Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-15
HAS SPAIN NLOSTCUBA?
Autonomy Has Failed of Its Full
Purpose.
fHE PEOPLE ARE DYING In DROVES
Hostilities Are Promised, but With
out Hope of Success.
LOGIC OF THE SITUATION

/ olSSAoA correspondence OF Inc Evening Star.
| HAVANA, January II, 1885,
Plain questions call for plain answers.
| inquiries reaching me from the United
states are pointed. They show a strong
desire to know the truth and when known
not to run away from It. In seeking to
state the situation as now presented, 1
trust to do so with proper sense of the
responsibility that would attach to mis-
leading statements or to conclusions not
| warranted by the facts.
Is Cuba lost to Spain? The form of the
question has to be shifted. When the Sa-
| gasta ministry came into power the view
| taken was that the policy of Canovas and
Weyler had lost the island. but it might be
won paok Autonomy was adopted as the
colonial policy and Blanco came out charg-
| ed with the duty of winning Cuba back to
| us allegiance. The test OF his success is an
| ineXcusahle one Pacitcation, the resump-
ton OF peaceful industries, the disintegra.
| tion OF the revolution and the acceptance
! CT the new political system would be their
| own witness. Malcontents could not long
| hold oGt against evidence which would in
| Itself be convincing. On the other hand
| the absence of such evidence cannot be
covered up or disguised for long period.
mat the first promise failed was quickly
| shown. Spain, after reversing on paper the
| Weyler plan of concentrating the country
| population, has been unable to feed the peo
| Pie whom she yet claims as her subjects
| Nor is the scheme of apologetic relief
| through the American people showing bet
ter results. A raindrop of comfort in the
| ocean Of wretchedness is all that comes of
it.
How to Save the Sufferers
Since this is one of the topics concerning
which definite word seems to be wanted p
nrief DEPRESSION may be permitted to de-
scribe the condition and the needs of thu.
starving remnant. The only way to save
the survivors is to stop the cause of their
misery. The cemmissary department of
me United States army within week
| Could organize system that would feed
these sufferers, nurse them back to health
| ana put them in condition for physical
| labor Spanish administration could not
do 1t in century. Eighty thousand, per
haps 10a,o0o, will follow the 20O.OOO who
| have died of starvation In making this
statement of the number who have died
| have not INDUCED in guesswork To know
| by verified official figures that in Guine,;
out of 15,0U0 more than 7NN are dead.
that in Jaruco out of 5000 the grayeyards
| have claimed $500, might be sufficient eyi
dence On which to base calculations Rut
| it Is possible to follow this up with equally
Cxpncll information from other places in
the. TOUR provinces not held by the insur-
gents until the total of 100000 becomes
ROT a calculation, but sum in addition
Dr. Bruner of the marine hospital service.
from the data lie has gathered, fixes the
hgureS at ;OO,0UU.
| 4 Tremendous Minimum of Mortality.
DO not know how far the number rises
ABOVE 2o.oe0. My own investigations have
satisfied me that this is the minimum. This
statement is made because an acho is oc-
casionally heard here of the talk that these
reports are 'exaggerations." AS to the
| probability that between $4,000 and 100 GOO
more must die, that only be verified
when the people have had time to die Its
basis lies in the circumstance that in no
| part of the island is the death rate de-
creaslng. In some of the interior towns it
grows. Here in Havana the deaths outside
the military hospitals continue to agere-
gate from $50 to 600 month, nearly
twice what they were In the unhealthy
| months of the midsummer, six times what
they should be normally. Havana is far
better able to make provision for its suffer-
ing population than the country. and its
mortality is proportionately smaller The
whole problem of starvation in Cuba SIM
ply resolves itself into the question of re-
| moving the cause. When that is done. in
stead of being encouraged into a state of
Deggary, the people may be encouraged
into supporting themselves, because there
will be work for them to do.
What Spain Has Accomplished
The certainty that in the three months
which have followed the recall of Weyler
Spain has not succeeded in reversing the
effects or the cause of starvation is not
conclusive that the policy may not succeed
on other lines broad amnesty was Of
iered. The prisons have been vacated of A
large number of political prisoners. Manv
OF those who had been banished to the
penal settlements of Africa have come
back Extraordinary efforts We're made
both to persuade and to bribe the insur-
gents in the field to come in. Some of the
sick ones did present themselves mostly
70 die In the homes of their relatives and
friends A few, very few, insurgents in
arms also presented themselves but the
Official reports showed that most of the
presentados were women and children All
told. score of insurgent officers mostly
lieutenants. have been included in the list.
In three or four instances small bands have
been destroyed and their leaders killed.
But the presentations practically ceased
two weeks ago, as well as the treachery
which enabled attacks to be made on the
small bands The other day when woru
came from Santa Clara province that an
insurgent colonel, with whom negotiations
had been under way, had come in with
twenty-five followers it was cabled to Mad
Tiu as tnougn the event were equivalent
to a battle. During Weyler's time hardly
| a town or village was without it's revolu-
tionary committee, or '.junta." The mem
bers braved exile, Imprisonment and death
The milder policy of Blanco has not caused
these revolutionary committees to disband
They are working regularly. In view of all
these matters I do not think the Spanish
authorities themselves consider that con-
cilfation. persuasion and bribery have made
visible progress in winning Cuba back to
Spain.
The Efforts to Implant Autonomy.
| There is an aspect of the subject on the
side of civil policy which needs a word
The autonomist governors and subordinate
officials are doing what they can to i'm
plant autonomy. Though they do not see
the signs Of the instruction disintegrating
they think progress has been made in the
governments policy because they are find
Ing Cubans to take Office. Almost invarf-
ably these officials tell with pride of the
appointments they are making and of other
appointments they intend to make. II the
insurgents were coming in to accept posi-
tfons the evidence would be entitled to
Continued ON Fifth PaeA)