University of South Carolina Libraries
V . V ' 41j C NEWJ 0 ebEerrp E _ 4jew5T ES*TABLISHED._1865.,_ NEWBERRY,OS C., Tr SDAY, MNIA ROIL 22,189.TIEAWEa015)AV?i CONDITIONS IN CUBAI PITIABLIS PLIU OF 1IAPLE9 CON VENTRADOV. Portrayed by Proctor-The Senator Makes a Stateinent to the senate-Au Appall. Ing btory of Misery and.Death. Washington, March 17.-Senator Proctor, of Vermont, who returned last -Sunday from an extended trip to and through the Island of Cuba, this afternoon made a statemtnt to the Senate of his observations on the island. A DRAMATIC SCENE. The scene in the Senate just pre. ceding and during the delivery of the speech was almost dramatic in the .intensity of its interest. The occasion of the address arose very unexpectedly. The national quaran tine bill was under discussion, and Senator Mallory (FIa.) had been rec ognized for a speech in opposition to the pending me-sure. Mr. Frye en tered the.chambor, and interrupting Mr. Mallory, requested him to yield to Mr. Proctor, who desired to make a statement concerning his observa tions in Cuba, of interest to the Sen ate and to the.country. PROCTOR'S STATEMENT. Mr. Proctor, in beginning, stated that his trip was entirely unofficial and was not suggested by any one. Mr. Protor said, in part: "Of General Leo I need say little. His valuable services'to his country in his trying position are too woll known to all his countrymen to re quire mention. Beside his .ability, high character and courage, he pos sosses the important requisites of un failing tact'and courtesy, and withal, his military education and training and - his soldierly qualities are in valuable adjuncts in the equipment of our representative in a country so completely under military rules as is Cuba." Senator Proctor also eulogized Brice and Barker. "It has been stated that I said there was no doubt the Maine was blown up from the outside," he con tinued. "This is a mistAke. I may have said that such was the general impression among Americans in Havana. In fact, I have no opinion about it myself, and carefully avoided forming one." Senator Proctor described the places he had visited and of the war like conditionl of things on the island outside of Havana. The or der of concentration has produ_ed desolation. He told of Weyler's order for concentration and of the effect. it had had upon the concen trados. Continuing, he said: UNHAPPY cONORNTRIADOs. "The execution of this order was loft largely to the guerillas to drive in all that had not obeyed, and I was informed that in many cases a torch was applied,.to their homes, with no notice, and the in mates fled with such clotfling as they might have on, their stock and othei- belongings being appropriated by the'gnerillas. When they reached the towvnA they wore allowed to build huts of palm leaves in the suburbE and vacant places within the trocha, and left to live if they could. Their huts are about ton by fifteen feet in size, and for want of space are usual ly crowded together. They have no floor but the ground and no furni. ture, and after a yer 's wear but little clothing except such stray sub stitutes as they can extemnporize With large families or with morc gI'n one in this little spapie, the comn ibdnest sanitary provisions are im possible. Conditions are unmention. a6Io in this reipect. Torn from theu homes, with boul earth, foul air, fou water and fr'nl food, or none, whal wonder tilat one-half have died ani that one-quarter of the living are s< diseased that they cannot be saved A form of dropsy is a common dis. order resulting from these condi. tions. Little children are still walk. ing about with arms and chest te r ribly emaciated and abdomen bloatoi to three times the natural size. Th< physicians say these cases are hope less. DEATHs IN THE STREETS. "Deaths in the streets have not been uncommon. I was told by one of our consuls that they have been found dead about the markets in the morning where they have crawled hoping to get some stray' bits of food from the early butchers, and that there...had boon casos where they had dropped dead inside the market surrounded by food. Theso people were independent and sel!