The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 27, 1896, Page 1

bt This Pap \to be taken from | the Library-**** or not | " VOLUME LXXIX._NO. 149. PRICE FIVE CENTS. MOWED DOWN BY MAXIM GUNS. Many Natives Slain in the Engagement Before Buluwayo. ENTRAPPED BY A RUSE. Matabeles Lured On to Death by a Seeming Retreat of the British. ‘WHITES LOSE BUT THREE MEN. Gain Possession of the Surrounding Hills and Then Retire to the Stronghold. LONDON, ExG., April 26,—The Colonial Office has received a dispatch from Sir Hercules Robinson, Governor of Cape Col- ony and British High Commissioner in South Africa, confirming the United Press report of the defeat of the Matabeles on the Umgaza River by a British force from Buluwayo. Governor Rebinson forwarded a dis- patch dated Buluwayo yesterday stating that a sharp engagement had occurred on the Umgaza River, four mules north of Buluwayo. The rebels attacked the Brit- ish in force and both wings were thrown forward for an enveloping movement. The British advance parties retired with a view to inducing the Matabeles to cross the river. The rebels believed that the British were retreating and attempted to follow them, When they were within 300 yards of the right wing of the British, fire was opened upon them with Maxim guns and at the same time the right flank advanced upon hem and drove them over the river. The same tactics were followed by the leit flank. The rebels later made another sattack, but were again repulsed. The British then advanced and inflicted heavy loss on the rebels in the hills on the opposite ie of the river. The British, after gain- g complete possession of the field, re- i to Buluwayo. Their loss was only three killed and six woundeéd. KRUGEL S e DIPLOMACY. His Reply to Chamberiain a Defiance to England. LONDON, Exa., April 26.—The Times will to-morrow publish a dispatch from Pretoria, which says that President Kru- ger’s reply, declining to visit England to discuss Transvaal matters, is a diplomatic masterpiece. It declares that the Trans- vaal Government will not discuss reforms with the British Government, on the ind that Great Britain admittedly can- interfere with the internal administra- tion of the republic. Nevertheless, pri- suggestions from the British Gov- ernment will always be considered. The President adds that if the revision of the convention of 1884 and the super- seding thereof by a treaty of amity and commeree containing a “most favored nation” clause cannot be discussed unless the alleged grievances of the Ujtlanders are also discussed, the Transvaal would prefer to leave matters as they are, and to merely demand the payment of an indem- nity for Dr. Jameson'sraid. Heintimates that Great Britain can facilitate his going to London by accepting the basis of dis- cussion he has already proposed. The President frankly admits that the Transvaal administration is capable of im- provement and that the Government is not always right. He concludes by laying stress on the patience and forbearance that have been displayed by both sides, and expressing the hope that wounded feelings will be healed and friendly rela- tions restored. A dispatch from Berlin says it is re- ported Emperor William is extremely ir- ritated by the speech made by Colonial Secretary Chamberlain at the Constitu- tional Club on Wednesday night last, in which be said Great Britain must be para- mount in South Africa and not allow any foreien intervention. - His Majesty, it is said, has instructed Count von Hatzfeldt, the German Embassador, to secure from Lord Salisbury a declaration of neutrality in connection with the Transvaal and Delagoa Bay. - T BOERS ARE LENIENT, Traitors to Escape With the Payment of Nominal Fines. LONDON, Exa., April 2.—The Tele- graph will to-morrow publish a dispatch from Pretoria, saying it is revorted the arrangement under which certain of the members of the Johannesburg Reform Committee pleaded guity of treason and others of lese majeste toward the State, vrovides for the infliction of a nominal fine on sixty odd members of the commit- tee. The five leaders will be accorded severer treatment, but their punishment will not exceed a heavy fine and a short term of imprisonment. G Menelik Sends Ie-enforcements. ROME, Itavy, April 26.—It is reported here that King Menelik. foreseeing an Italan attack, has sent re-enforcements to the Ras of Tigre. e ——— VIENNA’S BUKGOMASTER. Thrice Elected, but Not Persmitted to As- sume the Office. LONDON, Exc., April 26,.