Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-10-26
CONDITIONS At SANTIAGO.
Business Men Want Annexation But the
Army Opposed to 1t.

Business Men Want Annexation But the
Army Opposed to 1t.
New York Sun.
The transport Michigan, which ar
rived at quarantine on Tuesday night,
having on board Brigadier General
Lawton and the bodies of four of the
heroes of the Santiago campaign, came
up the harbor yesterday morning and
anchored off Liberty Island. She was
met there by the government steamer
General Meigs. Mrs. Lawton was on
board the steamer to greet her husband.
The bodies brought up on The Mich
igan were those of Captain Alexander
NJ. Wetherell, Of the Sixth Infantry,
killed at Santiago Colonel Charles A.
Wikoff, who was killed on San Juan
Hill on July 8; Private William E
Cheevcr, of company I, Seventy.hrst
regiment, and Private Louis V. Skin
ner, of company B, of the same regi.
ment. All the bodies were transferred
to the General Meigs. The transport
brought up about 100 passengers, con,
sisting of discharged and furloughed
soldiers and few civilians.
Despite the high sea that was run
ming, General Lawton climbed down
the rope ladder to the General Meigs.
He was accompanied by the aides,
Lieutenant King and Captain Ramen
G. Mendoza, assistant adjutant general
of the department of Colorado. Gen,
eral Lawton is here Oh a 60 days
leave of absence. His health was
rather poor just before his departure
from Santiago, but he said the trip up
had improved him so per cent. The
general conditions at Santiago, he said,
were very favorable and the situation
in the whole of southeastern Cuba was
good. -,
"The main trouble with the Cubans," !"
said the general, sis that they have an
army. This, however, is now gradu-
ally disintegrating, and the soldiers
are returning to their plantations.
General Wood is in charge of the sani
tary work at Santiago, and as result
of his enterprise the people say the
city was never SO clean in its history.
1t is still capable of great improve
mt mt, though. There Is also pro-
nounced improvement in business cir
cles.
"At first there was some hesitation
among business men owing to the lack
of confidence in the promises of pro-
lection on the part of our government.
This has been overcome TO u great eX-
tent now, and men who had With
drawn their capital entirely are begin
ming to invest it again. That the pro-
pie of Cuba will accept civil authority
is shown, l think, by the record made
at Santiago, where since our occuph-
lion there has been hard by breach Of
the peace of any Importance. l was
fortunate in having under me portion
of the Cuban army, and in this way
became intimate with some of the
leaders, principally General Gracla.
It has been through my intimacy with
General Gracia that better state OF
feeling now prevails between the Gu.
bans and Americans. There was con-
siderable iIlfeeling at the surrender,
but General Garcia, after consulting
with me, became convinced of the good
intentions of the Americans and SO
convinced most of his troops, who he
lieve that at the right time the gov
ernment will pass into their hands.
"The American troops, both regulars
and volunteers, are very'discontenttd
in Cuba and want to return home. In
nv mind the time will never come
when the American soldier will serve
in Cuba contentedly. They don't like
the country and they don't care much
for the people. About 20 per cent. OF
the troops are sick, but that this is not
due to their not being acclimated is
shown by the fact that the same per-
centage of sickness prevails among the
Inhabitants. The immunes have not