-support ing before Weylor's order. They are not beggars even now. "Of the hospitals I need not speak. Others have described their condition far better than I can. It is not within the narrow limits of my vocabulary to portray it. I went to Cuba with a strong conviction that thQ picture had been overdrawn; but a few casos of starvation and suffer ing had inspi.od and stimulated the press correspondents and they had given free play to a strong, natural and highly cultivated imagination. Before starting, I received thorough the mail a leaflet published by the Christian Herald, with cuts of some of the siul and starvtng reconcon trados, and took it with me thinking these were rare specimens got up to make the worse possible showing. I saw plenty as bad and worso-many that should not be photographed and shown. APPALLINo MORTALITY. "I could not believe that out of a population of ],600,000, two hundred thousand had died within these Spanish forts, practically prison walls, within a few months past, from actual starvation and disease caused by inRufficient and improper food. My inquiries were entirely outside of sensational sources. They were made of our medical officers, of our consuls, of city alcaldes (mayors), of relief committees, of leading mer chants and bankers, physicians and lawyers. Several of my informants were Spanish born, but every time the answer was that the case had not been over-statod. "General Blanco's order of Novem bor 13 last somewhat modified Wey lor order, but is o! little or no prac tical benefit. Its application is lim ited to faris properly defended, and the ownors are obliged to build 'centres of defense.' Its execution is completely in the discretion of the local military authoritios, and they know the terrible militarv efficiency of Weyler's ordor in stripping the country of all possible shelter, food or source of information for an insur gent, and will be slow to surrender this advantage. In fact, though the order was issued four months ago, I saw no beneficent results from it worth moM~ ioninlg." TiHE CUBANs. Speaking of the Cubans the Sen ator said: "There are, or were before the war, about one million Cubans on the island, two hundr.ed thousand Span iards (v. .ich means those born in Spain), and less than half a million of nogroes and mixed blood. The percentage of colored to white has been steadily diminishing for more than fifty years, and is not now over 25 per cent, of the total. In fact, the number of colored people has been actually diminishing for near ly that time. ."One thing that was new to me was to learn the superiority of the well-to-do Cuban over the Spaniard in the matter of education.' Among those in good circumstances there can be no doubt that the Cuban is far stiperior in this respet. "It is said 'that there are about sixty thousand Spanish soldiers now in Cuba fit fihr duty out of over two hundred thousand thamt have been sent there. The rest. have died, been sent home sick, are ini the hios pitals, and some have boen killed, notwithstanding the oflicial re-ports. - THE INSURoENT FORCES. ~"Having called on Governor and Captain General Bllanco and received his courteous egll in return, I could rnot with propriety seek communica tion with insur-gents. I had plenty of offers of safe conduct to Gorr.oz's camp, and was told that if I would write him, answer wonul1 be retu.ned safely witbin ten days at most. I saw several who had visited the in. surgent camps, and was sought out by on insurgent field officor who gave me the best information ro ceived as to the insurgent forco. His statements wero moderate, and [ was credibly informed that he was entirely reliable. Ho claimed that the Cubans had about thirty thou sand men now in the field, some in every province, but mostly in the two Eastern provinces and Eastern Santa Clara, and this statement was corroborated from other good sources. "They have a force all the time in Havana province itself, organized as four small brigades an( oporating in small bands. Ruiz was taken, tried and shot within about a milo and a half of the railroad and about fifteen miles out of Havana on the road to Mantanzas, a road noro t r-.tvoliod than any other. "Arrangueren was killed sbout three miles the other