Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-01-12
Nothing But BeeSary Possible TO HIM.
dredS Of Thousands.
SOMETHING MUST BE DONE Ar ONCE
Otherwise n Patient, AminbIe, Intel
Iigent People VIII he E1tcrmi-
nated-Instant Pccuniary Assist
the Need.

Justice. arrived to-day from Cuba, where
he has spent two weeks investigating the
conditions prevailing on the island 10
the Associated Press Mr.. Russell said:
II am very glad to be interviewed on
the subject of Cuba, because l feel 1t
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 commit, and
have not i'm our history committed. SUCH
atrocities as Spain is committing on that
island, the American reading public re-
CARDS the reports as biased by the pre-
conceived opinions of newspapers or
grossly exaggerated.
IL spent just two weeks in Cuba, visited
Habana. went south 10 Jaruco, southeast
to Guines, northeast to Mantanzas, east
wardly about two hundred miles through
the middle Of the country to San Do
mingo, Santa Clara, and La Grande. l
visited Maria Mao, a short distance west
of Habana. and saw along the railroads
thirty or forty towns or stations. In Ha-
bana l visited the Fossos, the hospital
prison Aldecoa, where ] talked with the
father Of Evangeiina Cosio Cisneros,
and place called the Jacoba. l found
'reconcentradoes at all three places and
begging everywhere about the streets Oh
Habana. The spectacle at the Fossos and
Jacota houses Of women and children
emaciated to skeletons, and suffering
from diseases produced by starvation. was
sickening. In Sagua | saw some sick ana
emaciated little girls In childrens
hospital. started three days be-
fore by charitable Cubans. and
saw crowd Of misunderstanding
reconcentradoes' with tin-buckets and
other receptacles getting a small allow
ance of food doled out TO them in a yard.
In the same city. In an old sugar ware
house | saw stationed around the in
side walls the remnants of twenty TO
thirty Cuban families. In one case. the
remnant consisted of two little children
of 7 or 8. In another case, where talked
10 the people i'm broken Spanish, there
were four individuals, a mother, a girl
of A. and two quite small girls The
smallest was then suffering from mala-
rial-fever. The next had the signs on
her hands, with which l had become IA
mliar. OF having had the beri-beri These
four were all that the order of coDcentra-
ton had left alive of eleven. At San
Domingo. where two railroads Joined,
the depot was crowded with women and
children, one OF the latter. a. / remem-
ber, being swollen up with the beri-beri,
begging i'm the most earnest way from
the few passengers.
BEGGING THE ONLY RESOURCE.
"San Domingo is little more than
railroad station in times of peace, but
at present Ii has a considerable pOpu-
lation, living in cabins. thatched with the
tops Of royal palm trees, composed of
the survivors of recommendations The
huts are arranged close together in a
little clump, and the concentration order
required and apparently still requires
these people to live within a circle Of
small block-houses. commonly dignified in
the dispatches by the name of forts. OF
course, they had no work TO do no soil
TO till, no seed to plant. and only beg
ging to live on. i do not know the exact
measure of the dead-line circle drawn
around them, but there was certainly no
thing within it upon which a human being
could subsist, and also certainly.
If any order had newly permitted
them to go a short distance further out.
they had not gone, and were not going.
Practically, they are prisoners. At every
one of the numerous stopping places
along the road a similar collection OF
huts could be seen. and at most Of them
beggars, often nice-looking women and
beautiful children, invaded the cars. Be
tween the stations, although 1 travelled
always by daylight as the trains do not
run al night and was observing as care
'reconcentradoes' going away from the
forts. II they had gone, it takes seed,
instruments land, and three or four
months to raise the vegetables which
could be soonest produced. and nowhere
away from the block-houses was there
any sign of vegetables growing. Near
the larger towns the circle OF concentra-
tion seemed to be larger, and allowed
some planting OF vegetables. tobacco,
etc., which seemed 10 be going on. AT
this a very few persons, possibly some
of them recOncentradoes' found employ
ment.
"All along the railroad, as far as could
be seen, were stretches OF the most fer
tile and beautiful country, with very few
trees, even on the low mountains and
most of these the royal palm. l saw many
dozens of burned cane-feds and one
evening, going from Guines TO Habana,
saw the sky lighted up all along the
road with fires, principally of the tall
grass Of the country. but partly of cane.
The whole land was lying perfectly idle,
except where / saw three or four sugar
mills, where the cane was growing, but
in all such instances the mills
and cane were surrounded by forts,
manned by soldiers, who are paid,
as was told, by the owners,
Except in the cities. / saw no indication
that any relief whatever was being az
forded to the starving people Neither In
Habana nor elsewhere did any priest. re-
ligious woman. or other person seem to
be paying any attention to the wants or
the starving. except that AT the Fossos
and some other places charitable Cubans
were nursing the sick. The Church, State
institution. was. so far as / could see.
leaving the victims without either bodily
or spiritual comfort.
TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DEAD.
"As the country was stripped of its
noDuIation by the order OF concentration
il Is easy To believe that 10000 persons
were gathered behind the forts, without
being given food, medicine. or means OF
any kind TO earn a living. except where,
in the larger cities, some few could find
employment In mental offices. Judging by
the orphans / was shown at the JacOba,
Aldecoa and elsewhere, and from all
saw and heard. ! believe that half OF the
900 600 have died as a result of starvation
Aknow from the official register OF the
city OF Santa Clara which ordinarily has
a population OF about lf,COo that the num-
sber Of deaths for December was over 800
The exact figures are S7l. AT this city
the government was distributing 600 single
ratlons per day, out Of total appropria-