The herald., 1898-04-24

ership popular thought Is nebuleus and
real public opinion impossible. We can do
no better than to quote the closing portion
of this volume on the subject now upper
most in the popular mind:
1.-The human race progresses because
and when the strongest human powers and
faculties lead 1t; such powers are embodied
in by a minority of exceptional men; these
men enable the majority to progress on
condition that the majority submit to Its
control; and If all the ruling classes of to-
day could be disposed of in single massa-
ere and nobody left but those who at
present call themselves the workers, these
workers would be as helpless as shepherd
less sheep until out of themselves new
minority had been evolved, to whose order
the majority would have to submit them
selves, precisely as now, and whose rule,
like the rule of all new masters, would be
harder and more arbitrary and less hu-
name than the rule of the old"
These are striking words, but who can
say they are not in the main true ones?
And the whole volume abounds in sound
and saving utterances that can be read
at this time with peculiar profit.
FACTS AND FAKES ABOUT CUBA. BY
George Bronson Rea. George Munro's
Sons, publishers.
We have here a rather hurriedly compiled
volume which is a review of the various
stories circulated in the United States con-
cerning the present insurrection. Mr.. Rea
was the field correspondent of the New
York Herald, who was ordered last year
to find his way to Gen. Gomez's headquar-
ters and to stay with him and report all
happenings.
There appears to have been some conflict
and strife between the correspondent and
Gomez, which ended by the former leav-
ing, and this book is declared to be an at
tempt to state the truth concerning some
of the means that have been used to en-
broil this country with Spain and to pro-
test against the abuse Cuban sympathizers
have made of the press. He declares that
the stories of Spanish atrocities towards
individuals have been colored and in many
cases absolutely unfounded. The fact is
also set forth that the insurrection was not
a united uprising of the native Cubans
and that the western provinces were
forced into the war against all their inter-
estS. Mr.. Rea makes use of an utterance
of Gomez that, if true, bears out this view.
forces on the border of the swamp at Ga
leon, in March, 1896, amongst other things
said: "It is a shame that we, handful of
Orientals under Maceo and myself, have
been forced to carry the war to the west
ern provinces and teach these people what
it is to fight for their liberty; and even then
they expect that we shall do all the fight
ing and bear the brunt of the war" Mr.
n
first expected that the western provinces
could be dragged into the war, since all
their interests We're opposed to it. But no
one at this distance can judge of the real
facts of the case. 1t is pretty plain, how
ever, that the insurrection was started by
the more restless and the less thrifty of
the Cubans, who had nothing to lose by
strife, and that this element has been in
control and received all the benefit of
Americas sympathy and help.
Mr.. Rae praises Gomez and Maceo for
their attempts to stop plunder and cruel
ties, especially commencing Maceo, who,
he declares, was a chivalrous leader.
Gomez, he says, is testy and uneven in
conduct and has been guilty of unfair
treatment of his associates. AS we said
above, this view of Gomez is no doub.
colored by plain prejudice against him,
which at last ended in quarrel.
The greatest number of insurgents ever
seen together by this correspondent was
10000 these being the joint forces If
Gomez and Maceo. only 1000 being armed
with rifles. 1t is disappointing not to get
from this volume any estimate of the
military forces, this matter having been
too difficult to settle or undervalued in
Importance. Mr.. Rae does not have a very
high opinion of the courage of the average
Cuban fighter, and insists that the machete
has been little used-that is, there have
been really no considerable amount of
close quarter fighting. He also denies the
stories about "Amazons," and declares
that he never saw a woman in the Cuban
armies.
There has been flood of Cuban litera-
ture these last few months, almost all OF
it Of the newspaper letter style, fragmen-
tary and unreliable. This volume is like
most of the others and cannot be said to be
of much historic value. There is much
haste in the compiling and the book is
without an index or satisfactory table of
contents.
One who goes through this volume can
Hol Help ieeAi6 tiidl there 10 d idir iiieas-
ure of truth in it, despite its evident bias
he insurgent warfare and the Cuban
juntas boasts and intrigues are shown in
a rather unenviable light, and a reasonable
doubt is raised as to the much alleged bar
barity of Spanish rule. But it is all sorry
picture of chronic disorder and one cannot
help feeling that a general overhauling of
the Cuban case, even by Intervention,
whose end cannot be foreseen or guessed
at, must be justifiable and in the end
wholesome.