sido of the road, about the saeio (lisann,ce, 15 or 20 miles, froa-, lInvann. ~ The insur gonts Pre well armed but very poorly supplied with ammunition. They are not allowed to carry many car tridges-sometimnOes not moro than one or two. The infant ry especially are poorly elatd." AUTONOMY A FAILURE. Senator Proctor said the army and Spanish citizens do not, want auto nomy for that means government by the Cuban people. As for the Cu bans, they say that the offer of it comes too late. If it succeeds, it can only be by armed force. "I could not but conclude," said the speaker, "that you do not havo to scratch an autonomist very deep to find a Cuban. There is soon to be an election, but every polling place must be inside a fortified town. Such elections ought to be safo for 'ins.' "I have endeavored to state in no intemperate mood what I saw and heard, and to make no argument thereon, but leave every one to draw his own conclusions. To me the strongest appeal is not the barbarity practiced by Weyler nor the loss of the Maine, if our worst, fears should prove true, terrible as are both of these incidents, but the spectacle of . million and a half people, the en tire native population of Cuba, strug. gling for freedom and deliverance from the worst misgovernment of which I ever had knowledge. The fear that if freo the people of Cuba would be revolutionary is not so well founded as has been supposed, and the conditions for good self government are far more favorable. "But it is notomy purpose at this time, nor do I consider it my province, to suggest~ any plan. I merely speak of the symptoms as I saw them, but do not undertake to pro scribe such remedial steps as may be required may safely be left to an American President and the Amer-i can people." Take JOHNSON'S CHILL & FE~VERI A Noble Undeortaking. A convention will be held in Sene ca, S. C., on June 15-10, for the pur purpose of forming a State Federa tion of Women's Literary Clubs. This convention will be composed of delegates from womren's clubs in the State. The purpose of this feder-a tion is to uplift wvomen socially and intellectually, and will niot involvo her in political issues. Tho dole. gates will be entertained by the "Onc6 A WVeek" Club of Seneca, and if posnible a reduction of fare will be obtained from the railroads. Any one interested in this matter will please address Mats. JAMES H. ADAMs, Pres. Pro. Tomn, Once A Week Club, Seneca, S. CG. The newvspapers of the State will please copy the above. A TELL-TALE LETTER 'InOWING LIGHT ON T 11C MAIN!,. DUlSAsTEui. vritten Ily Woyler- Kvidenco Sh ving that ilet aupion1on A Untioubti-tily An Act of Hsnih Treachery. Now York, March 17.-Tho New York Journal this afternoon prints a statoment written by Ionroo F. Laine, the newspaper correspondent recently arrested and searched by Spanish officials in Cabanas prison, Havain, and later expelled from the island. This is the opening of Laino's statement: "On January 24, at 10 o'clock at. night, I met in the Cafe Inglatorra, the hoadquarters of the reporters in Havana, Francisco Diaz, a reporter of the rabid Spanish paper La Union Constitutional, with whom I fi-oquent ly exchanged news. "On asking him if he had any thing to give me, he took from his pocket a letter and handed it to me, saying: 'Weyler wrote this letter to Santos Guzman, who sent it to Novo (the editor of the La Union Consti tutional) for him to road and write an article on the acceptance by Wey lor of the candidacy of depuity to the cortes for Havana. I took this copy, which you can keo.' " The following is the alleged letter referred to above: wRiTTEN BY WEYLElt. "To His Excellency, )oin Francisco do los Santos Guzman, Havana: "My Distingnisl , -1 Personai and Political Friend: iAaco the latest events I have changed my views about the attitude which our politi cal party in Cuba ought to assume. If I have thought before that it was more dignified for us to abstain from the electoral contest, I believe now that it is a patriot's duty for us to go to the polls. Our success cannot be doubted; neither can our majority of voters, nor that with a programme of defense of the national honor wo will have sido by side with us all