The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-12
CUBA AS SEEN BY CONSULS.
CORRESPONDENTS TRANSMITTED
TO CONGRESS-.

Horrible Condition of the Reconcen-
An Extensive and Dangerous Com
spiracy Against Americans Dis
covered in December Last--TVNe
Days Later GEN. Lee Suggests That
Warships he Sent to Havana.
Washington April 1.-THE consular cor
respondence with regard to the situation
in Cuba, which was transmitted to-day
was prepared in response to resolutions
OF inquiry adopted by the House and Sem
ate.
The reports deal largely with the distress
and suffering which exists in all the dis
tricts, but Gen. Lee reports quite fully
upon the DEGREES of the government with
regard to autonomy and other political
Ihases of the situation.
In preparing the correspondence for
transmission to Congress considerable por-
tions of the important reports, and espe-
cially those marked confidential, are omit
ted.
Gen. Lees correspondence runs over the
period from Nov. TO- 1897, to April l. 1898.
Under date of March q, Gen. Lee enclos-
ed statement from two gentlemen whom
he knew as men of veraclty telling OF the
condition of reconcentrados IN "the
bitches" on the outskirts Of Havana.
Among i60 women and children whom they
found there, forty or fifty were dying
daily, giving relatively ID is said ten days
of life for each person.
I'm one crowd" says the report, "a poor
woman was lying surrounded by her chill
dren who contemplated her in silence,
without a lament or shedding a tear they
themselves, being real spectres of hunger,
emaciated in horrible manner"
Again il said IF any young girl came
in, any way nice looking, she was impolite-
ly condemned to the most abomlnable OF
traffics. Between August and November
all but 397 OF the 1,7OO people who entered
the bitches had died"
on Dec l. 1897, Gen. Lee telegraphed the
department to tell the consul at Matan-
zas of IAN extensive and dangerous con-
spiracy" there under the ex-governor of
the province directed against Americans.
"Action against them" says Gen. Lee,
ito be contingent upon movement of the
United States government In favor of In
dependence of Cuba"
Two days later Cen Lee sent a mailed
report saying: II stlll think that two war
ships at least should be a Key West, pre-
pared TO move here at short notice. and
that more Of them should be sent TO Dry
Tortugas and a coal station established
there"
March IA Gen. Lee enclosed a letter from
Consul Barker of Sagua, who requested
him to transmit the following letter, which
is addressed to him Gen. Leo:
Dear Sir-I viii thank you to commu-
nicate to the department as quickly as
possible the fact that the military com
mander and other officers or the military
positively refuse to allow the reconcentra-
dos to whom ] am issuing food In its raw
state, to procure fuel with which to cook
the food"
Consul Brice at Matanzas, sent In sew
en- or eight reports. and most all OF them
told of the terrible suffering in his dis
trict. He said he saw the daughter of
former governor of the province begging
incognito on the street. He described the
Intellectual attempt of the authorities to
relieve the starving people. Thousands
had died of hunger
Consul Barker covered the conditions an
Santa clara province IN NUMBER OF COM
munications. His letters constituted one
long story of distress, of sickness, destitu
tlon and death, until indeed, the picture,
even as drawn In the plain language of Of
fetal communications, Is revolving.
The reports on the condition OF affairs at
Santiago were made by Consul =. f. Hyatt.
He told OF the awful death rate from an
sufflciency of food and also described the
attempts made 10 force autonomy On the
Cubans. In concluding one of his reports,
he says: 1T is beyond the power of my
pen to describe .he situation In Eastern
Cuba. Senalidty, starvation. sickness and
death meet one On all places"
John II. Jova, vice counsl at Sagua la
Grande, under date Of Nov. IL, 1897, stated
that he autonomlst party in that district
could not exist In describing the suffer
ing. he says mo history In the world,
ancient or modern, saw an instance of
this frightfuI, dreadful suffering. Perhaps
civilization has not seen its like"