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Rubens, not an eye-witness of the Cuban fighting, gives a full, extremely pro-Cuban account of it, compares it favorably with the U. S. War of Independence. According to his figures, the Spanish army finally numbered 200,000 regulars, but it could never come to grips with the ragged, badly-armed Cuban guerrillas, whose policy was never to fight a decisive battle but to wear down the enemy. General Gomez once stated his plan of campaign for the rainy season: "I am going to make the Spanish columns move, move constantly; and I count upon my three important allies, June, July and August." The Spanish answer to guerrilla tactics, says Rubens, was atrocities, of which he presents some gruesome photographs in evidence. General Weyler won his nickname of "Butcher" by his order outlawing all Cubans found outside the Spanish lines, shooting them as rebels. Those within the lines (reconcentrados), says Rubens, were allowed to starve: "at least 200,000" died that way.
Cuba-loving Author Rubens carries his story through the U. S. war with Spain, through the U. S. military government of Cuba, and closes with a rhetorical description of the Cuban flag rising slowly over Morro Castle. As in a well-behaved cinema, nothing is supposed to follow the supposedly happy end.
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