Part 2

The condition of the reconcentrados is terrible. You will remember that General Weyler issued a decree that the farmers with their families, and the people who lived out in the country, should leave their homes and come into the towns. This was done because it was believed that these people were supplying the insurgents with food and aiding them in other ways. Of course, when these poor people were herded together in and around the cities and towns, a great many of them had no possible way of making a living. Starvation has resulted, and thousands of these reconcentrados, as they are called, are dying. It is estimated that there are very nearly 300,000 of them, and what food and clothing they need must be given to them. The Spaniards, as can be imagined, have not been very charitably disposed toward these poor people, and the United States has generously come to the rescue. Tons of food and clothing have already been sent to the island, and almost every day we read of some vessel starting for Cuba with supplies for these unfortunate people.

The United States Government has deemed the matter important enough to despatch two gunboats, the _Montgomery_ and _Nashville_, with provisions to Matanzas and Sagua la Grande, Cuba.

The supplies have been sent to Key West, to be forwarded from there in the vessels selected.

Spain, through her representative at Washington, Señor du Bosc, objected to the use of war-vessels for this purpose, and it was at first decided to send the supplies in the despatch-boat _Fern_, in many respects better fitted for such a purpose. Finally, however, orders were sent to Key West to carry out the original plan.

That Spain objects to the visits of our war-ships to these Cuban ports may lead to further complications, for with equal reason she can exclude our ships from Havana harbor, and this would prevent us from protecting our own citizens who are in Havana.

The fact that relief expeditions are sent by us is in itself an acknowledgment on our part that we either do not consider Spain able to care for these poor people, or that we think that she wilfully refuses to do so. Spain could settle the question at once by properly providing for them. This, however, she has not attempted to do.

* * * * *

March 7th a bill was introduced by Chairman Cannon, of the Appropriations Committee, entitled, "Making Appropriations for the National Defence."

It was as follows: "That there is hereby appropriated out of any money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated for the national defence, and for each and every purpose connected therewith, to be expended at the discretion of the President, and to remain available until June 30, 1899, fifty million dollars."

This bill, it was reported, was the outcome of a conference held at the White House. The situation was considered so serious that it was necessary that an immense appropriation should be made for national defence.

* * * * *

Talk of the United States buying Cuba has revived during the last week. The Spaniards seem to think better of this than they did some months ago, and it is reported that one paper in Madrid has come out in favor of selling the island to this country.

It is a question whether it would be wise for this country to buy Cuba. It would involve the expenditure of $300,000,000 or $400,000,000; and, again, the people who live on the island might not be a desirable addition to the voting population of the United States. Spain has misunderstood this country in regard to the purpose of our proposed intervention in Cuba. She believes that we would intervene in order to obtain possession of the island. The truth is, that the only reason for our stopping the war would be for the sake of mercy, for the war that is going on in Cuba is uncivilized and horrible.

About twenty-five hundred men have been sent to Cuba recently as reinforcements to the Spanish army, and Spain is putting forth the greatest efforts to stop the revolution before the rainy season sets in. Five torpedo-boats are to be towed from Madrid to Havana. It will be unfortunate for Spain if she has no better luck towing these boats than she had with her immense dry-dock, which we told you about several weeks ago.

* * * * *

The _Vizcaya_, which left New York on February 25th, arrived in Havana safely. The _Almirante Oquendo_, a sister ship of the _Vizcaya_, has also reached Havana.

The _Oquendo_ is a very powerful vessel, 340 feet long, 65 feet wide, and can steam 20 knots an hour. She is said to have cost $3,000,000. She left the Canary Islands on February 15th, the day the _Maine_ blew up.

The men on board, of course, had not heard of the catastrophe, and when they saw the wreck they could not imagine what it meant. With these vessels and the _Alphonso XII._ in Havana harbor, it is said the war fever has attacked the city, and the Spaniards there are anxious to fight the United States.

* * * * *

Conflicting reports have reached us as to whether Spain has bought war-ships in England or not during the last week. It is, however, reported on good authority that Spain has negotiated a large loan in London; the amount is not known. Several vessels have been in course of construction for Brazil and Chile, and now that they are almost completed, it is said that the Spanish Government, by agreeing to pay immense sums, is attempting to secure them. It does not seem likely that Chile would give up a battle-ship just now, as the relations between that country and the Argentine Republic are very strained. There is no doubt, however, but that Spain is increasing the efficiency of her navy, which is beginning to assume very formidable proportions.

