Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1896-04-03
MORE SPANISH CRUELTIES
Said to Surpass the Worst of
the Armenian Outrages
And be of Daily Oecurrence-seRo
DE Leme Insists That tho Reports
are Very Much Exaggerated.

Washington, d. c., April The
message from Havana giving the details
of the killing of Ave prisoners BY the
gsrrotc raised cry of horror in Wash
ingtsn Senior Dupsy dc LONE, the
Spanish minister, admitted that the men
had been killed, but declared that the
form OF punishment was the one pre-
scribed by Spanish law He said the
men were negroes and had been guilty
of most atrocious crime in hanging
a merchant at Guira Melena, and in kill
ing small boy at the same place. He
said the details OF the execution had
been exaggerated.
The reports to the Cubans in Wash
ington declare that the horrible execu-
ton of the five men at Havana is but a
sample of the atrocious cruelties of Cap
lain General Weyler in Cuba. They de-
clare that they have information indi-
eating that such crueities are Practiced
nearly every day in Cuba, and that they
are . horrible az to be beyond compre-
kension.
Senior Quesada, who represents the
Cuban party in Washington, said such
incidents as the one reported today
only gave vague idea of the reign of
terror that Is now in progress on the
island. He continued;
ATROCITIES are being committed every
week in Cubs that surpAss in cruelty
the worst Armenian outrages, over
which such storm eff popular indigna-
ton WAS raised in this country. The
eruelties reported in this execution will
be denied by the Spanish authorities
and the denial will be believed by the
American people because they cannot
conceive how such crimes can be COM
mitted by civilized nation. The Span
ish authorities are conducting in Cuba
today exactly the same sort of warfare
that the Apache Indians in Arizona
wagsd twenty years ago on the frontier
They are mutilating their victims in
exactly the same way and are using the
most barbarous methods of warfare.
Senior Ouesada said he had no doubt
that the five men put to death had been
guilty of some offense against the Span
sh rule and that perhaps theii offenses
naerited the death penalty, but no natter
what their offense was, they were en-
titled to a reasonably humane punish
ment The fact that they were put to
death in itself is not revolving, for they
may have deserved it, but that they
were tortured in the most barbarous
manner should arouse the indignation
of all civilization.
He continued: ave do not ask the
American people to look.,to the events
of the present war to form their conclu-
sions about Spanish cruelty. 1t is a
matter of history and the history that
records Just such cruelties was not
written by Cubans or by Spaniards, but
by Englishnen and Frenchmen. We
can we'll understand that any reports the
Cubans may spread in the United States
at this time about Spanish cruelties will
be looked upon as prejudiced and un-
fair For that reason we have not at
tempted to keep the American people
advised of their atrocities. The Spanish
are in control on the island of Cuba and
they exercise censorship over tho tel
egraph and mail that prevents a true
statement of the affairs there being
kHown, but the truth will come out gen
orally and the people of this country
will put stop to the warfare in time"
"When Spain sent Wcyler to Cuba 1t
was hoped his presence in Cuba would
terrorize the Cubens and that he would
put speedy end to the war the minute
he put his foot on the island. He made
his reputation in Barcelona, where he
crushed out the anarchists. His control
of Cuba, however, was a grave mistake,
because his methods of warfare will be-
come known in time and civilized peo-
ple will not tolerate him."
Mr.. Chandler Explains.