—The Vienna correspondent of the Times telegraphs that Emperor Francis Joseph will kave an interview to-morrow with Dr. Leuger, the anti-Semite leader who was recently for the third time elected Burzomaster of Vienna, despite the Government’s oppo- sition to him and its refusal tc confirm his elections. The Emperor, it is said, will undoubtedly agree 10 ratity the election of a prominent follower of Dr. Leuger to the Burgomastership and the administration of the city will pass into the hands of the Clerical Reactionary party. e Osman Digna to Retreat. SUAKIM, ABYSSINIA, April 26.—It is re- ported that the Dervishes under Osman Digna, who are at Horasab, are suffering greatly for want of food. Arab passengers assert that it is the intention of Osman Digna to retreat to Adarama. R s KNAPP RELEASED. Turks at Iskanderoon, Threatened by an American Cruiser, Set the Missionary Free. CONSTANTINOPLE, Turkey, April 26.—John W. Riddle, American Charge d’Affaires, received advices Friday morn- ing from Iskanderoon that the Turkish authorities refused to deliver Rey. George Knapp, the American missionary who was recently expelled from Bitlis on charges of sedition, and who was to come to this city for trial, and were determined to send him away from the country on the Euro- pean steamer that sailed from Iskanderoon Friday evening. Mr. Riddle informed S8ir Philip Currie, the British Embassador, and M. Cambon, the French Embassador, of the situation and went to the Porte, where he showed the written promise of Tewfik Pasha, the Foreign Minister, to deliver Mr. Knapp to the American legation for trial. He ad- vised Tewfik Pasba that it would be better for him to keep this promise, and at the same time telegraphed to the American Consular agents at Iskanderoon and Mer- sine to call for an American cruiser it it should be necessary to secure the delivery of Mr. Knapp. These open telegrams frightened the authorities, and on Satur- day Mr. Riddle received dispatches stating that Mr. Knapp had been released. LONDON, Exc., April 26.—The Daily News will to-morrow publish a dispatch from Constantinople saying that 200 lead- ing Armenians have been arrested at Moosh on the pretext that they were im- plicated in the murder of a Kurd, which occurred in 1894. The dispatch adds that the embassies fear a renewal of the mas- sacres at Sassoun. THE SULTA A SICK MAN, Said to Be Suffering From an Acute Chronic Disease. CONSTANTINOPLE, TurkEy, April 26. —Several rumors are afloat concerning the health of the Sultan. 1t is said there has been asudden and acute development of achronic disease. The Times discredits the reports, but says the Sultan is liable to paroxysms of nervous irritability, which brain fatigue aggravates. g Victoria Growing Feeble. LONDON, Exc., April 26.—Despite” the official reports from Nice that the Queen is enjoying her usual health the highest social circle hears that her feebleness has so increased that she will be unable to carry out her intention to hold a drawing- room in May. The Queen will not appear at any ceremonial function during the | present season. o Bt s Labor Candidate Beats a Prime Minister. ADELAIDE, AusTRALIA, April 26.—In the elections in South Australia for mem- bers of the Colonial Legislatute, Batchelor, a labor candidate, defeated the Hon. C. C. Kingston, the Prime Minister. The vote stood: Batchelor 1773, Kingston 1767, rEEL S Spain’s Increasing Troubles. MADRID, Sparx, April 26.—The Govern- ment is devising relief measures that are necessitated by serious agricultural dis- tress arising irom a drought, which has affected all the crops, injured livestock and enhanced the price of bread. et Political Intolerance in Italy. ROME, Iravny, April 26.—The Repub- lican party has decided to hoid a fete on May 1, Labor day, and the Sccialists have summoned conferences on that day, but the Government has forbidden the hold- ing of meetings or parades. il i Ex-Prime Minister Dies at Suydney. SYDNEY, N. 8.W., April 26.—Sir Henry Parker, formerly Prime Minister of this colony, died here this morning of bron- chitis and inflammation of the lungs, He was born in Warwickshire, Eng., in 1815. S0 AR Baron de Hirsch’s Funeral. PARIS, FRANCE, April 26.—The remains of Maurice Baron de Hirsch, the noted Jewish financier and philanthropist, will be interred at Montmartre Cemetery to- morrow. SR W Yamagata at Paris. PARIS, France, April 26.