The United States is also busy putting the older ships in good order, and rushing the work on those being constructed. The Government, it is reported, has the details of construction of many boats now building on the other side. One report was that the United States had an option on every ship being built in Europe, except, of course, vessels being built for Spain. This report, however, has not been confirmed. For the United States to have the option on a ship means that no other nation will be allowed to buy that ship unless the United States decides that she does not wish to have it herself.

The Spaniards are disturbed at the news of an American squadron at Hongkong, on the coast of China. If you will look on your map, you will find that the Philippine Islands are not very far from Hongkong. These islands belong to Spain, and in the event of a war between the United States and Spain, great damage could be done by this fleet.

* * * * *

The monitor _Terror_ has arrived in New York harbor from Hampton Roads. This boat is 249 feet long, 56 feet wide, and can steam 12 knots an hour. The _Puritan_ and _Miantonomoh_ are two boats in the same class as the _Terror_, and for harbor defence they are unsurpassed. Very little surface is exposed to the fire of the enemy, as they are very low in the water; so low, that often, when in a sea-way, the waves wash over everything but the smoke-stacks and the turrets, so you can see how very difficult it is to do any damage to these formidable boats. They are all provided with rams. A ram is a very heavily reinforced projecting bow. Many war-vessels are built this way, so that they may run down and sink their antagonists in time of war. You will remember that the famous Confederate ram _Merrimac_ employed this mode of attack as a last resort, in her famous fight with the _Monitor_ during the Civil War. She was not successful, for she did not strike the _Monitor_ squarely. With their immense weight these monitors could pierce with their rams the armor of almost any ship and sink it.

* * * * *

On Wednesday, February 23d, M. Zola was found guilty of publishing a letter criticising the Government for its conduct in the Esterhazy court-martial and declaring the innocence of Albert Dreyfus. This letter was published in the Paris _Aurore_, whose editor is M. Perreux. M. Zola was sentenced to one year's imprisonment, and was also fined 3,000 francs, or about $600. As we told you in our last number, M. Perreux was condemned to serve four months in prison and pay 4,000 francs. In summing up--that is, in making his final address to the court--M. Labori, counsel of M. Zola, made touching references to the unhappiness of the Dreyfus family, the courage of the wife of the prisoner, and the letter from the disgraced man in September, 1897, protesting his innocence. The remarks made a great sensation in the court-room, many people weeping.

The jury was out but a very short time, and returned with the sentence as stated above, which is the maximum penalty for the crime for which Zola was arrested. Civilized nations feel very sorry for France, for she has lowered herself in the eyes of the world. It is almost universally believed that Zola proved his charges, and outside of France Dreyfus is believed to be innocent.

It would seem that the French Government is bound to uphold the decision of the court-martial at any cost, so as not to be compelled to recall Dreyfus and have a new trial. It is deemed necessary to suppress the Dreyfus agitation.

Four newspapers in Paris, including the _Aurore_, have been notified that unless they cease their attacks they will be prosecuted by the Government. Many correspondents have been warned to write in different vein about the case. Colonel Picquart, as we told you last week, has been obliged to leave the army, and the Government has dismissed M. Le Blois, Perreux's counsel, and one of Zola's witnesses, who was a deputy mayor in Paris.

We think you would like to hear something about Devil's Island, the place where Albert Dreyfus is confined. This island is one of a group, twenty-seven miles northwest of Cayenne in French Guiana. Get your map of South America, and you will be able to put your finger on the spot. In 1852 the French Government established a penal colony on these islands. A penal colony is one formed of convicts sent out from the mother country. Many of these colonies have proved successful, particularly the ones where the prisoners are allowed to work and build up their own homes for themselves. Australia was settled in this way, and it has developed wonderfully.

From reports, Dreyfus is having a very hard time on Devil's Island. He is not allowed to speak to any one, and lives in absolute solitude. It is said that his hair has turned grey, and his confinement in other ways is aging him rapidly. He is allowed to write, but his letters simply declare his innocence over and over again. It was rumored some time ago that Dreyfus had escaped, and since then the French Government has ordered the officials of the convict settlement to telegraph every day to Paris the fact that the prisoner is safely under guard.

Political prisoners are usually allowed to have their wives with them, but, although Mme. Dreyfus has made strong efforts, France will not allow her to be with her husband.

There is a man living in Rome who is said to have been imprisoned on Devil's Island for several years. His name is Gen. Paolo Tibaldi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on the island for conspiring against Napoleon III. He says that when he was there the island was a bare rock without a tree or a blade of grass, and the heat of the sun was terrible. The provisions supplied daily by the Government were a pound and a half of the worst kind of bread, for each convict, a piece of old meat or salt fat, beans or rice, a little oil, and also a kind of spirits called tafla. The general claims that the treatment to which the captives were subjected was most severe. They were chained by the keepers, fed on bread and water for months, and beaten with ropes. Five thousand dollars was raised in France to rescue General Tibaldi, but that only made matters worse, and he suffered added torments. Finally, public opinion in France combined with the press in his behalf, and the General was freed.

