Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1909-02-06
CUBA'S SOLDIER Chief
Characteristics of lose Miguel
Gomez, Her New President.
SMALL MAN, BUT A FIGHTER.
Credited With Making More Spanish
Soldiers Into Cuban Lace Than Any
Other Warrior In the Bush-Honest
and Energetic.

Other warrior IN the B~ush-FoneSt
and Energetic.
This story begins away back In 1868,
when a squad Of Spanish soldiers were
observed running rapidly through a
village street in Cuba. just In their
rear, emitting loud outcries and prod
ding valiantly at the rear guard with
a machete, vas a short, pudgy Cuban
youth, saddle colored from months in
the bush. Later he returned, crest.
fallen, to make his report to the ger
eral commanding the patriot army.
my head is bowed in shame, senior
general" said he. II let two of then
get away"
And Just for that the general com
manding kissed Jose Miguel Gomez on
both cheeks and made him a captain
on the spot. That was the first public
appearance of the gentleman who was
recently inaugurated president OF Gu.
ba. He made other appearances of q
similar sort all the way through the
ten years war. By dint of strict ap-
plication to business and a remarkably
keen eye between gun sights he won
his way to a major generalship at the
end. Down In Cuba they say that he
made more Spanish soldiers into Gu
ban lace than any other man who
fought in the bush. Wherever one
passes a bit of pockmarked wall and
finds an ancient crone who can tell
something of the wallis tradition one
IS apt to find that General Jose Miguel
Gomez and a firing party and a dozen
or so Of the soldiery of Spain figure in
the story.
This is regarded as excellent mill
tary tactics in bush fighting. IL the
Spaniards caught the Cubans and
could conveniently pen them up in one
of their neat little concentration pens
they did so. But If the transportation
facilities were bad they just shot
them out of hand. And the roads
were extremely bad throughout the
Pearl of the Antilles at that period.
So with the Cubans. In a moment of
mirth General Gomez is said to have
once estimated that If Cuba could
have obtained a fair price for the
tanned hides OF the Spanish soldiers
she could have well financed the war
and had enough left over to make
c%ockighting profitable.
No one should imagine, however.
that Gomez was a bloodthirsty butch
er. He merely followed the lines laid
down for him and fought for inde-
pendence-and because he liked 1t. In
Havana they think that he still likes
to fight. They are prepared to wager
that. whatever else he may accom-
plish in his administration. he will
has been under Cuban rule. IL neces-
sary a short. pudgy, saddle colored
Cuban gentleman viii take to the sad
die himself and hang revolutionists all
over the landscape. And his soldiers
win refer to him as ell presidente.
In some respects be resembles the
lamented Castro Of Venezuela. His
father owned a large cattle ranch, and
Jose Miguel owns the same ranch,
with others he has annexed In the in
tervais of making war. And his idea
Of making war is to make war and to
keep on making war until the other
party gets tired. He had hardly
learned to read and write in the Col
lege Of San Salvador before he left
his home in Sancti Spirits, Santa
Clara province, to volunteer for the
ten years war. He liked fighting so
well that, although he came out with
the title referred to, he had hardly
looked the old homestead over and
ordered the barn painted before he
strrted in on a fresh war. he kicked
this one up all by himself almost.
They call It nov the ''little war" but it
was quite n lively little garden party
at that wlliie it lasted. Then he went
home until In war which resulted in
American Intervention came.
Since then he has had comparatively
little to do. OF course there was that
| occasion when he rode into a village.
at the head Of n body Of troops. under
| President Palma's administration, and
! announced that If Palma didn't hunt
the mourners' bench in a hurry he.
was going to take the government
apart to see what made 1t tick. Ann
he defied the supreme court and aboGs
every n else In sight. But through
all his fighting he had the people with
him. Palma had him imprisoned on G
ON a charge of conspiracy, but Gomez
denied that he had conspired. He was
merely planning to upset the govern
ment, he said, so OF course Palma or
dered him released. What else could
he do? In the intervals of fighting
and politics Gomez takes an intelli-
gent interest in the primeval instinct
which makes one chicken of the male
sex fight another ditto. A month or
so ago he was arrested at a cocktight
in Havana, but he explained that away
satisfactorily. He had just happened
In to see the chickens fight, he said.
He isn't to be considered a pro-Amer-
lean. The uprising which ended the
Palma regime was largely of his doing,
and he blamed the need for revolution