The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-12
THE COMPETITOR CASE.
STANDARDS WILL POSTPONE THE
EXECUTIONS.
One of the Papers INDUCES in a Lit
tie War TaIk-The Situation RS
Seen Through English Eyes.

WASHINGTON, May lin the
Competitors case, it can be autlrori-
lively stated that at the request of the
United States, the Spanish govern
ment will postpone the execution of
the death sentences upon the Ameri-
can citizens until the views of the
United States respecting the application
TO their cases aof the treaty of 1895
and the protocol OF 1877 can be con-
sidered. The announcement of the
postponement of the execution means
delay of some weeks. The matter
will be taken up by the diplomatic rep
resentatives of the United States and
Spain and will be made the subject of
an exchange of correspondence on the
provisions. Meanwhile the effect will
be to aElay the popular excitement
both here and in Spain.
The action of the state department
in insisting upon a retrial at least of
the American prisoners is evidently
in answer to the contention of the
court martial, that the Cushing proto-
col of 1877 did not apply to the present
case. The court held that it applied
only to American citizens resident in
Spain or the Spanish dominions, and,
as the captives from the Competitor
were not in any sense residents of
cuba, decided that they could not claim
amy of the privileges accorded by the
protocol In ; the opinion of the state
department this was an extremely
NARROW AND ILLIBERAL
construction to place upon the protocol,
but while not accepting this construc-
ton, the state department guarded
against an adverse decision on the pro-
tocol by recurring to the ancient treaty
CT 1875, on the ground that If the pris-
oners' case was not covered by the
protocol they certainly could invoke
the measure of protection afforded by
the earlier treaty While this treaty is
not by any means generous in the mat
ter of privileges held out to American
prisoners, 1T still contains some guar
antee of great value to them in lust
such cases as that which has now
arisen The section of the treaty ap-
plying to the case, in the Judgment of
the state department, is article viii.
which reads as follows:
And it is agreed that the subjects
and citizens Of each of the contracting
parties, their vessels or effects, shall
not be liable to any embargo or deten-
ton on the part of the other, for any
military expedition or public or private
purpose whatever, and in
ALL CASES OF SEIZURE,
detention or arrest for debts con-
tracted, or offenses committed by any
citizen of the one party within the ju-
risdiction of the other the same shall
be made and prosecuted by order and
authority Of law only and according
to the regular course of proceedings
usual in such cases. The citizens and
subjects of both parties shall be al
lowed to employ such advocates, solicit
tors and notares, agents and factors,
as they may Judge proper, in all their
affairs and in al their trials at law,
in which they may be concerned before
the tribunals of the other party, and
such agents shall have free access to
be present at the proceedings of such
cases and the taking of all examin-
ations and evidence which may be
exhibited in the said trials"
THE CONTENTION
of the state department is that, ire
spective of the Gushing protocol of 1877.
this treaty gives the American prison
ers certain privileges that were with
held from them by the Spanish court
martial. Notably, they were obliged
to rest their defense in the hands of a
Spanish officer detailed for the pur-
pose, and one. IN all probability, not
particularly anxious to clear his eli
ents, and were prevented from select
ing their own counsel as guaranteed
by the treaty. Also it is said that the
prisoners were not accorded an op-
portunity to procure testimony in their
own behalf This is one of the priv
ileges inseparable from a lawful and
regular conduct of the prosecution.
Altogether, the indications are that
the state department is preparing to
make strong legal defense against
the execution of the death penalty in
the case of the American prisoners.