Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-11
EXECUTION POSTPONED.
Request of Secretary Olney Granted by
the Spnmish GONernment


1t is settled that the Connection affair
will rot be a repetition of the Virginius
horror. SO .ar ct least as the summary ex-
ecution of the persons invclved is concern
ed. AS stated in Saturdays Star, the Sec
retary Of State made an earnest protest
against summary proceedings against the
citizens of the United States captured on
the Competitor, and requested the execu-
ton Of tie sentence imposed upon them
ty the military court-martal be delayed at
least until full and fair investigation
should disclose their legal status in the
matter under the treaties between Spain
and the United States.
Since then cable advices have been re-
ceived by the Secretary of State through
tie United States minister at Madrid and
the Spanish minister at Washington, CIV
Ing satisfactory assurances that the death
sentence imposed en- the American citizens
will not be executed until the United States
shall have had full opportunity to show
why such couIse shoulc not be followed.
The Omcial Statement.
made by Secretary Olney this morning, as
follows:
In the Competitor case, 1t can be authori-
tatively stated that, at the request of the
United States the Spanish government will
postpone execution of the death sentences
upon American citizens until the views of
the United States respecting the application
to their cases of the treaty of 1893 and the
protocol of 1877 can be presented and con-
sidered.
Position of the State Department.
The action Of the State Department in TAX
ing it's stand in the matter of it's request for
a retrial al least of the American prisoners
upon the treaty Of 1895, as Well as upon the
famous Gushing protocol of 1877, is evident
ly in answer to the contention of the court
martial that the protocol itself did not apply
to the present case The court held that it
applied only to American citizens rcsiden.
in Spain or the Spanish dominions, and hold
ing that the captives from the Competitor
were not in any sense residents of Cuba
decided that they could not claim any of the
privileges accorded by the protocol In the
estimation of the State Department this was
an extremely narrow and illiberal construc-
ton to place upon the protocol but with
view to saving all of the points to be made
while rot accepting this construction, the
department also guarded against an adverse
decision in that matter by recurring to the
ancient treaty of 1885, on the ground that
If the prisoners case was not covered by the
protocol they could certainly invoke the
measure of protection afforded by the earlier
treaty.
While this treaty is not by any means as
generous in the matter Of privileges held
out to American prisoners. being framed
upon the forms usually adopted at the time
it was drawn for the construction of treat
les of friendship, limits and navigation, it
still contains some guarantees Of great
value to them in just such cases as that
which has now arisen. The section of the
treaty applying to the case, in the judg-
ment of the State Department, is article
Z, which reads as follows:
The Section Applicable.
"And it is agreed that the subjects and
cif Of ga oh Of the roDt ra ctinp no rtia,
their vessels or effects, shall not be liable
to any embargo or detention 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 contracted offensas tod