—Field Mar- shal Yamagatia, who 1s en route to Mos- cow, where he will represent the Japanese Government at the coronation ceremonies of the Czar, arrived in this city to-day. —_— FRENCH CABINET CRISIS Sarrien, After Persistént Effort, Is Unable to Form a Ministry. The Radicals Are Irreconcilable—Ru- mors That President Faure ‘Will Resign. PARIS, FrancE, April 26.—M. Sarrien, who was requested by President Faure to form a Cabiret, held a consultation with Mm. Goblet, Gerville, Dujardin, Henr, Ricard and Brisson this morning. At noon it was announced that M. Sar- rien bad requested President Faure to allow kim to defer his reply until 5 o’clock this evening. Later it was stated that M., Sarrien had informed the President that he was unable to form a conciliation Cabi- net. M. Faure pressed him to continue negotiations, but M. Sarrien replied that he was convinced he could not succeed. Nobody else has been summoned to the Elysee. It is believed that a Radical Cabi- net, with M. Goblet at its heaa, is inevita- ble, or that M. Constans or M. Dupuy will be called upon to form a Ministry and the Chambers be dissolved. It is again rumored that President Faure meditates resigning. —_— AFTEE BIG GAME. A Demented Woman’s Hunt for the Gov- ernor of Wyoming. CHEYENNE, Wryo., April 25 — Mrs, Henrietta George, an elderly German woman lhiving near Laramie, was found yesterday in a demented condition, having started to walk barefooted and scantily clad to Cheyenne. She had a revolver and declared sue was going to kill Governor Richards, who, she said, had defrauded her out of her lease on a section of school land. Mrs. George was taken in charge by the county authorities and placed in jail for safe keeping. It was announced b the Governor that the matter of the lease would probably be reopened. 3 LYNCHING OF TWO BROTHERS, Dragged From a Tennessee | Jail at Midnight by Masked Men. NOT WITHOUT A BATTLE One of the Victims Fought Des- perately, Knocking Three Men Senseless. THE OTHER FELL IN A SWOON. Carried Off in Their Night-Clothes and Without Ceremony Hanged to a Tree. CHATTANOOGA, T , April 2.—Be- tween midnight and 1 o’clock this morn- | ing a mob of fifteen masked men rode quietly into the town of McMinnville, in Warren County, and proceeding straight to the jail entered the jailer’s bedroom be- fore he was aware of their appearance, The jailer seeing that resistance was use- less endeavored to gain time by reasoning with the leaders, hoping assistance might come. The mob, however, became impa- tient, ana forcibly taking the keys entered the railwards and took therefrom Victor and Wilham M. Hillis, brothers, awaiting | a new trial, charged with the murder of Carroll Martin, in Van Buren County, nearly two years ago. The moment the mob entered the cel! where the Hillises were confined, Victor, the elder, snatched up a bed slat and knocked three of them senseless, one after the other, before he was overpowered. The younger brother, William, uttered a piercing shriek and fell on the floor in a swoon. Without giving the boys time to don their clothes the masked men dragged them from the building, and mounting their horses rode quickly and silently out of town to a point five miles distant, where, with a few preliminaries, they hanged them to a tree. The victims of the tragedy were sons of Squire Lawson Hillis, one of the most highly esteemed residents of Van Buren County and for years a leading member of the County Court. The crime for which the Hillis brothers were Iynched was committed in 1894, Car- roll Martin, an aged citizen, who lived in the mountains of Van Buren County, and who was supposed to have $1000 in his house, was attacked one evening in August of that year about twilight by two men with their faces masked. The old man was shot to death, and his daughter, who struck one'of the men on the arm with an ax, was shot in the leg, The men finally left without finding their booty, the money having been thrown from the window into the grass by Miss Martin. The Hillis boys were suspected on ac- count of certain injudicious remarksin regard to the crime. They were tried, found guilty and sentenced to be hanged, but appeals, new trials and a change of venue to Warren County prevented their execution. SALOON MEN CAMPING 0OUT. Resorts Closed and Their Keepers Dodg- ing a Special Grand Jury. : FORT SCOTT, Kaxs., April 26.