The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-05-07
MANY v1cIssITUDEs



old city, OF Matanzas-with four CEN
turtles behind It and a yet moro brill
liant history a%head-has long been call
ed "a nest OF rebellion" by Spanish Of
Hc!als and "the birthplace of patriot
ism" BY the patriots themselves. It Is
Cuba's second city In population, wealth
md commercial lmportance-perhaps
first in beauty and healthfulness. and
Il is destined to become OF greater In,
terest In the near future, as the capital,
Of the Cuban republic. Its population.
OF about 1000 in time OF peace. was
largely made up OF tho descendants Of.
titled graudees from OLD CASTLE; yet
It's sudden decline to half those figures
was due to, the fact that thousands of
its best citizens, including professional.
men, merchants and sons OF wealthy
families, went to Join the .insurgent
army, The vice president OF the en-
bryo republic .and his secretary OF
state-Senors Mendez de sCapotc and
Moreno dc Ia lTorre-were both born In
Matanzas; also! the Guiteras brothers.
Jose n. Galvoz, Alberto Ortez, and
many other prominent revolutlonists.
Gomez forces are already at the door
OF their new capital. SO to sneak, being
encampel within the provlDce--prepar-
ed, soon as our troops landed. to ,estab-
lish headquarters here and transfer
their seat Of government, from Cubitas.1
They might have done SO long ago, had;
the times been ripe for holding the.
easy conquest. OF course Matanzas can
be more readily taken than Havana
~and-what Is equally TO the purpose, will
be retained With less difficulty, In. spite
OF any force which Spain may bring by
land or sea.
Havana will doubtless be the ulti-
mate capital Of the reconstructed coua-
try. on account OF its superior natural
advantages. larger harbor and hand
0 public buIldIngs-hut not for
years to come. A long time will be
needed to make 1t hahltable, according
to modern ideas, after this cruel wa. is
over. Think Of the hundreds of thou
sands who have died in It during the
last three years. OF starvation and
disease. in the teeming hospitals and
/ prisons and Los Fcssos-to say nothing
OF the numbers killed in battle. and all
these dead buried In shallow rented
graves. from which they are speedily
erlcted to the charncl yard. Think OF
the absence OF sewerage5a and other SAN
itary regulations ina populous city
amid all these. horrors, and the eternal
| presence. Of smallpox, and yellow-fcUer;
and you, cease to wonder why the broad
bay. washing lts shores. so reeks with
impurities that;no fish can live in IT Il
ever n thorough "house-clcanlng" was
required. after four hundred years OF
neglect and no 5scavengers but the car
rlon birds. It is inFHavana!
Meanwhile, Matanzas. sixty miles to
The eastward. on another broad and
beautiful, bay, will do well for a tempo
rary capital. as Philadelphia served us
before Washington was ready. Its
shallow, harbor IS sheltered within az
amphitheatre of hills. and may be
strongly fortIfled-it Uncle Samuel will
furnish his ward the moner. At present
1t has only the old Castle Of San Sever
ing and another stone-walled fort OF
equally ancient date. at the entrance OF
the harbov, several miles from the city,
and the remains ofithe lei carthworks
which our guns destroyed the other
DAY. BY the way, the report OF Captain
General BIanco to his government. con-
corning the bo,nbardment of Matan-
zas," was a .air sample of Spanish
oombast. Both the forts and the earth
works. are 70 far from the city that the
latter was In no danger. and not n sim
Gle shell struck within three miles OF It..
Late last March I spent ssveraI days
IN M~atanzaS-a guest In the palace d
senior Don de Armos, the new autono-
mist governor Of the province. This
gave Inc q fine inside view OF things In
the city which will presently figure In
gu! news columns us the Seat OF the
Cuban republic.
the so.called palace" on the Plaza
dArmas, is a very large sstwo-storied,
n3t,Toofed casa Of stone, stncco -and
nuooe'. faced by covered. arehways, Tor
portales." as they arc called. Ac.
coFdsng 10 Spanish custom, the. ground
nuo.;is gwen up 10 Offices, stora-cooms,
HuasteFs Tor soldiers aud police. stables,
nitenens, etc. while the uprar, story Is
ne othclal residence Of t;f rulers of
Suoas richest province. A wide flight
" Stone steps, worn into deep hollows
oy inc passing. feet of three hundred
liars leads to enormous rooms, each
q sN"h iuIi. LII ttle vast, eC0OlnT
naIas' "Rh their marble floors and long
.nes OF crystal chandeliers, more fortu-
"ase governors than the present in
"a .umeeht nave given splendid receptions
~ inc oeailty and chivalry az Matnn-
zas. The State dIalne room. where Ger.
emonlous %bahguets OF a courses nrc
eoiemnly partaken, In 30 :bfs tnat A ,cl-
spaone service between host and guests
~ hUuIu Inc M. I'm Drnu,,,.,, 2 t. t.r auna.
4 s.eep'HS apartments, the high posted
etass b%edsteada, With crowns atop.
brought from Barcelona generations
sso, all canopicd, curtained, be--Ibhon.
"a and bc-ruti!cd In the gorgeous .s,Sle
VI me mother country-arc set exactly
~ me center OF the bare expanse OF
III marble flooring, and look like mn GA ais
" me hesert-a speck In the ocean. In
NUN, the most attractive part OF tails
81 msu!aeVal palace Is outside OF it--in
"S%s from It's balconies.
oh one side OF the casa you have an
comparable picture OF the beautiful
az blue skies, above II, reach!ngIout
" me ocean. Another side oyerlooks
we Eumbre. hills. in which insurgent
,SnInpliTes' are nightly seen. and the his
"!c osd Mpntserrat chapel, psrched on
NEAR p ur.-aThose green heights en-
s-Tse the r%orSdsfamed Yumuyj valley
a urae tot =, ParadIsc,-an emerald
Smse, WITH river running through.
GIv.!eg With stately, palms and now ru-
"A "a Villas. Directly below, the Plaza
n stnFtnns Is surrounded by the several
nvnar'mcnts Of The colonial govern
c "%sE; and the ..nest shops. cafes snnd
naD houses OF nm a%ristocratic and once
n ~, people, The plaza is laid
Il ". The. usual fashion OF Spanish
81 .r'metica-wnllks. lined with lowers and
a "tpnsry radintlng!!like the spokes In
al"Neel from Q central point. which In