The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-07-29
CUBAN DISBURSEMENT.
The Character Of the Patriots Not
W hat We Expected.

II was a sad day for the Cuban lnsur-
gents when our army landed near San
tiago and got their first sight Of them.
Up TIL that time the most beautiful H.
lusions had been cherished IN this coun-
try-fairly Rugged 10 our bosoms, In fact
about the character OF the Cuban army
OF Independence. As to its size We had
begun 10 have our doubts after the war
had been going a week or two After
waiting anxiously for those promised
thousands who were going 10 burst from
the chaparrsl and drive tho Spanish into
the sea. as soon as We had supplied them
with arms and given the signal we con-
cluded that perhaps We had been taken
I'm as by "the cheap numerosiiy' OF an
army on the stage.
But of the character OF the Cuban pa
triot. Of hts unselfshness and bravery
and humanity. we retained most pleas
ing idea our soldiers went 20 Santiago
prepared 10 embrace him, they had not
been there long before they felt Ike
shooting him.
What really turned the siomachs ~ our
men. seeing the Cuban insurgent Tor
the first time was that ne was lazy.
greedy. cowardly thieving and a perfect
wild beast for cruelty. The stories that
have been coming home In thousands
OF private letters and public reports are
too many and circumstantial on this point
20 he doubted. Here. fOr example is
what Ensign Powell Of the New York
wrote 10 his friends Of what he saw the
brave and suffering Cuban soldiers doing
on July 3D.
We saw one nice littel example Of Gu
ban bravery there. Those sweet kind.
considerate gentle. abused Cuban soldiers
whom we are fighting for were on the
beach shooting every Spaniard that came
within range, go that swimmers and
boats had 10 turn back % the ship. And
that ship blew up early We saw a dozen
small explosions. and finally one biz one
that tore the afterpart OF the ship 70 bits.
The Iowa sent a boat. and torpedo
boat also went in and TN bet those
Cubans stopped their butchery ln short
order under tho persuasion NJ their guns.
II is this sort OF thing repeated again
and again. which explains The frequent
limitations from Washington that the
Government is much concerned over
the conduct of tho Cubaue and which is
rapidly producing throughout the country
the conviction that it was p victim OF
gigantic bunko game in this whole busi-
ness OF Cuban Intervention. Yet suoh a
mistake about the character Of the Gu
bans was inexcusable. They were per-
fectly well known.
Travellers. statistcans historians.
geoRraphers had left In DO doubt. 10 any
one who could read. what they were.
Ask any American business man settled
in cuba his opinion of the general run
Of the natives and De would have told
you any time these twenty years that
they We're as wretched and Cod f0Tsaken
a set of human beings as you could find
of the Andaman Islands. I'm particular
was it perfectly certain what kind Of men
the bulk OF the insurgcrt troops would
be found 90 be- Many 0f them bandits
by profession. they had an been living,
the lives of bandits for three years. ami
could not but have the marks of their
calling too plainly stamped upon them
10 be concealed. Yet our people had
gone on ideal.Ziug them .n stump speech
and gutter newspaper. until they had be-
come such supcThuman heroes I'm the
popular conception that tho authentic
stories coming from the front in the
past few weeks OF cuban skuiking AMI
stealing and numbering have been most
disaereeable reading FOR Americans and
have produced "a great revuIsion I'm the
general feeling.
Of course. there are Cuhlns and Gu
bans. That the island has produced some
noble men we should boz The last 90 deny.
Jose MART. who did as much as any
one man % bring about ne revolution,
was confessed bv an. even by Spani8rds.
10 De of lofty soul and perfect purity %
motive. Cuba can point On distinguished
poets like Gertrudis dc Atellaneda ana
Heredia. and 20 many a finely educated
man Of great ability and claim them AS
her own. And 30 is not 10 be doubted
that many OF her sons have eiven their
ives 20 free her with the noolest devo-
ton. Physicians and lawyers and engi-
neers have left their homes and taken 10
tho bush 10 fight against intolerab.e
Spanish oppression. Bur these were an
along the exceptions. And these were
men who owed most Of what they were 10
Spanish blood or training.
This was the most frehtful evidence
Of the curse Of Spanish rule In Cuha-it
was so bad that even those Cubans for
whom Spain had done most were drivcl
into revolt against her. General Poia-
vieia gave the home government an aw-
ful warning. unheeded though II was.
when he told them In ~" that " took
but one generation in cuba 70 turn loyal
Spaniards into rebels.
But as we say. il was ineXcusaole for
the American people 20 Judge the Cubans
as a whole by the exceptional Cuoans
Cuba was not in the middle OF the south
Pacific. IL was but a half day from our
shores. Ample sources Of information
about its population were open 10 us.
Its dense iliteracy. its sunk morals. IT'S
political incapacity jumped in the face OF
everyone who looked at the accessible
facts.
But we took a fsiryland view Of them
and went To war 10 free them. only 10
find out. a trine late. that they do not
know what freedom is, IN our sense OF
the word. and do not want II II they do,
IL has been a terrible disillusionment.
but il may be a salutary one II we now
consent 10 use our eyes. from which the
scales have fallen. 20 look steadily az the
work which remains Tor us 10 do.-New
York Evening Post.