—At mid- night last night every saloon in this city was clcsed and there was an exodus of saloon-keepers and bar-tenders to Mis- souri on account of the special Grand Jury called for to-morrow to inquire into the violations of the prohibitory law. About twenty of them went into camp in Vernon +| County, Mo., and will remain there hunte. ing and fishing until the jury is dis- S‘ate Temperance Society had the special 1and the saloon men have named their camp after him in derision. They have organized under military rules and appointed one of their number cor- respondent for the local papers to furnish daily zeports of the camp. REDS ON THE WARPATH. 1 | E charged. Attorney W. B. Webster for the { | | jury summone Three Families Massacred by Indians in the Huachingo Valley, Mexico. 8T. LOUIS, Mo., April 26.—A special from Oaxaca, Mex., says a number of | roaming bands of Indians in the Hua- chingo Valley, in the western part of the State of Chiapus, have made attacks upon the settlers of that section, and many murders and high-handed outrages by them have occurred. families were murdered and their bodies Jterrib]y mutilated. These Indians have | beretofore been peaceful and the cause of “ the outbreak is not known. | ———— | HOLMYES' LAWYER TALKS. Still Hopes to Convince the Governor That He Is Insane. PHILADELPHIA, Pa., April 26— Henry W. Bullock, the lndianapolis at- torney of H. E. Holmes, the convicted murderer of Benjamin Pietzel, arrived here to-day. Asked about his connection with the case hesaid: “In December last Holmes wrote me that he had never been able to gather any evidence in his own behalf outside of | Philadelphia, that his letters to the West | had fallen by the way and that he wanted to gather some facts at Indianapolis, De- troit and Chicago. My attorney here, Mr. McCaffery, called on him frequently and received the proper data, and we have suc- ceeded in securing considerable evidence regerding his movements during the last | three years. Wecan locate him in Indian- apolis almost to an hour ana trace him and the Pietzel boys’ movements while there.” It is possible an effort will be made to convinze the Governor of the probability of Holmes’ insanity. A HUSBAND'S VENGEANCE Shoots the Man Who Robbed Him of Wife and House- hold Effects. Long Pursuit of the Fugitives, Ending in an Altercation and Bloodshed. 8T. PAUL, Mi~x., April 26—A man giving the name of G. H. Robinson stepped off the eastbound train last even- ing at Maple, Wis., and asked to be di- rected to the house of one George Butler, a homesteader, living close by. Robinson has been at Cripple Creek, Colo., for the past three months. On his return to West Superior he found his home de- serted, his wife and furniture gone. In his wife’s trunk he discovered letters convincing him of a liaisen between his wife and Butler. He traced his wife to Duluth and found Butler had stored away the household effects in his name. He came to Maple to find Butler and the whereabouts of the household effects. Butler was met on the road carrying an ax, and an altercation .ensued, during which Butler attacked Robinson, and Robinson in self-defense fired four shots at Butler. He then returned to Maple and surrendered himself to the officers. No trace of Butler can be found. Parties have been scouring the woods, but as yet have not found him. It is believed Butler lies mortally wounded and' is being taken care of by friends who refuse to disclose his whereabouts. s AR T Death Ends a Feud. CARTERVILLE, IrL., April 26.—F. F. Robinson was shot twice and killed last ‘year. Robinson charged Slagle with breaking up his home. The killing was done in self-defense. Rl ok In one place three | night by F. A. Slagle. The two had car- ried pistols and been ready to shoot for a: CORPSES LINE A CYCLONE'S PATH, Northwestern Iowa Swept by a Death-Dealing Twister. LEAVES RUIN BEHIND. Houses Are Demolished and the Inmates Buried Under the Wreckage. MANY KILLED AND INJURED. Hapless Victims Pinned Down by Heavy Timbers Lie for Hours Before Rescued. CLAY CENTER, Kass, April 26.—A cyclone of tremendous force sped through Clay County late last night, dealing death and destruction on every hand. As far as known twelve people were killed, nine fatally injured and forty more or less hurt. The knowndead are: Frank Peter- son, Mrs. Frank Peterson, a child of the Petersons, Mrs. Ole Naverson, Eli Belt- hazer, Mrs. Eli Belthazer, Julia Trim- bly, J. S. Hazen, and a grandchila of Peter Anderson. A full list of the injured is unobtainable as the doctors have not returned from the scene of the disas- ter. 1t is known, however, that every member of the families of Jobn Morris, F. ‘Welkin, Peter Anderson and Henry Gard- ner was hurt, and three of them have in- juriés said to be fatal. A large number of horses and cattle were killed and the dam- age to farm property is immense. 