Birmingham state herald., 1896-06-06
1.S0RRIEST KIND OF FARCE r , Was the Trial of the Competitor CaptiveS. WERE RAILROADED TO DOOM The Proceedings Were in Spanish, Not Word
 of Which the Prisoners Understood.
 Lawrence's Story.

Washington, June 5.-The senate com
 mittee on foreign relations this afternoon
 removed the injunction of secrecy from
 the testimony in rela ton to Cuban af-
 fairs of Messrs. Frederick w. Lawrence
 and Rev. A. '. Diaz.
 Lawrence referring to the arrest of Alfred Laborde and Milton, who were on
 the Competitor, said that so far as the
 testimony of the men who captured them
 before. the court-martial went, it showed
 that neither of the men had arms upon
 their person. They were taken to HaYa-
 na. tried by general court-martial,
 against the energetic protest of the
 United States consul general, and con
 demned to death, their sentences being
 delayed by the Madrid government at
 the request of Secretary Olney. From an
 American point of view these prisoners
 were not assisted by counsel, but from a
 Spanish point of view they had counsel.
 This counsel consisted of lieutenant in
 the navy, who asked no questions and
 who cross-examined no witnesses. No
 witnesses were produced but Captain
 Butron and the other officers of the Mon
 Sajerra. This lieutenant asked for elem
 ency for Laborde on account of the illus
 trious place his name had borne In the
 Spanish navy, and for Milton, because he
 was not there for the purpose of fight
 ing, but merely in his business as a news
 paper correspondent.
 When asked if any evidence was given
 at the trial to show how far the Compet-
 ttor was from the shore when captured
 MT Lawrence said there was no evidence
 given whatever on any subject The men
 were tried about a week after their ar rest, and when Consul General Williams
 was told by the judge advocate that the investigation was to be Summary A1r, Iiat
 or recognition, protested against it and left.
 No officer of the United States consular service was present at the trial Neither the prosecutor nor the counsel for the de- fense asked a single question of anybody Not particle of testimony was offered except that of the Spanish officers. An interpreter was present but he did not make his presence known to the prison- CTS until they were asked if they had anything to say in their own defense Counsel for the Americans did not tell them what the statements of the Span ish officials contained; he did not say one word to the men he was supposed to be defending. Witness had every reason to believe that the counsel could not speak English and the whole | trial was conducted in Spanish. A.. The men were even asked if they had anything to say in Spanish. William | Gildea, the last of the five men tried to- | gether, replied to the interpreter: "All I | have got to say is I do not understand | one word that has been said for me or l against me, and at any rate I appeal to | both the British and American consuls ' l The court made it's finding within fif- l teen minutes after Gildea made this | statement Before the trial Gildea made
 statement that he was poor sailor and | went on board the Competitor thinking
 she was bound for Sable keys fishing and 1 that he knew nothing of the nature of | the business until after it started La | borde claimed that his ship had been | hired to do fishing but that he was held up by a revolver and ordered to go to 1 Cuba.
 | Witness also saw Dygert, who was inn | prisoned at Guines, with twenty-two oth- | CTS in room not larger than IS by Is | feet The food given him was execrable | and all the time he was confined he was
 not permitted a change of clothes. by 1 gert was not released until one month | after Marquis Palmerola told Lawrence l that the government knew he was inno- 1 cent.