* * * * *

The trouble in West Africa promises to become such an important item of current history that it might be well to look into it more deeply, and try and get a clear idea of the difficulty.

France undoubtedly wishes to have dominion over the countries lying between her western and eastern possessions in Africa. On the west coast she owns the Senegal River and the town of St. Louis. The Central Soudan also belongs to France, and on the east coast, opposite Aden, the two towns of Obok and Tanjurrah fly the French flag. The problem has been to acquire the lands intervening, so as to make one unbroken line. You can see what an advantage this would be; for, with the Nile on one side and the Niger on the other, it would be comparatively easy to ship valuable products from the interior to the markets of the world.

Since 1880, France has spent great sums of money in trying to bridge over the space lying between her possessions, and step by step her empire has pushed its way from the Senegal to the Niger.

England had been confined to the coast. She owned Sierra Leone, the Gambia Settlements, the Colony of Lagos, and the Niger Protectorate. The Royal Niger Company owned the hinterland of Lagos, which means the country back of Lagos, and this is the only hinterland that England did own. France, owning the country back of the English Colonies, effectually checks their development.

Until 1890 there was a dispute between England and France about their West African possessions. In 1890 there was a difficulty about territory on the Lower Niger, and this was settled for a little while by a treaty which marked out the British "spheres of influence" by a line drawn from Say on the Niger to Lake Chad. Say is directly west of Sokoto, and you can easily find Lake Chad on your map, for it is a very large lake. To the south, the British were supposed to control "all that properly belongs to the kingdom of Sokoto."

If France has invaded this kingdom they have broken the treaty, and they are in the wrong.

On the other bank of the Niger, England, through the Royal Niger Company, has made treaties with the native chiefs, and thus gained a good foothold.

In 1893, France conquered and annexed Dahomey, which is on the coast; but England controlled the hinterland of Dahomey through the treaties her company had made with the chiefs. France chose to set aside these treaties, and said that, having been made with savages, they were not valid. During the last three years she has sent out expeditious from St. Louis and Dahomey, and gained a great deal of territory which England believes _she_ ought to control.

So that is the way the matter is at present. France has the possession of countries for which England can show her treaties.

For the benefit of commerce, it would be well that victory should lie with England, for she would open the country to the commerce of the world, while France alone would benefit should she control this rich land.

* * * * *

We told you two weeks ago of the change of Presidents in the Republic of Venezuela.

The new President, Gen. Ignacio Andrade, starts his administration with the prospect of serious trouble in his country.

The State Department at Washington was notified, shortly after General Andrade's election, that a revolution had broken out at Valencia. This is a town two hundred miles west of Caracas, and situated in the mountains, which, starting here, extend down the whole western coast of South America.

The cause of the revolution is not known, but it is supposed to be on account of the succession of General Andrade.

* * * * *

The Chinese puzzle still remains unsolved.

Mr. Labouchere, the editor of London _Truth_, has some very good ideas to offer; he says: "What, in the name of goodness, have we got to quarrel about in China? Russia is striving to get an access to the Pacific which will not be ice-bound in winter. It is a reasonable desire, and will not hurt us. Russia is not our commercial rival, and is not likely to be. Germany has obtained a _pied-à-terre_ (foothold) in China. On the part of a great commercial power this, also, is not unreasonable. It may not suit us, but it is considerably less than we have got, and we have no right to object. Considering the position which we have so long occupied, and still occupy, in China, this snarling and blustering at the first appearance of a stranger on the scene is more offensive and contemptible than the conduct of the dog in the manger."

Commenting on what Sir Michael Hicks-Beach said in reference to keeping treaty ports open in case of war, Labouchere says: "Having heard a cock crow on a neighboring dunghill, he thought it necessary that the majestic voice of Britain should be heard also."

It was reported in our last number that England and Germany have agreed to combine and lend China the $80,000,000 which she is to pay to Japan.

It is not known whether Japan will release her hold on Wei-Hai-Wei even if she gets this money.

England, in consideration of this loan, would certainly expect favors from China as regards the Yangtse-kiang Valley, and Germany would undoubtedly expect to have no more trouble with China because of her seizure of Kiao-Chou. Many other concessions will undoubtedly be demanded, and we may be sure that Russia will have something to say.

