The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-01
WANTS SIXTY MILLIONS
Gomez Modest Demand of the
United States.
TO PAY OFF THE CUBANS
He VIII Refuse to Disband His ARMY
Until the Money Has Been Paid.
Three Million Will Be
~ the Limit,

New York, jan s1.-A special to the
Tribune from Washington says: Max
imo Gomez, the Cuban commanding
general, has demanded nearly $50, 900, 900
from the United States and refuses to
disband his army until the money
is paid. He has repudiated the ar
rangement by General Garcia, who
came to Washington with authority
from Gomez to provide for the return
of the Cubans to their peaceful pur-
suits and whose work was barely ac-
complished before his sudden death On
Dec. II.
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 promot-
ing the speedy revival of prosperity and
settled conditions, should distribute
about 900 among the 10000 said to
be still under arms, equal to $500 per
man.
For more than month the pay corps
of the army has been making ready
to carry out this arrangement, the ma
tional defense fund being available for
the purposes. Accurate lists of those
entitled to compensation have been
prepared and other formalities gone
through. 1t was intended that the Gu
at established American garrisons in
the various provinces, where, on
throwing down their arms and present.
ing the proper credentials, they were
to receive their quota of the allotment
from the pay officers at the stations.
In the meantime General Brooke and
his chief aide have been endeavoring to
give employment, mostly Of a perma-
nent character, to large numbers of
Cubans, in order to reduce the number
requiring bounty, and at the same
time give the Inhabitants opportunity
to begin government themselves. Go
mez has come out against this scheme,
which was operating satisfactorily to
most Cubans, and has struck for great
er stakes. It is officially known that he
is endeavoring to dissuade Cubans from
accepting office under the American oc
cupation 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 prevailed in the United States
army.
He fixes the date of the Cuban declar-
alton of independence Feb. a. 1895, as
the beginning of the period from which
himself and forces are to be remuner-
ated, and for himself, with the rank
of lieutenant general, he will be salts
fed with $1,000 annually, the Ameri-
can rate for that grade. Gomez has
also about 20 major generals, for each
of whom he wants $500 annually, and
his army is equipped with nearly 200
brigadier generals. each rated, accord
ing to the United States army pay table,
a $500 annually.
This aggregates the nice little sum of
s3,7S3,000 for generals alone: then there
are colonies, lieutenant colonies and
majors whose numbers run into the
thousands. The privates do not amount
to much, for they are comparatively
few, but each Of them will require seas,
and the army paymasters who figured
out the total have reported that more
than $57, 100000 will be required to graf
ify the demands Gomez has made,
which is an average of 81, 455 a man.
1t is to meet their demands and show
Gomez their absurdity that Gonzalo
Quesada, who for the last three years
has been the representative of the Gu
bans in Washington, started for Cuba
last week after reaching a thorough
understanding with the war department
authorities. Robert p. Porter went
along with Mr.. Quesada as the official
representative of the United States in
the matter.