The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-03-24

converted contented. prosperous peo-
pie into herd OF suffering, starving
unfortu=ates.
BEGGARY AND DEATH.
''Matanzas is literally place of beg
gary and death. Never before did my
eyes behold such suffering and never
I again do / expect TO see such havoc
wrought through a cruel and inhuman
| decree. A visit to the MatanZas hos
pitais revealed an even more shocking
condition than the streets. Members
of the Red Cross society who had Wis
/ tied one. of the hospitals two weeks
! before were almost overcome upon dis
| covering that nearly every one of the
inmates at that time had since died.
There poverty, sorrow and suffering
were depicted in their worst forms.
| Children, gaunt in face, but with alb
domen and limbs terribly swollen.
women in the last stage of emaciation
and men rapidly drifting to death. If
there was food in these hospitals, said
Mr.. Gallinger, Il did not discover it.
neither were there signs of medicine
or of proper nourishing and care"
CAUSE FOR DEATH DECREASE.
The governor of Matanzas informed
Mr.. Gallinger that the first day he oc-
cupied the palace Is persons had died
in the court yard. He said further that
in the city. 1000 had died in November;
1.20O in December; 700 in January, and
500 in February. The death rate was
decreasing, simply because the recon-
centrados. by death, were becoming
fe-e-.
THE number of people who have
starved in Cuba viii never be definitely
known. 1t is estimated that 500. 900 We're
driven from their homes into the cities
and towns. 1 had it from Spanish au-
thority that. according to their figures,
225. 600 already have persisted. but it
is said that the Red Cross society is in
possession of figures showing that 425,-
600 Cubans have died as the result of
starvation. and that 100000 more must
inevitably die.
WHAT OF THE MAINE?
81 have been asked many times. what
of the Maine? 1 do not know. This.
however, l do know: A government
that will deliberately starve 100000 of
its own people will do pretty much any
thing. If the ship was blown up from
the outside, what should our govern
ment Go? Perhaps / should forbear to
discuss that question now; but this I
will venture TO say: Human life pur-
posely taken cannot be paid for in gold
or silver. Mark my words, 'purpOsely
taken and if it shall appear that such
sailors. then heaven pity the guilty par
ties. 1t will not be a question for ar
bitration, but question involving the
dignity and honor of this great repub-
lie
Mr.. Gallinger said there was little
real loyalty to Spain in Cuba, as would
be demonstrated when the hour of trial
should come. He did not believe that
Spain could subdue the Insurgents. The
Cubans had been oppressed so long that
they preferred death to Spanish rule.
TAX ON EVERY CHIMNEY.
Discussing the question of Spanish
rule, Mr.. Gallinger referred to the mat
ter Of taxation. In addition to all di-
rect and indirect taxes on real estate,
there is a tax on every door, every !
window and every chimney in every
house; on every letter, in every bust
ness sign, and on every name on every
hotel register. Licenses are required to
build houses and paint houses. There is
a tax on food animals as a whole, spe-
cial taxes on horns, the hOofs and the
hide. In addition to all this, the inter-
est on the debt is a tremendous burden;
the salaries of the Spanish officials are
beyond all reason; and the amount of
money wrung from the Cubans to keep |
the Madrid government from complete |
insolvency is simply enormous.
NO people on the face of the earth /
have been so oppressed, the treasury of |
Spain being literally supplied from the |
revenues extorted from Cuba and the |
Philippine Islands.
Our fOrefathers went to war because !
the mother country put a tax on tea. !
Cuba has ten thousand more reasons |
than we had for rebellion, ard she de /
serves the sympathy and help of every /
true American.
HEART OF AMERICA AROUSED.
Fortunately the people of this great |
republic are thoroughly aroused to the /
situation, and the great heart of the |
American populaCe is in full sympathy |
with Cuba. Religion and humanity |
alike demand that the war shall cease, /
and cease it should, even though the
glitter and glamor of military rule shall /
end, and a decaying and dissOlute
throne shall pass away, never to re-
turn"
AS to what should be done, Mr. Gal
inger felt that sooner or later this gov
would of necessity absorb
Cuba, but if annexation cannot now
be accomplished, let it speedily come.
american interests in Cuba" said he
in conclusion. have already suffered !
enough. We have patrolled our coasts
in the interest of Spain as long as we
should. and we have spent quite too
much money in protecting our people
from epidemic diseases coming to our
shores because of the unsanitary condi-
ton of the harbor and city of Havana.
Spain has failed to meet the require
nents of an advancing civilization. Let
The United States or Cuba take up the
problem and solve it,"
WARMLY CONGRATULATED.
Several times during the delivery of
he speech Mr. Gallinger was inter-
'upted by hearty applause from the
galleries. Mr.. Gallinger was IS min
ties in delivering his speech, and as
lie commended 1.-The poor, suffering Gu
,ans to the great heart of the Ameri-
an people," a great wave of applause
wept through the galleries. Mr. Gal