The sun., 1896-02-25
Tho Terror in Cuba-The Executions
Mt Havana.

Tho Terror in Cuba-The Execution
mt Havana.
II was a surprising official message tha
wEYLER sent from Havana TO the Spanish
Minister at Washington for publication il
the United States. We print again WEY
LER's request to the Minister:
"Piease to deny. cmphaticaliy md abso utciy. th,
resorts of the correspondents of executions since
arrival Since have been In the island not single
execution has been made"
It is manifest from these words that the
author of them shrinks from the infamous
notoriety which he has gained through the
bloody orders issued by him during the
fortnight of his stay at Havana. He denies
that any of the executions for which these
orders provide have occurred. This formal
denial was sent from Havana on Saturday
last, one week after the issue of the order in
which he prescribed the penalty of death
for all Cubans who might be accused
Of committing any deed. or uttcring my
word, that might be construed rs offensive
to Spain; an order the enforcement of
which involves the killing of a very large
part Of the population of Cuba.
In denying that the executions began i'm
mediately after the publication of the
official order providing for them, WEYLER
does not, as he cannot, deny that he is the
author of the order.
1t has been impossible. at any time of the
past twelvemonth, to give credence to any
of the official reports sent out to the world
from Havana. Nearly all of them have
been directly contradicted by occurrences
the reality of which was afterward admit
ted by the officials who had placed their
signature under the fnlse reports. We
never knew a war in which ono
side made claims so palpably untruthful as
received here every week OF the year of tho
revolution. Were these dispatches gathered
together, and compared with events subsc-
quently brought to our knowledge, there
could not be any dispute rs to the perversity
of their character.
We will institute no comparison between
WEYLER's message Of denial and tho other
official messages here spoken o.. 1t is pos
sible that there may have been no executions
between the Sunday and the Saturday of
last week, between the Sunday of the bloody
order and the Saturday which followed it.
1t is customary, even for Spain to allow a
few days of grace before such IN order is
put into effect.
At the same time, the denial Is met by
dispatches of different kind. In the past
week, as in all previous weeks of the war,
we have had reports OF executions But
yesterday we had report of the butchery
OF Cuban sympathizers In the dungeons of
the Cabaf1as and of Moro Castle at Havana
We cannot look into these dungeons to
verify the report; but we have the evidence
of prisoners who have escaped from them,
that such deeds are perpetrated there We
had another report from Havana yesterday,
that Cubans who surrender are quickly shot,
and no questions asked. We cannot see the
shooting; but we know that WEYLEE in
his third order, dated Feb. 1G, gave his sub
ordinate commanders specific instructions
ns to the trial and execution Of prisoners OF
war Over against WEYLERs message OF
denial. we place his own language, as Off
cially printed at Havana. We wish it were
in our power to put faith in the words which
no sent last Saturday to the Spanish Minis
ter at Washington.
"EYLER's three orders OF Feb 10 are or
ders which blackcn his character, as that of
ALvA was blackensd centuries ago. or as
that OF VALMAsEDA was blackened twenty
years ago Tho first OF them provides for
the punishment by death of nj! persons who
may circulate any news directly or Indirect
ly, favorable to the revolution, or who, bv
word or deed, may criticise the Spanish army
In Cuba or seek to dctract from its prestige.
The second order is to the effect that all
rural residents shall take up their quarters
within the Spanish lines, and that all coua-
try merchants shall remove their stock of
goods to garrisoned places; an order which
signifies ruin and arrangement The third
order empowers subordinate officers to cx-
ecute prisoners taken in battle
These several orders have no other mean
ing than butchery, famine, and defiance to
civilization. If it be true that WEYLER had
not, up to Saturday last, entered upon the
work of execution, we must suppose it was
because the time for the enforcement of his
savage DEGREES had not then arrived.
We would that it were possible to draw
from his message of denial the inference
that he had been overtaken by shame, or
feared the consequences Of his orders. But
WEYLER would he false to his own record,
as written by himself, If he were to be
ashamed of any deed of atrocity.