chief
is trim, we'll groomed man. There are
BARRIERS in his camp, and one of them
is in daily attendance upon the general.
His clothes are always spotless and well
ironed. Gomez is most regular in his
habits. Nine O'Clock, "silenta" (taps),
almost always finds him asleep in his
hammock, and he has never yet failed
to respond to reveille, which, III obedi
ence to his own orders, is always sound
ed at sunrise, When not leading some
Cuban attack on Spanish fort or con
yoy, he spends most of his time in his
hammock, reading Spanish and Ameri-
can papers which Cubans in the towns
have struggled out to him or writing
orders and dispatches to be carried by
couriers to all part of the island
The New York World correspondent.
Francis II. Nichols, was introduced to|
General Gomez by Colonel Rosa, chief
of staff. The general arose from his
hammock and shook hands.
II want to express to The World, ~
he began, land through it to the 20, |
900, 900 of American people our deepl
gratitude for what they have done for
suffering Cuba by recognizing her in
dependence. The news, of which you
bring the first authentic announcement, |
is the most welcome that | have heard |
since the war began. Cuba will be a |
sister to all of the republics of America, |
but she will always be a daughter of
the United States We can never forget |
that we owe our existence as a nation /
to the United States. Although l am
glad that the reason assigned by the
president makes US a nation it cannot
possibly be interpreted to mean any
thing that looks like annexation.
Il have always said" General Go
mez continued meditatively as he twist
ed his beard, that the United States
had really no just ground for war with !.
Spain until after the Spaniards blew |
up the Maine. After that, so deeply did |
upon the American people, |
that had | been at my home III Santo |
instead of here in the fields of |
Cuba / should have gone at once TO the
United States and enlisted as private