The herald., 1898-03-27
CRUISER
NEW YORK
CRUISER
COLUMBIA

HAVANA, March 1S.-(Special Cores
pondence to The Hera!d.) Ii is rot easy
for wall of woe from starving people to
penetrate to the ears of comfortable folks
who live in the land of plenty. Starvation
must be experienced for its miseries to be
appreciated. Even the photographs of the
famine scenes of Havana, and the word
pictures descriptive of the unutterable
misery existing here, fail to convey to
Americans an adequate idea of The horror
of 1t. There is one popularity about these
starving Cubans. They starve and die in
silence. Whatever outcry is made about
condition comes from plying foreigners.
The dying masses simply look at the food
less world around them with lack-lus,r re
eyes, and apparently have lost all desire
to look for anything but one thing-the
death that will put an end to their suf-
ferings.
There is nothing heroic about It, al
though they are dying for their country as
literally as the men who are being killed IN
battle With the Spaniards. They have
only one privilege tha, the soldier fire.
quently has not: they can die with roof
over them instead OF in the open field or
the forest and be buried in an ordinary
grave. instead of trench hastily dug on
stne scene or a SklrmSh.
If any one wishes to study the question
of how long human being can hold out
without food, here is the spot 20 study it..
The constantly presented puzzle is how
there can possibly be any life in the skec-
tons that are seen in such appalling num-
bers In Havana today. Old women who
are ghastly with the ravages of the famine
added to the marks of age; children who
,,ot,y ytxy, No -. 4
surprise no one If they suddenly COL
lapsede into fragments; infants whose
fiuttering life dies out while you look al
them; these are scenes that are so COM
mon here that they scarcely call for COM
ment except from those who have not been
long on the island.
The reconcentradoes die waiting for the
Intervention Of the United States that all
know TO be surely coming. 1t must come
soon If there are to be any left to save.
What are a few shiploads' Of food when
so many thousands are starving? 1t is the
war that must be stopped. The starving
reconcentradoes will then soon save
themselves
The hospitals are full of dying men, wo-
men and children, who need only one medi-
cine-food. They lie around helpless to
help themselves and with nothing to draw
upon II they had the power. The policy
of the Spaniards is murderous, and their
excuse that the starving Cubans are part
of the horrors of war, and cannot be
avoided. is brutally callous In these civil
ized days.
The writer was conversing Yesterday
with an American lady who had recently
arrived In Havana, and who had been
shocked beyond expression by the awful
scenes among the famine-strcken people.
Her righteous wrath at the Spaniards who
had brought this misery about was ac-
companied by feeling Of indignation at
her own countrymen because they had not
made greater haste to relieve the distress.
, and had allowed Spain to continue SO long
her brutal policy towards the innocent wo-
men and children of Cuba.
IF the mothers of America" said this
lady, could but see for themselves the
awful misery iii the faces of these starving
people, I am sure the American nation
would be compelled to act at once to put an
end to it. The inhurlanity of such war
eAre " too terrible. have been among