'he cyclone started about six miles south of Clifton and went in a north- easterly direction for twelve or fifteen miles and then lost its force by spreading. It passed about half-way between Clifton and Morganville. Its track varied from 150 yards to a quarter of a mile in width. Houses and barns were wrecked, trees torn up or broken, fences leveled and hay- stacks blown in every direction. The cyclone was followed by a terrific rain- storm which lasted several hours, flooding the devastated district. There had been indications of a heavy rain all day, with local showers, but no- body expecied a storm. As far as learned the victims of the cyclone were in their houses and most of them had retired. The storm struck Peter Anderson’s home at 9:30 o’clock. *This was about a mile from the starting point. The house was de- molished in an instant. Every member of the Anderson family was injured. When they had extricated themselves from the debris they discov- ered that Anderson’s grandchild was miss- ing. The body of the child was found this morning in a ravine a half-mile away. Anderson alarmed the neighbors who lived out of the track of the storm, and search was commenced for victims, but little headway was made in the rain. Couriers were sent to Clifton and Morgan- ville for doctors, but it was daylight be- fore they arrived. Many of the injured lay all night pinned down by wreckage, while others crawled or hobbled across the country to neighboring houses. In sev- eral instances people were lifted into the air by the cyclone and carried for a dis- tance and then suddenly dropped. 1+Buildings also were lifted up and hurled to the ground with terriffic force. The wife and daughter of John Morris were reading when the shock came. The house was destroyed. The women man- aged to get out, when the wind picked them up, carried them 200 yards and let them down on a pile of straw. The people for miles around to-dey gath- ered at the different points where damage had been done and rendered assistance in every way possible. The track of the storm resembled a piece of ground leveled by a roller. It is believed much damage was done in the vicinity of Palmer, Wash- ington County, but the details cannot be learned. It is impossible at this time to estimate the damage to buildings and other prop- erty. S G T RAIN, WIND AND HAIL. Crops in a Section of Florida Destroyed by a Storm. . DADE CITY, Fra., April 26.—A heavy rain, wind and hail storm passed through here this afternoon. Great damage is re- ported by melon - growers and farmers north and east of this place. The Brown Bros. report their watermelon crop totally ruined. H. Griffin’s melon crop, corn and other crops were ruined or damaged. The residence of A. T. Hamilton, two miles east, was lifted from its foundation. Hamilton’s daughter was injured, but not seriously. The heavy rain breaks the drouth of six weeks. Hailstones filled a ditch six inches deep. H. H. Brown reports hail- stones three inches deep on a level in his melon patch. The greatest damage is re- ported in a strip two miles wide, running from northeast to southeast. Later re- ports show that the crop of Major C. L. Lewis, two miles northeast of town, is com- pletely destroyed. PANIC NARROWLY AVERTED. Fire alarms Greatly FExcite Talmage's ZLarge Congregation. WASHINGTON, D. C., April 26.—A second alarm of fire was turned in to-night on account of what at first seemed to be an extensive contlagration in the Equitable building, opposite the First Congrega- tionat Church, where Dr. Talmage was preaching to a large congregation. It ap- pears that the occuvant of one of the rooms in the Equitable building attempted to burn in an open fireplace a quantity of old papers. and these flaming up in an in- stant made an illumination that for a while caused much alarm in the vicinity. The great glare of the light and the rush- ing of the engine to the scene nearly caused a panic in the church. The alarm was only momentary, however. The fire did no other damage, and it was not nec- essary to get the encines into operation. Lk > QR