Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-03-09
'."s DAILY KENNEBEC OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES MARCH g. 1895

euC. cutAi0 MISUNDERSTANDING duu Auuuc-
trial life Of Cuba is controlled by Span
iards, most of the sugar estates are
owned by or hypothecated to Spaniards,
practically all the tobacco plantations
in the Vuelta Abajo are owned by
Spaniards. and the coastwise steamship
lines and most of the railroads through
out the island are controlled by them.
The Spanish element therefore repre-
sents capital, the Cuban element labor.
Their relative positions will suffer no
change by the mere cessation of SPANS
sovereignty over the island, as the sa-
credness Of personal and proprietary
rights must and will be considered in
violable whatever form of government
is established.
The Cubans, with but few excep-
tons, are destitute and penniless, re-
duced to a life of beggary, dependent
on public charity and, what is worse,
grown accustomed to that almshouse
existence, accepting it as second nature
and aspiring to no bettermeEt or I'M
provement if such additional comfort
must be acquired at the expense OF work
and thrift.
That Spain and Spain alone is respon-
sible for the degradation of the Cuban,
that she alone is answerable for his de.
generacy, is indisputable. Equally ill.,
contestable is the fact that the Cuban
has been reduced to poverty and to
moral and political slavery by Spain's
inordinate greed and by her corrupt
and mercenary methods, which have
robbed him Of his birthright and his
fortune to benefit and enrich her loyal
and favorite sons. But no arraignment
of Spain's conduct in the past or coll
domination of her ubiquitous treatment
of her colonists, however severe, will
avail to alter present conditions which
must be studied and dealt with as they
now exist.
Absolutely independent Cuba would
mean political isolation. commercial
stagnation and economical PARTICIPATION,
relapse into anarchy and barbarism
and retrogression to the status and in.
significance of Haiti or Santo Domingo.
The Cubans are intelligent. They are
quick to learn, shrewd, and as class
sober and temperate, but Oh the other
hand they are idealists. They are not
practical nor thrifty; they like luxu-
rious Incidence far better than hard
work, and they are fervent worshipers
of the "let tomorrow take care of itself"
cult. With their Spanish blood they
have inherited many defects and few of
the virtues of their forefathers. Their
qualities make of them "good fellows"
and excellent companions; but, Judging
from 20 years. experience in Cuba, I
doubt if the people Of the United States
will do we'll to establish SO close to
their shores a republic subject to dis
turbing revolutions, and thereby accept
the responsibility in history for crime
against civilization. A. @. GoUDR.
HOW HOCKEY is PLAYED.
An Ideal Winter Sport and Has Be
come Very Popular.
The game of hockey furnishes an ideal
winter sport. 1t may be played either on
the open ice or in a covered rink. In order
to play hockey well il person should be AN
experienced skater, quick in movement
and should possess keen eyesight. The
game is very simple to understand so far
as rules are concerned.
The implements of the game consist OF
a puck and sticks. A stick, which each
player carries, is made of hard wood and
curves near the end, so that about six
inches of surface rests solidly on the ice.
The puck is manufactured from rubber.
1t is oval in shape and is about one inch
high by two and a quarter inches in di-
ameter
Hockey is played by two opposing teams
! composed of seven men OH IL side. The
men line up as follows: Goal, point, rover,
cover point, center forward, right forward
and left forward There is no standard
measurement for a hockey field, SO that
| any area of ice may be used. A goal is
| placed at either end of the field and con-
sists of two upright poles five feet high
| and fixed at a distance of six feet apart.
| The game is set in motion by two play
ers standing in the center of the field with
| the puck resting in the ice between Them
! These two players strike the ice once with
! their sticks and then strike their sticks
h%llIIll|lPm!