The Ravalli Republican., 1898-03-23
M'hAT COL. PARKER SAW,
Suffering OF the Re- concentrates
Simply illldcs cribahlc,


Washington, March 15.-Col. N.Y.
ron NJ. Parker. who was Senator
Proctor's companion On his trip to
Cuba, in an interview with Il Star
reporter today, said "You might
believe, but you could not realize the
condition OF tile reuoneent,afo in
Cuba. 1t surpasscs the coniprehcn-
sion Of Il mnn accustomed to the
usual phases Of life. Their cmacia-
tion is terrible. Their suffering is
indcscribablc. We saw warehouses
full of starving women and Children
These people have been forced into
the villages and towns by the Span
iards and the whole country where
they ltveu has been deyastateti
sin the ride from Havana to Sagua
Ia Grandc, a distance Of about 200
miles or'morc, the country prescnted
a picture Of dcsolaton. For miles
and hniles the charrel stalks Of burn
cd sugar cane showed where the
torch had been applied by the Span
ish and the insurgents alike. At
Intervals are block houses occupied
block house is d cupola where Span
ish soldier is always on the lookout.
# Il reconccntrado attempts to 90
out of the village and cross the trocha
he is shot, and if an insurgcnt tries
to come in he is treated in the same
way. The trocha serves, however,
to prevent sudden dashcs by the in
surgcnts into the villages at night
to burn them.
1.-The Spanish army is largely en-
ploycd along the railroad, but as
closcl y as the road is qua cded the
insurgents can do with it as they
please. It is generally understood
in Cuba that the railroad company
Epay s'1sibl:te to the insurgents for
running the passenger trains. Then
the insurgents do not want to bother
the passenger trains, but they inter-
fcrc with the freight and troop
trains. The day before reached
Matanzas the insurgents blew up 4
sugar train only three miles south Of
the town. In my opinion, Gomez is
virtually in control Of the island.
"Thcrc.is not an estate under cul-
tivation, SO ] was reliably informed,
that does not pay tribute to the in
snrgcnts. The best people of Ia
vana told me that the young men Of
the best Cuban families in the island
were in the ranks Of the insurgents.
My informant also told me that the
insurgcnt army was never us firm
and as strong as it is today. 1t gets
a very large proportion Of it's mcdi-
cal supplies right from IIayans and
its discipline is said to be all that
can be desired. The insurgents have
complete control Of the provinces Of
Santiago dc Cuba and Princi pc.
They claim to have all the supplies
necessary for their subsistence, heV-
ing great herds Of cattle, besides
cultivating a large portion Of the
island in the provinces mentioned.
What they need is arms, ammunition
and clothing. 1T is generally under
stood in Cuba that the Insurgents
known as prcsentados, who came in
and gave themselves to the Span
lards in response to the offer Of par
don, were all men who had met with
the disfayor Of Gomez because they
had disrcgardcd the discipline he SO
vigorously clitorcet}tiG his army"
"Did your Investigation lead you
to form any opinion on the subject
OF autonomy" inquired the reporter
$40 one wants autonomy in Cuba, =
replied Mr. Parker. Given the
autonomist governors do not favor
it. | know Of several mayors Of
towns outside Of Havana, appointed
as autonomists, who arc wholly in
sympathy with the Insurgents"