thoso lukewarm politicians who, though Spaniards by heart, arc do. ceived by the insido combinaion of Moret and Sagasta, and tiko as scientific solutions of our (olonial problems what are really dij;honor able humiliations of our country be fore the United States. "Write on your flag, the flag of Spain, 'Defense of National Honor,' and I offer you my namo as yoir candidate. "After having commanded during two years8 two hundred thousand Spanish heroes in Cuba, the title I shall be more proud of is that of deputy from Havana at tho cortes of Spain. "By the way: I have road. those days that the Americans are ponder ing about sending one of their wvar ships to that city. D)uring my coin mand in Cuba they did not even (dare to dream about it. They knewv the terrible punishment that awaited them. "I had Havana harbor well pro pared for such an emor-goney. I rapidly finished the work that Marti nez Caimpos carelessly abandoned. "if the insult is made, I hope that there will be a Spanish hand to pun11 ish it as terribly as it deserves. "Rtomero is in bettor health than his friends could have expected1, and not withstanding howv morally sicli I feel, breathing this humiliating atmosphore, I am weoll also. "Your- affectionate friend and ser vant, "VAL,EhrANo WVEvr.Ei." Madiiorid, J1ar.ue ry 8, 1 898." cAUSE oF LAINE'SC AnaiE-'T. Laine says that he recad the lettot and pigeonholed it. W hon the MaimI arriived ho called at the oflico of th< Union Constitutional to seo D)iaz, ir an effort to secure the original o: the letter. Somo d1ays after- th< Maiue explosion Laine met Diaz who asked him if ho rememnbored the letter and whant its contents wer< about an Ameirican warship. 'Th< American corresp)ond(ent rep)lied tha lhe did, and that lie believed somi one had followed WVeyler's ad1"ice. Laine says that he has since founm ont that Diaz.-informied the e-(ief o police that lhe (Laine) had a c:opy o a letter written by Wvine widc mi ,ht bring trouble to the Spani ih go'ornityont, especially as lie was in At iorican newspaper correspond, .t W was 011 associating with Capti in Si; sboo. Hence his arrest on Mai -h 4t. 'ontinuing his narrutivo, Laiio 10 S: SUDMAIINE MINE11. "I had noticed for several nights mysterious work which was being dono in the fortress. On inquiring from a soldier whom I know what it was,-he informed mo that they were carrying front the magazine of the fortress largo quantities of dynamite, which were being laid in the harbor. ''My invostigations during .my po.-iod of imprisonment wore carried as far as a political prison could do in i Spanish fortress, but it was sn' ficint for mo to ascertain with ce: tai ity that the quantity of dynamile pha 3ed in the harbor in differe t ph 3es was two tons, and that tl o wit -s of the mines were connect :1 wit i the Cabanas Fortress and tI o Cat itania do Puerto, or marine head qu: rters." THi wpyL.pR LETER DONIERD. Hadrid, March 18.-Gon. Woylor v3t ie8 the authenticity of the lotter pul-lished in the New York Journal ye,z,.orday, in which the formor cap taii general of Cuba is alleged to haN a said that the United Statos wo: Id not have dared send a war. shi - to Havana while he was in com ma A there, as "they know the to; rib 3 punishment that awaited them " ad( ing that he had Havana harbor "w. 11 prepared for such omorgency " haN ng "rapidly finished the wo hk tha Mlartitez Campos ciarolessIy abv idoned." I avana, March 18.-Don Fran cisc > do los Santos (uZIman, to whoea We 'ler's alleged letter was said to haN i boon addressed, denies that lie eve received such a letter. Fran cise ) Diaz, the newspaper reporter, wh< is alleged to have given the le ter o a Journal correspondent, d - nio: all knowledge of it. Johnson's Chill and Fever . 0p Cures Fever In One Day. (IIAT BITIAIN BAYSB TIIRE 18 No CAUSE FOil ALARCM. The.' Are suarprisedt That America shii,t (-et Exc'ited Over P'rosp,ects of War With sit Poor a Foo as spain. I ondon, March 21.