HURLED FROM THE RAILS. Passenger Train Wrecked by an Obstruc- tion on the Track. FREDONIA, Kaxs, April 26. — The Frisco passenger train from St. Louis, due here at 1:44 o’clock yesterday morning, was wrecked three miles east of here by an obstruction rolling down the embank- ment of Fall River and lodging on the track at & point where the road makes a sharp curve. The whole train except the sleeper was derailed. The engine and tender lay fifteen feet from the track, turned over and badly wrecked. Engineer Callender reversed his engine and re- mained at Lis post until the engine was about to turn over, when with Fireman Poe ‘he jumped, both receiving painful injuries. ciles MOB VIOLENCE FEARED. Strong Guard Over a Man Charged With Double Murder. LA PLATA, Mb., April 26.—Joseph Cocking, husband of Mrs. Fanny Cocking and brother-in-law of Miss Daisy Miller, who were murdered in their home at Hill- top Thursday night, was arrested this afternoon after a jury of inquest rendered a verdict charging him with the double murder. Cocking is locked up to-night in a room of Smoot’s Hotel in this place. With_him is a strong guard of deputy sheriffs. To-morrow he will be removed to Baltimore, as the authorities here fear mob violence. SASE b Sy Judge Maguire and the Single Tax. WILMINGTON, Der., April 26.—Hon. J. G. Maguire of San Francisco closed the winter season of addresses on single tax at the Grand Opera-house here to-night. The audience was large and the enthn- siasm intense. ' Judge Maguire will come to Delaware again in June and will make 4n extensive tour of the State. —— e Zwo Rrothers Burned to Death. DELTA, Oxio, April 26.—Two sons of A. S. Marchand, clerk of the town, were burned to death early this morning, The family residence caught fire and all the gcc\xpants were rescued except the two 0ys. ’ A e AT Man and Wife Perish in Flames. MIDDLETOWN, N. Y., April 26.—The house of Bernard Cullen, near Chester, was burned to_the ground this morning and Cullen and his wife perished in the flames. THITY DODMED T0 Ol Men Eatombed in the Santa Eulalia Mines Cannot Be Reached. Ten Bodies Have Be:n Recovered and Seven of the Rescued Are Dying. EL PASO, Tex., April 26.—The latest news of the catastrophe at the Santa Eula- lia mines, Chihuahua, Mex., Thursday night is to the effect’ that eighty-five men were working in the mines Thursday when it caved in, buryingalivesixty-seven of the men, all of whom were Mexicans. Recently contracts were let to a number of Mexican miners and laborers to take ore from the old workings at so much per ton. In their eagerness to secure large quantities of ore with the least labor, these contractors began tearing down the ore pillars which supported the roof of the mine. They also cut away masses of ore that had been left between the chambers. Thus weakened the ground began to give way at 2 o'clock in the morning and almost in- stantly sixty-seven of the men at work underground were cut off from escape. Governor Ahumada is on the ground with a large force of men working to re- cover the buried miners. Thirty-seven men have been recovered, ten dead, seven dying and iwenty fatally hurt. At last ac- counts there were thirty men still in the ruine with no hope of recovering them alive. A A Death of a Noted Delaware Jurist. WILMINGTON, DL, April 26.—Hon. John W. Houston, who was an Associate Judge of the courts of this State from 1855 until 1893, when he was retired on a pen- sion owing to disabilities incident to old age, died to-night at his home in George- town. He was born in 1814, CUBK LIERES STIR 5 RIS J. Frank Clark Sees the Shackles About to Break. CANNOT BE CONQUERED. Twenty-Five Thousand Soldiers of Spain Have Fallen in the Struggle. PATRIOTS GAINING STRENGTH, Tiue Situation on the Island as Described by a Returned Correspondent. NEW YORK, N. Y., April 26.