St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-09-06
DESTITUTION IN CUBA.
Awful Odds A gainst which the Women
are Struggling.

he kew. Horace L OIlcIj dooiSluht pas
tor oil Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, and
member of the committee OF the Cuban
Industrial Relief Fund who has been
spending two weeks in Cuba, in speak
ing of the Cuban women says:
"Such glimpses as | had of the home
life of the Cubans produced an unexpect-
edly favorable impression upon my mind.
Their home ties are strong. Members OF
families hold one another i'll most atfec-
tionate regard. Their manners are SIM
pie and spontaneous. There is often
much refinement. One mother whom |
watched as she entered into the spirit OF
her children's play was certainly Gull
tured, brilliant woman. An American
who has had abundant opportunity to
observe domestic life in Cuba says The
Cuban woman to the manner born is a
very fascinating creature. She is ele-
CANT, walks gracefully, has pretty
features, beauti ul eyes and hair and fine
teeth. Family ties are stronger among
the Cubans than with us, and the affec-
tomato ties of relationship please every
stranger who gains admission to the
households of the people
ut is remarkable how cleanly the
Cuban woman appears to be, even in the
midst OF her present poverty. She is
busy housewife. The clay floor of the
hut is at least clean. Everywhere the
people seem given to much washing OF
such clothing as they have. They keep
it in as good order as circumstances can
possibly permit. The Cuban women and
girls seem to be apt with their fingers,
neat at hand sewing and adept at GER
tain kinds Of hand work. In one home
some fans were offered to my companion,
a Cuban physician, and myself the day
being a hot one. These fans attracted
my attention, and | asked who had made
them A very excellent appearing young
woman said that she had made them.
At once it was suggested that if she and
her sisters would make more, we would
buy them and try to find market Tor
them. She gladly accepted the offer.
The news quickly spread in all the VII
lage, and Others began the work. have
brought with me supply of these fans,
to see if we can find a market for them.
They are quite skilfully made from native
wild grasses.
80 reduced in circumstances are the
Cubans that often white Cuban women
are obliged to work with the hoe in the
fields. They work hard by day and re-
turn to their homes to do up the house
work, what little there is OF it. as best
they can. The poverty of these homes is
indescribable. They are mere matched
huts. The floors are the natural clay
soil. The beds, mere heaps OF cast OFT
clothing, are on the ground. They are
without furniture. The fireplace is any
convenient spot on the bare floor. There
are absolutely no cooking utensils and
no crockery. Their food usually con.
sists of most uninviting wild fruits, and
in some cases green fruit such as we
would not dare to touch.
1.-The Cuban girl is often beautiful,
graceful creature, even in her shabby
clothing. Many a sweet faced girl will
one see in these wretched novels OF the
reconcentrados.
1.-THE story of one girl touched our
hearts deeply. She is an orphan, about
seventeen years of age. We found hei
living in bare. cherries room, which
was without furniture or utensils OF any
kind, except her rude cot and her chair
She is tall, naturally of attractive feat
ures, but is now pitilully emaciated. Sh'
is paralyzed, so that she cannot walk OF
stand. Having the use of her hands, sh'
works faithfully with those thin, bony
fingers, trying to weave straw hat PEE
day, if possible Such hat she can sci
for cents. This is her living. coult
multiply such cases OF sorrow and wan
almost indefinitely. 1t is to such tina
. the Cuban Industrial Relief Fund is try
ing to minister"
. William Willard Howard, genera
, manager OF the Cuban Industrial Relic
Fund, in recent letter sent to the head
, quarters of the fnnd, in The Tribun
Building, gives some further facts on tn
subject. He says IN part:
: while in Matanzas Mr.. Porter and
did part of the reconcentrado quarter
e under the guidance Of the Rev. MI
G Baker, Methodist missionary. W
: saw sights that simply haunt one
, sleep. There are some pretty sad case
6 here in Ceba Mocha, but in Matanza
. there are worse cases and more Of then
Mr.. Baker says that there are about te
5 thousand reconcentrados in Matanza
We found one lone orphangirl, paralyze
from the waist down, at work maxim
straw hats. She is absolutely helpless
never saw such look OF patient resil
d nation on any human beings face.
e gave me heartache just to look at tt
d poor thing. All her people had died {
r. starvation, and she was utterly alone
9 the world. Her neighbors, as destitut
. as herself, lift her from chair to cot an
p take little care of her.
+, "In another house we found eleve
e women living in one room. Most
l. them were war widows. There WE
absolutely nothing in the house to ca
o. They had eaten nothing that day, and
e was then midday. One of them W.
- ironing few articles of clothing whic
D when delivered, would result in none
u, enough to buy their breakfast. The di
a tributions of rations in Matanzas hi
Re been suspended, owirg to some dispu
d with the mayor, and these poor womt
~ had not even that doubtful refuge.
ts MY plan for establishing farm
70 farms on the Canimar river is not
- much for the sake OF having a boat as e
~ the sake of taking some of those pc,
IL people out OF the reconcentrado quart
S, of Matanzas and giving them new HON
is in new houses in a new model villae
De where they may begin their broken liv
1t anew. We found in one house abo
o. two hundred persons huddled togeth
ve in small rooms. One family contain
"a fourteen persons. The father is lal
81 owner of the Yumuri Valley. He
C. rather badly off with rheumatism and
r. sore leg, but he said that he would
'e, back to his land in moment if he h
the means. "-TNew York Tribune.