The Van Buren press., 1899-02-04
GEN. GOMEZ HAS WHEELS.
The Cuban General Demands Nearly
Sixty Millions of Dollars From
the United States.
He WON'T DlSBAND UNTIL He GETS IT.
Full Pay for Himself as LIeutenant-G q en-
erai, Twenty Major-GeneraIs and About
Two Hundred Brigadlers, and All the
Rest of His Officers and Army Since tn Q
Insurrection Began.

|
Rest of His Officers and Army Since the
Insurrection Began.
New York, Feb. IA special to the
Tribune from Washington says
MaXimo Gomez, the Cuban COM
manding general, has demanded near
| ly 100000, 600 from the United States,
and refuses to disband his army un-
til the money is paid. He has re-
| pudiated the arrangement made by
CaliXto Garcia, who came to Washing
ton with authority from Gomez to pro-
vide for the return of the Cubans to
their peaceful pursuits, and whose
work was barely accomplished before
his sudden death on December Il.
AGREEMENT WITH GARCIA.
1t was then agreed that the United
| States, in order to secure the prompt
resumption of labor on the plantations
of the island with a view of promoting
the speedy revival of prosperity and
| settled conditions, should distribute
| about $1,000, 900 among the 10000 said
| to be still under arms, in the ratio of
| TO their rank to receive a greater
| amount, the ordinary enlisted men to
| be discharged with sums less than
| 500, depending on the length of serv-
| ice and other considerations. For over
a month the pay corps of the army
| has been making ready to cary out
| this arrangement, the national defense
| fund being available for the purpose.
LISTS WERE PREPARED
Accurate list of the soldiers entitled
| to compensation had to be prepared
and other formalities gone through. 1t
was intended that the Cubans. ut the
proper time, should apply al estab-
lished American garrisons in the va
| rious provinces where, on laying down
| their arms and presenting the proper
credentials. they were to receive their
| quota of the allotment from the pay
| officers at the stations. In the mean
| time Gen. Brooke and his chief snbor-
| dinates have been endeavoring to give
| employment, mostly of a permanent
! character, to large numbers of Gu
bans, in order to reduce the number
requiring a bounty, and at the same
time to give the inhabitants oppor-
tunity to begin governing themselves.
GOMEZ BLOCKS THE SCHEME.
Gomez has come out against this
scheme, which was operating salts
factorily to most Cubans, and has
struck for greater stakes. 1t is Of
ficially known here that he is endeav-
oring to dissuade Cubans from accept
ing office under the American occu-
patton, and is urging all the natives
of every grade to stay with him in the
field until the United States is com
PEELED to accede to his terms of dis
bandment." Gomez alleges that his
army consists of 10000 men, and he
insists that most of them shall be paid
for three years service at the rates
that prevail in the United States army.
He fixes the date of the Cuban declara
tion of independence, February "a,
1895, as the beginning of the period
for which himself and his forces are
to be remunerated, and for himself,
with the rank of acknowledgement
he will be satisfied with $1,000 an
nually, the American rate for that
grade.
AN ARMY OF GENERALS.
Gomez also has about 90 major gen
erals, for each of whom he wants 81
500 annually, and his 'army" is
equipped with nearly 200 brigadier
generals, each rated according to the
United States army pay table at $500
annually. This aggregates the nice
| little sum of S3,7S3,000 for generals
alone; then there are colonels, lieu
| tenant-colonels ana majors, whose
numbers run into the thousand. The
| privates do not amount to much, for
they are comparatively few, but each
| of them will require S64S, and the
army paymasters who figured out the
| total have reported that over $57,000,-
600 will be required to crafty all the
| p. Porter went with Mr.. Quesada es
an average of $1,425 man.
1t is to meet these demands, and
| show Gomez their absurdity, that Con
| zalo Queseda, who, for the last three
| years has been the representative of
| the Cubans in Washington, started for
| Cuba last week, after reaching "A
thorough understanding with the
war department authorities. Robert
| PIP orter went with Mr.. Quesada as
| the official representative of the Unit
| ed States in the matter.
Severe Alonzo In Retreat, Pursued by In-
surgent Troops.
Lima, Peru, Feb. 1.-Trustworthy
| advices received here from Bolivia say
the president of that republic, Senior
Severe Alonzo. who has been operat-
ing with an army against the insur-
| gent forces, which have occupied La
paz. the nominal capital, has retired
from the neighborhood of that city
and is being pursued by the federal or
insurgent troops.