The Portland daily press., 1898-01-12
PERlsHING CUBANs.
Horrible State of Affairs on the Island
Reported by Hon. Charles Russell.

Washington, January 1l.-HoD. Charles
Russell, assistant attorney in the depart
ment of Justice returned today from
Cuba where he has spent two weeks in
vestigating the conditions prevailing in
the island.
To the Associated Press Mr.. Russell
said 81 feel solemn duty to humanity
to endeavor to make the American people
realize the terrible distress which exists
in Cuba.
IL spent just two weeks in Cuba, visited
Havana. went south to Jarucos, south
east to Guineas, northeast to Matanzas,
eastwardly about 200 miles through the
middle of the country to San Domingo,
Santa Clara and Sagua LIE GFande. L
found begging everywhere about the
streets of Havana. The spectacle at the
Fossso and Jacoba houses, Of women
and children emaciated 70 skeletons ana
suffering from diseases produced by STAR
| vation. was sickening. In Saugua IN an
old sugar warehouse l saw stationed
around the inside walls the remains OF
| twenty or thirty Cuban families. In one
case the remanant consisted of two little
children, out of seven or eight. In an
other cfse there were four individuals,
mother, a girl OF fourteen and two quite
small girls The smallest was then suffer-
| ing from malarial fever. These four were
all that the order of reconcentrado had
| left alive.
"Santa Domingo at present has con.
| siderable population living IN cabins
| thatched with tops of royal palm trees,
composed of the survivors OF the recon-
centrados. The huts are arranged close
| together in a little dump and the con-
centradO orders required and apparently
still requires these people to live within q
circle of small block-houses, commonly
dignified in the dispatches by the name OF
forts Of course they had no work to
do, no soil to till, no seed to plant and
only begging to live on. Practically they
are prisoners At every one OF the numer-
GUS stopping places along the road
similar collection of huts could be seen.
Near the larger towns the circle OF
concentration seemed to be somewhat
| larger and planting of vegetables. tobacco,
etc., seemed to be going on. AZ tnls
point a very few persons, possibly some
| Of them reconcentrados, found employ
ment.
s.All along the railroad as far as could
be seen was stretches of the most fertile
and beautiful country with very few trees
and most of these palms. l saw many
dozens OF burned cane fields. Except IN
the cities, I saw no indication that any
relief was being afforded to the starving
people.
Gas the country was stripped of its
population by the order OF concentration,
it is easy to believe that 4oO. ooo persons
were gathered behind the forts, without
being given food or medicines or means
| of any kind to earn q living, except where
| in the larger cities they could nnd en-
| ployment in nenial offices. Judging by
| the orphans was shown at the Jacoba,
| Aldecoa and elsewhere, and from all |
| saw and heard, I believe that half OF the
flour hundred thousand have died as the
result of starvation. / know from the
| official register of the city OF Santa Clara.
which ordinarily has population OF
about IA, 600, that the number OF deathssfor
| November was over thousand and the
number of deaths for December was sI.
| $50 far as any evidence of relief, was
visible or was even heard of by me in all
my talks on the island, the surviving
| 20O. 600 people are in the same condition
and have the same prospect of starvation
before them rs had their kindred who
have died Something must be done for
them on large scale and at once, or
few months will see their determination.
$50 far as can see the are patient
amicable.
ssNo order or permission from Gen.
Blanco can save the lives of many of
| them, Indeed many are too far gone to
| be saved by the DeSI care anu urea tuieue.
"There is no indication of a cessation of
hostilities by the insurgents. II they do
not voluntarily cease, their tactics are
such that Spain cannot conquer them if
| at all before the reconcentrados will have
| had the finishing ssroke, but even the
sueedy termination of the war would not
save many of them. What they need is
instant pecuniary assistance, to the ex-
teut of $50, 900 day, distributed by our
cousuls. Private charity will hardly, 1T
seems produce that amount. Twenty
thousand dollars would be ten cents
apiece for medicine, clothes and food.
Whether Congress should make an appro-
priation as in the case of the San Domln-
| 90 refugees and other cases, Is not for me
to say, but beg the charitable to believe
| the statements of fact which have made
| and to try to realize what they mean. 7"
DON'T WANT THEM FED.
| Madrid, January 11.-A despatch to
the Irparcial from Havana says the send
ing of supplies from the United States
to al ! the INDECENT population OF Cuba,
has aroused deep anilnosity among the
Spania1ds who, it is added ARE inc ensed
| at the pretext thus given to the American
consuls and the Yankee element TO IN
terfere in Cuban affairs.
1t is alleged that the funds Will be USED
to widen the breach between the cuban
peasantry and Spaniards, and 1t is further
Stated that the American newspaper
correspondents have been instructed to
exaggerate the sutferings in order to again