The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-17

Chicago yesterday evening. 1t is a
copy of letter sent to the Governor
in-Chief of Cuba and the Minister of
War at Madrid by General Linares, the
commander of the forces in Santiago.
1t was written some two weeks before
the surrender of the city. 1t is as fol-
lows, in full:
July IL, 1898.
TO the General in Chief, Havana. To
the Minister of War, Madrid:
Although Frustrated in bed by an acute
illness and suffering severe pains, the
situation of our suffering troops SO pre-
occupies me that l believe 1t my duty to
of War In order to explain the actual
situation. The enemy's lines are very
near TO this place. Our lines are extend
ed fourteen kilometers. A considerable
portion of our troops are sick and enact
ated, but do not enter the hospital be-
cause it is necessary to have them in the
trenches; the animals have been without
forage, in the middle of a rain which has
fallen for twenty-four hours in the
bitches. The men remain permanently
in the trenches with nothing but rice to
their clothes. We have lost a consider
able number of field officers, dead, sick
and missing, which deprives the force of
the necessary directions In these critical
moments. In this condition it is inpos
sible TO move a step, because when at
tempting to do so our forces will be
diminished a tn1Tu tHaL are not
able to leave, and furthermore by the
wounded that the enemy will produce
The end will be disaster without ac-
complishing. as your Eminenee desires,
the salvation of the eleven battalions In
order to leave protected by the division
of Holquin it is necessary that we break
the enemy's lines in combination. This
force-breaking is on one side and cannot
be accomplished The force at Holguin
must employ eight days in the journey
and bring numerous rations that they will
seems inevitable, the surrender unavoida-
Bile, and we are only able to prolong the
agony.
The sacrifice is useless. The enemy
understands this, knows our situation
and his lines are we'll established around
our forts and without exposing his own.
AS he did yesterday, he is able to can
nonade from elevateu places without our
seeing his batteries at all. The fleet now
has perfect range and can lombard the
city with mathematical precision. San,
city, a piece of the territory Of the me-
tropolis, defended step by step by her
proper inhabitants without the dfstinc-
moved by the sainted idea OF indie
pendence with the hope Of succor
which they receive. Here we are alone
and isolated. The citizens and the public
officials. with rare exceptions, are gone.
The clergy alone remain, and they to-
day wish to leave with the Bishop at
their head
The defenders do not now begin a cam
paign full of enthusiasm and energy.
They are exhausted by. struggles with the
climate, privation and fatigue, and in
these critical circumstances have neither
food nor physical force nor friends to
help them. They are IN critical condt-
ton. They lack the spirit to defend their
property, because in defending this prop
erty they are abandoned to the American
force by those who were their allies. The
honor Of an army has it's limits, and l APP
peal to the judgment of the Government
or of the entire nation to decide If these
troops that have been lombard
ed at repeated times since the 18th of
May when they suffered the first
shall be abandoned. If 1t
is necessary that this sacrifice be made
that we may go, know not whittier, or
If it is necessary that some one assume
the responsibility of foreseeing the dis
aster announced by me In several tele-
grams I offer myself Loyalty on the altar
of my country to the one or the other,
and / will charge myself with the order
to make the surrender. because my
modest reputation is worth very little In
comparison with the national interests.