Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-03-18
l19 YOU WANT HELP OR "A SITUATION? lHE spy WILL

v L
are frequent Lighthouses enclosed by a
trocha, and with a guard along the
railroad track. With this exception,
there is no human life or habitation be-
tween these fortified towns and villa
ges, and throughout the four western
provinces, except to a very limited eX-
tent among the hills, where the Span
lards have not been able to go and drive
the people to the towns and burn their
dwellings, l saw no house or hut in the
400 miles of railroad rides from Pinar
del Rio province in the west, across the
full width of Havana and Matanzas
provinces, and to Sagua la Grande on
the north shore and to Cienfuegos on
the south shore of Santa Clara, except
within the Spanish trochas There are
no domestic animals or crops on the
rich fields and pastures, except such as
are under guard in the vicinity of the
towns The Spaniards hold in these
four western provinces just what their
army sits on. Every man, woman and
child, and every domestic animal, wher-
ever their columns have reached, is UNI
der guard and within their so-called
Notifications. To repeat, it is neither
peace nor war.
ut is concentration and desolation.
This is the 'pacified' condition of the
four western provinces.
West of Havana is mainly the rich
tobacco country; east, so far as l went,
sugar region. Nearly all the sugar
mills are destroyed between Havana
and Sagua. A few were running near
the latter place. fully guarded, and
few near Cienfugos.
1T is said that the owners of these
mills near Cienfuegos have been able to
obtain special favors of the Spanish gov
eminent in the way of a large force of
soldiers, but that they also, as well as
all the railroads, pay taxes to the Gu
bans for immunity.
"All the country people in the four
western provinces, about 400, 900 in num-
ber remaining outside the fortified
towns, when Weyler's order was made.
were driven into these towns, and these
are the reconcentrados. They were the
peasantry, many of them farmers, some
land owners, others renting lands and
owning more or less stock, others work
ing on estates and cultivating small
patches. 1t is but fair to say that the
normal condition of these people was
very different from that which prevails
in this country. Their standard of
comfort and prosperity was not high,
measured by our own. But according
to their standards and requirements
their conditions of life were satisfact-
ory. They lived mostly in cabins made
of palm leaves, or in wooden houses.
Some of them had houses of stone
"Weylers order directed all the in
naoltants OF the country, or those out
side of the line of fortiffcations Of towns,
within eight days to concentrate them
selves in towns occupied by troops. ANY
individual who after the expiration of
this period should be found In the unin-
habited parts, was to be treated as a
rebel.
Many doubtless did not learn of this
order, Others failed to grasp it's terri
bic meaning. 1t was left to the g1er-
illas to drive in all that had not obeyed
and was informed that in many cases
torch was applied to their homes with
no notice, and the inmates fled with
such clothing as they might have on,
their stock and other belongings being
appropriated by the guerillas. When
they reached the town they were al
lowed to build huts of palm leaves in
the suburbs and vacant places within
the trochas. and left to live if they
could. The huts have no floors but the
ground, and no furniture With large
families, or with more than one family
ina little space, the commonest sanitary
provisions are impossible. Torn from
their homes, with foul earth, foul air,
foul water and foul food or none what
wonder that one-haf have died, and
that one-quarter of the living are so dis
eased that they cannot be saved.
form of dropsy is a common disor-
der resulting from these conditions. Lit
tie children are still walking about with
arms and chest terribly emaciated, eyes
swollen and abdomen bloated to three
times the natural size. The physicians
say these cases are hopeless.
Deaths in the streets have not been
uncommon. / was told by one of our
consuls that they have been found dead
about the markets in the morning, and
that there had been cases where they
had dropped dead inside the markets
surrounded by food.
"'The reconcentrados have not learned
the art of begging. Rarely is a hand
held out to you for aims when going
among their huts, but the sight of them
makes an appeal stronger than words.
OF the hospitals I need not speak
Others have described their condition
far better than 1 can
Il went to Cuba with a strong con-
viction that the picture had been over
drawn. Before starting I received a
leaflet published by the Christian
Herald with cuts Of some of the sick
and starving reconcentrados, and took
it with me, thinking these were rare
specimens. l saw plenty as bad and
worse; many. that should not be photo
graphed and shown. I could not be-
lieye that out of population of
Spanish forts within a few months past
from actual starvation and diseases
cause by insufficient and improper
food.
My inquiries were entirely outside of
sensational sources. They were made
of our medical officers, of our consuls, of
city alcades (mayors), of relief commit
tees, Of leading merchants and bankers,
physicians and lawyers. Several of my
A.. 49,
time the answer was that the case had
not been overstated. What l saw, / can
not tell SO that others can see it. 1t
must be seen with ones own eyes to be
realized. The Los Pasos Hospital in
Havana has been recently described by
Senator Gallinger and l cannot say
that this picture was overdrawn. He
visited it after DIR. Lessar, one of Miss
Barton'S assistants had renovated It'll
and put in cots. l saw it when 400 wom-
en- and children We're lying on the stone
floors in an indeScribable state of ema-
cation and disease, many with the scan
test covering of rags, and sick children
naked as they came into the world
And the conditions in the other cities
were even worse.
II had known and esteemed Miss Bar
ton for many years but had not half
appreciated Ter capabiity and devotion
to her work. / especially looked into
her business methods / visited the
warehouse where the supplies are re-
ceived and distributed; saw the meth
DDS of checking; visited the hospitals
established or organized and supplied by
her; saw the food distributed in several
cities and towns-and everything seems
to me to be conducted IN the best man
ner possible
THE children's hospital in Havana is
a large, fine private residence, hired at
the cost of less than $500 per month. 1t