The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1898-04-20

dangerous conspiracy" there under tn
Ex-Governor of the province directe
against Americans, faction agains
them 1.-THE Americans" I" says Gen. lie
"to be contingent upon movement Q
the United Statesl Government il
favor of the independence of Cuba
Two days later Gen. Lee, in a mail
ed report, said: "I still think tina
two warships at least should be at Key
West, prepared TO move here at shor
notice, and that more of them shouI'
be sent to Dry Tortugas and a Goa
station established there.n
A report from Gen. Lee ofDec. :
1897, was couched in language which
the State Department has partly para
phrased. The Consul General, it isex
planned, says that measures for the re
lief of the reconcentradOs are not SUI
fieiently energetic to be effective. A
that time Gen. Lee had seen no effect.
of the Governmental distribution 0
aid.
An interesting report comes from
Gen. Lee under date of Dec. lS. H,
says:
1.-The interest for and against autono
my is most unequal. For il there arr
five or six of the head officers at tn,
palace and twenty or thirty other per
sons here in the city.
Indeed, there is the greatest apathy
concerning autonomy in any form"
DREADFUL RESULTS OF STARVATION
Again in this report Gen. Lee says
II am obliged to say, too, that the Gov
ernment of this island has not been
able to relieve from starvation the Gu
ban population driven from their homes
by the Weyler edict and no longer at
tenpls to do so.
On Dee. IA Gen. Lee reported that in
the province of Havana $1,000 recon.
centrados out of l0l, 900 had died. This
did not include the city of Havana and
seven other towns, where the death
rate was about the same. For relieY-
ing that number of reconcentrados
Sl2, 500 in Spanish silver was set aside
out of Sl0O, 600 appropriated.
In an expurgated report, under date
of Jan. 2, lS9S, Gen. Lee says that
Weyler's reconcentrado order made
100000 self-supporting people, princi-
pally women and children, into a null
titude to be sustained by the contribu-
ton of others or die Of starvation or of
fevers and of being massed in large
bodies.
Their houses were burned, their
farms and plantations destroyed, and
their live stock driven away or killed, -
says Gen. Lee.
He estimates that 200, 600 of the rural
population in the provinces of Pinar
del Rio, Havana, Matanzas, and Santa
Clara have died as = result Of the recon-
centrado order. Whole families died
simultaneously, he said, and mothers
prayed that their children might be
released by death.
Full reports of the rioting in Havana
last January, sent by telegraph 10y Gen.
Lee, are inclnded in the correspond
ence. On Jan. ii Gen. Lee received d
cipher message from Assistant Secre-
tary Day instructing him to maintain
frequent communication with the Uni
ted States squadron at Key West as to
the state of affairs in Havana. Gen.
Lee on Feb. 10 telegraphed to The State
Department that BlancO had returned
from his tour of the provinces, and
there were rumors that a demonstra-
ton against him was to be made ia
Havana.
81 think him an excellent man, but
in an unfortunate position" he said.
INTERFERENCE OF SPANISH OFFICIALS
A number of Gen. Lees communica-
ti0ns of last month are in reference t,'
the presence of Miss Clara Barton III
Havana and the distribution of relief
a report from Consul Barker
at Matanzas is incIosed in one of Gen.
Lees letters. 1t says that the military
Governor of Matanzas and other mill
tary officers positively refuse to allow
the reconcentrados, TO whom Mr.. Bar
ker was issuing food in a raw state, TO
procure fuel with which to cook it.
The Spanish authorities also refused to
allow the reconcentrados TO gather veg
telling them that "the Ameri-
cans propose to feed you, and to the
Americans you must look"
A dispatch of March 2S informs the
State Department that the Civil Gov
ernor OF Havana has directed the Al
caldes and other authorities not to give
out any facts about the reconcentra6ss
to the American Relief Committee.
Gen. Lees last communication abcszf
the reconcentrados was under date Of
April |. 1t gave notice of the issue o.
Blanco's decree terminating reconesz-
tration among the country people, and
inclosed copy of the decree.
Consul McGarr at Cienfuegos, under
date of Jan. 10 last, reports all shs'
sugar mills in that district in oPera-
ton. The demand for labor had givesl
employment to great number of the
idle male reconcentrados, and in =
measure relieved the destitution there
Several of the principal sugar estates
were owned by Americans, and most Of
the skilled employees were brought
from the United States. Small preda-
tory parties of insurgents, he said, made
frequent attempts TO burn the corn
fields, and it required constant vigil
ance to prevent their destruction.
The reports Of Consuls Brice, Hyatt
and Barker, az Matanzas, Santiago, and
Sagua la Grande, respectively, are mnsh
more emphatic on the subject of the.
starving reconcentrados than are the
reports of Consul-General Lee, for the
reason that they were in positions bo'
see more of the actual conditions.
MISERY BEYOND DESCRIPTION.
Consul Brice, under date of Nov. L.
last, writing of the condition of affairs
In Matanzas province, said no relief
had as yet been afforded the starving
thousands there. The municipal au-
Lhorities were told by the military au-
Ihorities to issue rations and clothing,
but no attention was paid to the orders.