--The Dail" Mail this -morning, in an editorial refr ting "some of the American aic cua tions of B3ritish coldness," says.: " imong many reasons for Great Bri' inn's comnpar'ative non-intoresi, not the least ts out' better knowledge of thle Spainard's and their paper nuav and our conviction that thte Ant ho-Saxon will always defeat the~ Lat n. Indlood, the trend of British thou ght is toward surprise that the grel test of repuLblics should excite: itse' f unduly about so poor a foe. Thu Americanus should remeimbet thta' while we are full of trust iu thei ' capability to deal with Span.is'i imi: irlinences, we are fully occupio.l witl f<dr gr'eater troules throntone 1 or a stivo in various parts of the wor d. TIhey have our full sym* pat1 y att ai timot whein France, Goe mam y' and Rtuss.ia are backing Spai: as 1 tIly, and almost ,,j openly it tho; are opposing British effor'ts fot tihe 'reedomi or foreign trade through out .hoe world. "Jut there is no occasion no0w tallk of an offensive and1 dofontsive alli; nee. T1he (1isplroport ion bet wee our muissiont nd A mterica's mak<~ OneO i'npjossiblO. Thoro'( will be tiii Ito Il'rOpose this way or re.com,entii. t.he "ace when America is ready1 fact thle sp)lenudid respontsibiliies entails.'" IT IS WIDESPREAD. STATUS (F TIIIC SMALL POX EPAI Stringeut 1oensurce will lavo to be Adopted nt Ple hmm nit Spariasibiurg -It Is Not Chivka1pox. [Colunbia Evelling Record.] Dr. J imes Evans, of Florenco, Secretary of the State Board of Health, and Dr. J. A. Whito, of Pol. hani Mills. are in the city, having come to consult Governor Ellerbo abont the smallpox situation at Pol ham. Dr. White has the epidemic at Pelham well under control, there be. ing only about 20 cases in the town. Noarly everybody in the town who has not had the discaso has boon vac cinated and thore is no danger of a further s:)read there. But out in the country IhIoe opidemicl has full sway, there bei ig about 300 cases in the Polham ioighborhood. After consultation with 1)rs. Evantis at d White, Governor Ellerbo made th ?o appointments. S. T. (roon, A. R. Richardson and Peter Ba ,ot each received a comuis sion app,-inting him "sanitary in spector i.i Spartanburg and Green ville Cou ities in the State of South Carolina it Polhanm Mills and vicinity, under an I by tIle authority of the statute i such case mado and pro vided, to be vosted with all the pow ora and !uties proscribed by law, said app< intment, having be.on made upon th recommendation of te chairmar of the stato board of health, the appo ntment, to continuo in foren until rov, ked." They N ill visit overy houH within a radius f soveral miles of Polhami and niake a careful inspection. Ev. orybody -ho has not been vaccinated will bo v iccinated or compolled tc leave th( State. Thoro cal bo lc temporiz:,1g. If this epidemic is nut crushed mt, it will spread all over the State and inl warm weather may become a imost dangerous type. That h is been the caso in Alabama where th( re wero thousands and thou sands of tow cases, as many as 7( now onom being reported daily. Th< negroes Y ho had the disease, whiell was of a nild type, would walk thc strots when covered with p. itulos and the cisonso was spread far ancl wide. Finding thmselves helploss to stol the progress of the epidemic, th< state health authorities called on th national health authorities to taki ch)argo. Dr. Magruder and some comlpetei assistants went to Alabama and h2 adopting vigorous methods have go tile epidemic under control. Drt. Evains is satisfied tihe elpidemi, in thIs State is smallpox and nol chickonpc x. lie adm its it 1s small pox of a very mild type, but insiste that it is -imallpox just the same. H says chicl:onpox rarely ever attack a child os or five years old. lHe (list aissedl with '1 smile one OX pert's thtory thlat tihe disease wa impjetigo mid not smallpox. He call id attention to the fact tha not a sing~ 10 peron5i inl Soulth Carolin; wvho 11as b)een vaccinaittd has bei attacked -vith tile disonso except on, manl, and1 his vaccinaltionm had1 takot place thlir .y years before, Hie sai< if the dis. aso were chickonpox, vacci nation fol smnllpox would not conido one immt no fromi it, thereforo ti fact that lolbody who hais b)oen vac cinated b .a bad the disease is pr~oo that it is iot chickenpox, but small pox. TIhie on y' other1 laIce inl South Caro lina wile o there is smallpox is Spar tanburg. In a letter D)r. Ryans hai jnst reco vedl from