The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-04
A CLOSE PICTURE OF CUBA.
OBSERVATIONS OF a RECENT
OBSERVER.
The Spanish soIdIer-FnrcicaI Nature
OF the Spanish CRmpaign-The
GueriIIas and the Rebels.

[ anu lAe
Montreal Letter in New York Post
| Mr. Wnfrid Skate who has resided for
many years in Cuba. has returned TO his
/ home in this city, having left Havana on
/ the last steamer before the blockade set
in. Mr.. Skate has been connected. in the
position of technical expert, with a large
sugar estate operated by American capt
talists. and employing over 1900 men. in
the district of Santa Clara. Ele knows the
/ Cubans, understands the political situation
and is able to throw much light on the
present situation in the island. Speaking
of the resistance the Americans are likely
to meet on landing. Mr. Skate said:
What must be understood is that the
Spanish soldier is a brave man. who will
stand up and be shot without hinehng
and who will die in his tracks without ever
asking the wherefore. he has. moreover.
a modern weapon in his hands, but he does
not know how to fire it, There are still
large numbers of Spanish soldiers who fire
with the breech of the gun in the hollow
of the arm. The Spanish soldier is not
drilled. He sits idle-he has sat idly-for
years around the little forts which the
Spanish authorities have built in every
place all over the island, which they have
| occupied. His officers are, for the most
part, utterly Indifferent as to his condition
| as a fighting machine. He dwaldles about;
he knows nothing of military science. The
| officers are lazy and Incompetent. for the
most part, exerting no initiative. caring
for nothing, killing the time. Then again,
the SnaOiSh in Cuba has Httla A IN
artillery What the Americans will have
to face will be a numerous. brave, but I'M
disciplined body of men, who will simply
| be moved down by the machine guns
They will stand; they viii be killed. but
they viii be overwhelmed by a small force,
led by an energetic commander
THE climate appears TO be a bugbear
l had the yellow fever, and ! know what
that is; but. as a fact, this disease does
not attack northern men with any viru-
lence, and the alarm felt on this score is,
to great extent, groundless.
"A small body of cavalry, properly led,
would at any time during the last three
years have swept the Insurgents out CT
existence. But the idea of those who were
in supreme control was, not to put the
| rebellion down. but to keep it going in
order that they might make a fortune
out of the business The Spanish soldier
was ready to fight all the time But Re
was NOl dilOWEO TO move, OF, II ne moved
at all, this was the way of it, The Span
ish got word that there was band of in
surgents an such place. A column of
troops, numbering perhaps one or two
thousand, would be put in motion. There
was no provision for more than the day s
march. The insurgents would be reached,
they would be engaged. they would re-
tire. The troops would set fire to the
hospital-we knew what was done with
the wounded, but we did not say much
about it-and then they would return to
the little fort they had left And when
they were gone the insurgents would re-
appear In the same place Understand
this was ali on foot. Had there at any
time during the past three years been a
strong cavalry force, well led, 1t would
have only been necessary TO say tosthe
officer in command, Bring in Gomez
and Gomez would have been brought in.
The whole business was simply farcical.
1.-THE country, as l have said, was stud
ded with little forts, and into these forts
were put small garrisons, and here the
troops remained and nothing was done. OF
course there was always the guerillas and
they were the choicest scoundrels on the
top of the earth. The guerillas are COM
posed of negroes, Cubans, and natives OF
the Canary Islands They are the scum
of Cuba. Under the direction of the Span
iards they were formed into rowing bands
, | 10 cut OIL the INSURGENTS anu generally lC
r raVage the country. The latter part of
their duty they carried out in the most eff
fectual manner. They have simply gal
loped about, numbering all they could meet
with. They set fire to the houses of in
nocent people; they murdered the innocent
people themselves if they made the least
resistance; they ravaged the country. ]
would go back Tomorrow" said Mr.
Skate energetically, "to see small body
of American cavalry, or Uhlans, or our
own mounted police, engage these Williams
at the proportion, say, of one cavalrymar
, to ten guerillas If the proportion of cav
alrymen were greater, they would turn
tail at once.
AT the same time there is little to choose
between the insurgents and the guerillas
The former blow up trains, set fire to to-
bacco and sugar plantations, use dynamite
which had been sent by the junta In New
York for the most diabolical purpose In
deed upon the estate with which / was
connected, it was found necessary to or
ganize a regiment of soldiers to protect
alike the property and the men from the
violence of the insurgents. 1t was favor
/ lite pastime of the latter to come upon
peaceable Cinnamon working upon the es-
tates and murder them. They cut the
heads off ten Cinnamon in this manner &c
my own knowledge. This was done tc
make the situation appear desperate--tc
prove that so long as the SpaniardS re-
manned in power there would be nothing
but anarchy upon the island"
/, AS for the Cubans themselves, Mr.. Skate
! said that they almost to a man sympathize
with the insurgents, of whom, at the pres
ent moment, not more than 5000 could take
the field. 1.-The Cubans are a peaceable
people, Woodworking, industrious They
desire TO be allowed TO live In peace. They
have been ground to the earth by misrule
Innumerable fortunes have been made out
of them. The customs have been in the
, hands of the Spanish official classes, and
. The poor laborng man has sweated tc
make the high officers and other spaniards
rich And now he has turned at last and
= wants turn at plundering. You cannot
blame him. DO you know that the collec-
lions of taxes are still sold by auction ia
Cuba2
p THE SpaniaTds have the most ridiculous
: idease Of the United States" continued
Mr. Skate. even officers of the army
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