Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-01-12
SCENES OF HORROR IN CUBA.
Another u. S. Oniciai Tells of Them-A
Pitiful Narrative.

Washington, Jan. 1l.-Hon. Charles
W. Russell. assistant United States at
torney in the department of justice, re-
turned today from Cuba, where he has
spent two weeks investigating the con-
ditions prevailing in the island. To the
Associated Press Mr.. Russell said:
Il am very glad to be interviewed on
the subject of Cuba. because feel 1t a
solemn duty to humanity to endeavor
TO make the American people realize
the terrible distress which exists there.
Much has been written on the subject
but judging Others by myself, l feel
quite sure that because we do not COM
init. and have not in our history COM
mitted. such atrocities as Spain is COM
hitting on that island, the American
reading public regards the reports as
biased by the preconceived opinions of
newspapers, or greatly exaggerated.
Il spent two weeks in Cuba; visited
Havana went south to Jaruco: south
east to Guines; northeast to Matanzas;
eastward about 200 miles through the
middle of the country to San Domingo,
Santa Clara and Sagua La Grande. /
visited Mariana, a short distance west
of Havana, and saw along the road
thirty or forty towns or stations. In
Havana ! visited the Fossos, the hos
pital prison, where / talked with the
father of Evangelina Cossio Y Clsneros,
reconcentrados Mt all these places and
begging everywhere about the streets
of Havana.
"The spectacle of the Fossos and ia
coba house of women and children.
emaciated to skeletons and suffering
from diseases produced by starvation.
was slckenlng. In Sagua La Grande |
saw some sick and emaciated little girls
In children's hospital started three
days before by charitable Cubans, and
saw a crowd of miserable looking re-
concentrates, with tin buckets and 9th.
er receptacles, getting n small allow
ance of food doled out to them In a
yard.
"In the same city in an old sugar
warehouse. I saw stationed around the
inside walls the remnants OF twenty or
thirty Cuban families. In one case the
remnant consisted of two little Children
of or years. In another case where
! talked to the people in broken Span
sh. there was n mother, n girl of II
and two small girls. The smallest was
then suffering with mnlarial fever. The
next had the signs on her hands with
which had become familiar, OF having
had the bcrl beri. These four were MI
that the order Of RECOMMENDATION had
left alive out OF eleven
at San DOMINGO whore two rail-
roads join, the depot was crowded with
women and children. one Of the latter
as remember. being swollen with
the beri bert. begging IN the most earn
est way OF passengers. SAN Domingo
20 little more than rallrond station IN
time Of peace, hut Mt present It has
a considerable population. living in
cabins matched with the limbs OF royal
nalm trees. serving for covers for the
rcconcentrados. The huts are ranged
close together in little clump and the
concentrate order required. and an
nnrentlv still requires. these people to
live within circle of small block
houses. commonly dignined in the dis
patches by the name OF forts OF
course they had no work to do, no
soil to I'M. no seed TO plant and only
begging to live on. ] do not know the
exact measure OF the dead line circle