The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1898-04-14

from Blanco on conditions of his support
ing autonomy, and there he is now, if yet
alive, undergoing what horrors, who can
say? Within the last fortnight more than
80 persons within my own knowledge have
been arrested on the indefinite charge of
| conspiracy" They were respectable, law
abiding citizens-most of them of means
and position; but all were Cubans, suspect
ed of favoring the cause of their country
men in the field. just where they are now,
nobody knows. Not word has been heard
of the evidence against them or of their
| defense. Some unknown statement of the
police to the authorities led to their arrest ;
and on this showing, with no opportunity
offered of defending themselves, they may
be deported-God knows where, or to meet
what horrible fate. This is no fancy pic
ture, but absolute facts. The deportations
are made in the name of the new Autonom-
ist Cabinet and under its authority. Do
you wonder that the Cubans decline to
trust in its tender mercies or to pin their
faith on any more Spanish promises?
| The speeches of Senators Proctor, Thurs
| ton, Gallinger and others in the United
States Congress, have just reached here, in
part entire, and their most thrilling SEN
tences are being circulated, privately, from
mouth to mouth for in these days nobody
in Cuba dares to openly read OF repeat sedi-
tious language If the grateful Cubans ever
do gain independence through the interven-
ton of the United States, they will look
upon these gentlemen and few bold jour
nalists as their actual saviours. Fancy
| Representative Amos J. Cummings, or SEN
ator Thurston, glasses and all, or any mod
ern newspaper man posed as a "Patron
| Saint" Because of vague rumors OF i'm
pending conflict between Spain and Uncle
Samuel, trunks are packed in hundreds of
| homes, and arrangements secretly complet-
ed, so far as possible, for immediate fitting.
According to the usage of civilized warfare,
should the city be bombarded by the United
States battleships, due notice would be
given the American citizens and means for
their transportation to other points provid-
| ed. With war-vessels in front, insurgents
pouring in from the rear, and desperate
Spaniards at their last gasp in the
midst "a hot time in the old town."
would feebly express the situation in
doomed Havana just now the one
| predominating element is the military.
| The streets are literally lined with men and
boys in Spain's blue cotton uniforms; hotels
are packed with officers, and the quietest
| pedestrian is josted on the streets by
soldiers and halted at every corner after
night fall by the click of the musket and the
stern query "Quien Vive?" The average
Spanish soldier is not an object to inspire
| terror, or even respect He is understood,
| often manifestly under-fed, slouching in
gait and hang-dog i'll general appearance
! about as wide contrast as can we'll be I'M
agned to 1.-THE West Point cut which is the
American standard of what a warrior should
be- These may understand the theory and
practice of war all right, but somehow the
true martial ardor does not seem to extend
| down into their backbone and legs, But do
not imagine that America will have any easy
walk over if she comes down here to settle
| the Cuban question by force of arms, These
slouehy-looklng fellows tight like crazy
| tiends under excitement and the Spaniards
are certain to do wild things when the crisis
comes. The tragedy of the "Maine,' in
tune of tranquility, is a faint foreshadowing
OF what may be expected in the expiring
| throes of outraged national "honor." Fiji
| teen thousand new recruits have recently
arrived from Spain, fresh and we'll equipped
The hungry army has been having extra IA
tions of late and plainly show the bracing
| qualities OF few square meals, and the
half-starved horses of the cavalry have been
replaced by well fed ones, stolen from
| Cuban haciendas The uniforms of officers
and men are evidently cut from the same
| plece-coat and trousers of blue and white
striped denim. Nobody can accuse any of
them of wearing corsets, as do some of our
| fedglings in the military SERVICE but why,
in Heavens name-will. somebody tell us,
why-do army tailors, the wide world over,
put the seat of the trousers near the curve of
the knee joints and the waists of the Jackets
midway to the armpits? The officers wear
few gilt stars on their coat sleeves and
white canvas hat; while the enlisted men
wear hats of panama straw, turned up on
one side and fastened with rosette. The
volunteers, corresponding to our National
| " 0udIu, dCI dS du JunCGS TO tne city pUllce.
Their guard mounting aud inspection every
morning in the Prado is worth coming far
| to see. 1t seems to be sort of "go as you
please" arrangement, each man choosing
his own gait and department. Talking in
the ranks at all times, and even cigarette
smoking, is allowed. AT inspection, the
men become silent and immovable only
when the officer approaches them, and re-
lax into sociability the instant his back is
turned. There is no asserting of sizes; per.
haps five-foot boy between men six or
eight inches taller, haphazard down the
line. Some have leggings, some have not;
| some have shoes, some sandals; some are
| barefooted, and like the urchin of the story,
are "glad to come off So" In short, they
| look like job-lot of mistits, of mixed sizes
and colors and conditions, between the ages
of fifteen and fifty. The rank and file of
the "regulars'' have had the worst time of
it. Last summer fully fifty per cent. of
them sickened and died and the Hospital de
| San Ambrosio is crowded with their living
skeletons. Until lately it was no uncom-
mon sight to soldiers begging on the