Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-09-23

lh1s book. How gloomy the outlook was IS set
lo" sraphlcally in a confidential letter from
zen martinez Campos to Canovas del Castillo,
prime minister Of Spain.
~ Although from the very first l
reailzcd the gravity of the situation, I refused to
Delleve 1t; my visits in Cuba, Principe and Hol-
Si apPalled me; however. in order not to appear
pessimistic. I did not express all my thoughts, and
i oeclded to visit not only the maritime communi.
tes, but the towns in the interior. The few Span
lards who live In the island do not dare to men,
ton their origin except In the cities. The rest
OF the population hates Spain. Wherever you pass
a farm and ask the women where their husbands
are, they answer with terrifying frankness: In
the mountains with Chief So and So
you could not get anyone to carry a message
for 500 nor 1000 pesetas; he would be hanged If
he were ever caught.
The rebels who charged Weyler with wanton
cruelty seldom restrained themselves from accom-
plishfng deeds Of violence likely to terroriZe the
few remaining supporters of the Spanish rule. To
quote Weyler:
The insurgents did not return In any way the
considerate treatment accorded to them by this
generous commander martinez Campos). At the
beginning of the war Maxine Gomez showed him
self very fair; but Maceo. as shall prove by au-
thentic documents. ordered his bands to set fire
to all the sugar mills whose owners were not pay
ing war tribute, to plumber and loot the country.
to shoot mercilessly all the messengers. men
caught repairing railroad lines or bringing pro.
visions into the villages. Worse yet: The insur-
gent chiefs did not hesitate to kill with their own
weapons defenseless islanders, and Maxine Co
mez in his Memories c%onfesses to having shot
personally a man he had sentenced to death, a
deed which I call wtllful murder. And still that
individual presumes to call me assassin"
AS his authority for tho foregoing statement
General Weyler not only quotes extracts from the
Cuban papers, but appends a proclamation of
Maceo. Gomez's lieutenant, to his bands.
Comrades in Arms: Destroy, destroy every
thing. day and night; to blow up bridges, to derail
trains, to burn up villages and sugar mills, to
annihilate Cuba is the only way to defeat our enc
mics. We have not to account for our conduct
to anyone. Diplomacy, public opinion and history
don't matter. 1t would be sheer insanity to seek
the laurels of the battlefield, to bear the fire Of
the enemy's artillery and contribute to the glory
of the Spanish commanders. The essential thing
is to convince Spain that Cuba will be but a heap
Of ruins. What compensation will she receive
then for the sacrifice entailed by the campaign?
We mustsburn and rae everything. 1t would be
folly to fight as though we were an European
army. Where rifles are of no avail let dynamite
do the work. A. MACEO."
The only way to subdue such bloOdthirsty, des-
perate pirates was to adopt their own tactics. The
insurgents, of their own admission, never gave
nor accepted battle, but harassed the regulars and
destroyed their sources of supply. "Concentra-
ton" seemed to be the only solution of the prob
lem, for the wives and children of the insurgents