—Some light is thrown upon the actual situation in Cuba to-day by the following interview with J. Frank Clark, staff correspondent of The United Press, who has just arrived from Havana. Mr. Clark said: ‘“These conclusions force themselves upon me as the result of five months’ ob- servation of the progress of the revolution in Cuba. The insurgents are making a re- markably good fight. Spain has demon- strated her inability to put them down. The end is not in sight, but Cuba is surely slipping away from Spain, and unless some new element is introduced theisland will be lost to the mother country. Mean- while atrocities are being committed and methods of warfare are being followed which are not countenancea by civilized nations. “I have made two tripsto Cuba. The first was at the beginning of April, 1895, when the insurrection was in its infancy. I remained two months, sailing-to the States in June. Early in January I went back to Cuba, finding that Gomez and Ma- ceo, whom I left in the mountains of the eastern district, had marched 600 miles, carrying the wave of revolution westward, and were then almost at the gates of the capital city. When I left Havana a week ago the insurrection was larger, more formidable and apparently more promis ing of success than at any time in the fourteen months since the Cubans rose against Spain. I went to Cuba not as the representa- tive of any one newspaper with an edi- torial opinion of its owr, but as the cor- respondent of the United Press, an asso- ciation whose sole mission is to obtain facts and disseminate news. “‘In the early part of the struggle, be- fore the insurgents had made much progress, my reports were criticized by Cubans as unfair to th Now that they have swept over the island, pushing the troops of Spain befors them and making a record that will live in history, Spaniards say that my reports are unfair to Spain. In both cases I have told the truth. ‘‘Before the arrival of General Weyler correspondents were permitied to accom- pany Spanish columns, and in the early stages of the war Spanish generals even permitted correspondents to visit the enemy’s camps. Since the enemy has grown from scattered bands to organized and fairly well-armed and drilled columns it is a matter of life and death for a cor- respondent to penetrate the rebel lines. He would be welcomed by the insurgents but shot upon his return to Spanish camps. I have had experience with four Captain-Generals—Calleja, Campos, Marin and Weyler. The last is the only one of them who made the life of a war corre- spondent burdensome. “Suave and courteous in his talk, pro- fuse in efforts to aid correspondents in sifting truth from error, polite in his re- ception of all Americans, yet he has a way of impressing upon a correspondent, with- out putting it into words, that it would conduce to his personal safety to report nothing but Spanish official news. As they fail to mention a single insurgent success from the beginning, and give out a record of Spanish victories which exist on paper only, the correspondent who ac- cepted them at face value beguiles his readers. +If Spain were winning battles, why not permit accredited correspondents to ac- company columns of troops and report from personal observations? If battlesare fought whenever announced officially, why are correspondents refused a safe-conduct pass to enable them to visit the battlefield when all is over? If the affair at Guatao was a battle and not a butchery, why were two correspondents thrown into Moro Castle, charged with having visited the place, which is only twelve miles from Havana? *‘The Spanish correspondents of Madrid papers, the Spanish reporters of Havana papers, all subject to the press censure, and the American correspondents, are penned up in Havana, and every effort is made to keep the world in darkness as to what is being done in Cuba. Every re- liable dispatch is carefully edited before it can be transmitted. Everything unfavor- able to Spain or favorable to the Cuban cause is eliminated. The mails are searched to prevent newspaper corre- spondence being sent off. But with all these precautions the truth cannot be sup- pressed, and every Wednesday and Satur- day the papers of the United States arrive in Havana, and long accounts of rebel vie- tories and Spanish bratalities, which are true, are read by the English-speaking residents and translated for the benefit of Spaniards. “The situation in Cuba is not difficult to gauge—Spain has sent 140,000 regulars and 60,000 volunteers iiave been raised in the cities of the island. Thelatter are used almost entirely for home defeuse. Of the regulars, approximately 25,000 have suc- cumbed to bullets and disease during the year, 15,000 are in the hospitals or have been relieved from duty and about 100,000 are available for active operations. These figures are estimates made by an army sur- geon and are very near the truth. The Spanish official loss of 3800 men from all causes during the year is too absurd to be considered. Fully half of the regularg