It is also reported that the Government at Pekin will try and settle its difficulties by allotting "spheres of influence" to the great powers. This was done in West Africa, where it is causing much trouble between France and England. The Chinese evidently do not realize how elastic these "spheres" are.

* * * * *

It is to be wondered whether or not Emperor Kuang Hsu, of China, realizes the danger that threatens his kingdom. He is known as the Son of Heaven and Brother of the Sun. These titles would seem to indicate that he is a person of great character and capable of ruling the Empire. The truth is, he is a very weak young man, and the country is really ruled by the Empress Dowager. She is sixty-three years old, and for many years has controlled every action of the Emperor. She has supervised his education, selected his wives, and really held the Emperor squarely under her thumb.

The Emperor is securely hidden away behind the thick walls of his palace, and his private quarters are known as the Purple Forbidden City. Very few people have set eyes upon the monarch; and among Europeans and Americans, only ambassadors are permitted to see him.

He is said to have a very ugly temper, and to do foolish things when he cannot have his own way. This must happen very often, for the Empress Dowager sees that his way is made hers.

* * * * *

Russia has followed Germany's example, and demanded from China a lease of Port Arthur and Talien-Wan, granting to her all sovereign rights over these ports for the same period and on the same conditions as in the case of Germany at Kiao-Chou Bay.

At first, China was disposed to refuse this demand; but Russia threatened to move troops into Manchuria if the demand was not acceded to, and China, making a virtue of necessity, yielded.

This lease gives to Russia what she has so long wanted--that is, a port on the Asiatic coast which is not frozen up in winter. She now has her "sphere of influence" located in a way most satisfactory to herself.

If China leases many more ports to the great powers she may secure the materials for a "concert of powers" which will prove as useful to her as it has been to the Sultan of Turkey.

* * * * *

It is reported that there are 10,000 men on the trail between Skaguay and Dyea in Alaska.

The rush is now at its height, for now that the warmer weather is coming, the perils of the Klondike will be fewer for some months.

Some very thrilling tales have reached us from the Pacific coast, although the newspapers are very reticent about publishing reports of accidents. It would seem that some agency is suppressing accounts of ill-starred ventures. Certainly, the papers hold out the golden possibilities of the trip, while the dangers and privations are kept well in the background.

Thousands of men are setting out for the gold country to-day. Every small town and village of the United States has its quota of Argonauts, and they are pouring west to take ship for the Klondike. In Greek mythology there is a story about a man named Jason, who set out to find the Golden Fleece. The ship he sailed in was named the _Argo_. In 1849, when the people of the United States had the gold fever so badly, and the rush to California was very much like that to the Klondike to-day, the men who started from the East to go to the Pacific coast by ship were called Argonauts. Afterward it became a common term, and all people setting out for the gold-mines were designated by this title.

* * * * *

The reindeer which were bought in Scandinavia by the United States for use in Alaska, and shipped to New York, are to be sold. They were to have been used for relief expeditions, but it has been found out that supplies are more abundant in the Klondike than was first reported.

There are five hundred and thirty-seven of these reindeer, and it is to be doubted whether they will sell for as much money as they have cost. To buy them in Lapland, Norway, and Sweden involved an expenditure of $50,000, and to bring them to this country was a very expensive undertaking.

* * * * *

There are more rumors of trouble in India. In and about Bombay there is a strong feeling of discontent among the natives because of the plague measures. You will remember what was written in July last in THE GREAT ROUND WORLD about the curious customs of the different races in India; how they refuse to depart from these customs for fear of losing caste, which they hold more dear than life itself.

The great Sepoy Mutiny was partly occasioned by the use of cartridges which were thought to have lard on them; from these cartridges the native soldiers had to remove the ends before putting them in the muskets, and they said that it was intended that they should bite off this larded end and thus lose caste.

Many of these natives will not drink milk, others will not touch lard, and none of them must eat food prepared or handled by certain persons.

In order to stop the spread of the plague, certain rules had to be made, and it is these rules which cause so many outbreaks among the natives.

The population of India is enormous, and a general outbreak would necessarily be a very serious matter.

* * * * *

The re-election of Paul Krüger as President of the South African Republic, while fortunate for the citizens of that country, is thought to be detrimental to British interests in South Africa, for since the Jameson Raid, about which we told you in No. 20 of THE GREAT ROUND WORLD, Oom Paul has not held the English in high favor.

President Krüger received three-quarters of the votes in the late election. His rivals were General Joubert, Vice-President of the Republic, and Schalk Burger, a member of the Executive Council. The President's term is five years.

* * * * *