St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-06-14
Conditions in Santiago Province.

CONDITIONS III odutidSo TioNhSS'
The war department has made public
the following report by General Wood OF
his inspection OF Santiago province. 1t
says:
IL have lust returned from long trip
through the interior and along the north
coast OF this province. This, with the
preceding trip, completed about ten
DAYS ago, has included every town OF
Importance in the province, as well as
most of the smaller ones. The people
are all at work, peaceful, contented and,
as far as one can see, fairly happy. Dur
ing both trips was not approached by
a beggar, nor did have single personal
application for assistance. Many OF the
municipalities are unable to meet current
expenses, but the people as a body are
improving in general condition. Visited
Santa Lucia, near Sauna, and the estates
OF the Boston Fruit Company near
Banes. Everything at these places was
quiet, and there was no brigandage
there The reports which had alarmed
them were, as lar as could learn, circu-
lated by an old scoundrel called Feria.
He has spent his time, apparently, IN CIR
culating reports OF brigandage, and act
ually melting some ignorant men to COM
hitting some lawless acts i'll order to
give color to his reports, and following
up this work with kilograms to Havana
requesting that he be authorized to
pursue the bandits, and incidentally be
given a command and big pay. | took
him off quietly and told him that my
orders to my officers and to the Guardia
Rural were to give all men OF his descrlp'
ton a short shift if they were caught en-
gagged in any work of this sort; that he
was marked individual, was closely
watched and would be summarily dealt
with. Most of these reports that have
reached you have been gotten up in this
way. and they mean nothing. Now and
then there is a case Of stealing or robbery,
lust as there is in all our Western states,
but nothing more.
"The whole problem today in Cuba is
work. Put the idle people who are now
reading the incendiary press to work,
relegate to a back seat the politicians,
whose present Importance rests solely on
the attentions they are receiving from
our people, and they will not have fol-
lowers enough left to give them the
slightest importance or weight in the
community. Agitators have tried to
stir up the people of this province, but
they cannot do it, simply because we
have given tie people something to do
and put them in a condition so good
that they will not leave it for a lawless
life unless absolutely forced to. The peo'
pie who are creating the disturbances
today in Cuba do not represent 2 pei
cent. of the population.
81 was ordered last winter by Genera
Chafee, in the name of the commanding
, general to take summary measures
, against the press in case they used disre
spectful language about the American
administration. / have not had occa
sion to take any action but called then
together and warned them against print
, ing any incendiary articles or discussin!
f disrespectlully the American adminstra
8 ton. | do not personally believe tina
any notice should be taken of them unles
t their articles are actually incendiary, a
paving any attention to them simply eX
>. aggerates their Importance in the eyes c
their own people. There are no Cuba
" troops in arms in this province, abst
v lutely not a man, and yet we have heI
more than two.hfths of the entire Cuba
n army and most of its desperate officer
v 1t is impossible for them to take the
,e men from their fields and homes.
short, the whole question is questio
,e of labor, not of politics, and the factor
N warning in the press would be immed
II ately without support could their i'd
ID followers become engaged in any kind
e. work. l believe there is money enoug
;" with the revenues, to accomplish this EN-
Id not to the detriment of our administr
ii. ton, but to its everlasting benefit"