D)r. Blake o Spartanib rg, it is stated thait thor are onhly three cases5 ill t hie it proper, b) .t there are several case amaonIg thi emp)loys of the Arkwrighi anid Iloani noint mills. Then operative in those I I ills refused to ho vaccinat ed, sayin; they wvould rathor hay Thle r il authorit,ies (10 not wis to attemt t to coerce their operativc into boein; vaccinated uniless .L b)0 comes nie !ossaary, for the operativt threaten o leave b)efore they wi submit tr vaccination. Senator Tillman Will Spe(k SIR WILE. TAKE A HANID IN TiOE ':O1 IN() 4TATr VAMPAIGN. o Nayo no WVho Should KIunJj 0 VhS 6t to (Joiag nut in the World of tuto Polit ten lemplie War tailk -The MAy Convention. [The State, 21st.] A man well known in politics ind one who is in a position to know whereof ho speaks, in talking of the outlook for this year's Stato campaign yesterday said that Sonator Tillman had dotormiied to muiko soveral speechus in the Stato during the campaign this your. Of courso they will not bo delivored tt the rogular camIign meetings, butat lolmts to be arranged for lator. Whi asked what would bo the burden of tho speche, the speiiker. said that they would be in defenso of the ditsp-on sary system andul the Itoforim pI rty. It is said that Senator Tillman in tends to take a hand on theso F'nes notwithstanding the fact that, his older brother is expected to at tick both matters reforred to througl out the canvass. The timo is rapidly coming for tho State political pot to begin boil iig, and though the war searo is oc cupying tho attention of the yeon Ian to such an extent, that ho is at )re sont oblivious to polit.ics, the caludi dato will Hoon appoar from the bushes and wake him rudely by yoll ing, "Como on mt, vote for i o." That's the way Staunton puts it, Ind thero's moro truth thanl poetry ir. it.. Tho activo politicians at pre mint (1o not appoar to he, vey much af -aid of any ticket the Prohibitionists amy select oi April 1-1. It is freely mid that an attempt will be mado to (1 raw factional lines as clearly Is can ho (ono. It is taken for grantei hat Governor Ellerho, Mr. Archor md Col. George ). Till1a are goin to stay in the race to thO 0nd, and I( ore is moeh speculation as to whoher Col. I. B. Watson will conitiut a a candidato or not. All interested mtay that the e im - paign will have to 01)1n 'urbor i an usual this year on 1ecoinut of tlle in eroamed nonbor of conmitis, and not a few are in favor of a stait. h( Mg mado about June 1, ill order to give ample timo for the canvass to be complotod Without. too hard a st rainl upon the candiat4es. Tho May convmtion is being look od forward to with miituch cot.ent by the actual and prospoeti ("titdidates. It is to select the new State exeen tive commtittoo anud (10 anything else it deems p)ropoer. It has the power to make changes in the p)artyv const i tution. Some have suggested that the camnipaign schiomo coul ho b changed to one mieeting in oach con gressional district, but1 this has not taken shapoe as yet. The ward1 and1 precinct Democratic clubs all over the State are to nr.cot on the fourth Saturday in next mo1( ith for tho purpose of reorganiizinig anud electing dllgates to the county con vent ions iln the several coutieis vill meet on the first Mondaty in Alay. This convention will elect a county Iexecutive committee andi( delegatos to the State conivenition of the party which meets on the thbird Wednes.'5 d (ay in M . i.LIC MAY COSIM~ANt. P'resiaeunt to Appijnt lunna i 4an of wiar. Washington, March 1 7.-Cor.aul General Leo wvould becomoe Hri gadior General Lee in (lie UJn.ted States volunteer armly in case of var with Spain, accordlinrg to his frie ids hbo wvho know the P'residenit's wa rm personal feelings for himn and his do sire to shlowv it ini every p)ossible o' ay. Conigress last year remiovedl all .lis abi lit ies p)rovont.inrg thle appointna en t of CJon federates. A P'roblemu. - ''A man owed $1 and had but 77' cenits. Hie went to the pawns top andl pawnedi 75 cents for 50) ce its. H le met a friendl and sold him (lhe Spawn ticket calling for 75 cents for 50 cents. lie thus bad two 50 <ent s pieces-SI in fact--with which lhe 1paid his debt. Waus anybody lut, and how much?"