The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-15
MUST RELEASE PRISONERS.
Senator's Tired of WeyIer's Conduct
i'm the Competitor Affair.


WASHINGTON, July 14.-Senator Davis,
chairman of the committee on foreign rela-
tions. to-day reported from that committee
the following joint resolution: THAT the
President be empowered to take such meas
ures as in his judgment may be necessary
to obtain the release from the Spanish gov
eminent of Ona Melton, Alfred o. Laborde
and William Glider and the restoration of
the schooner Competitor to her owner, and
to secure this he is authorized and re-
quested to employ such means or exercise
such power as may be necessary
The report recites all the facts that have
been brought out in the Competitor case,
her ownership, capture and citizenship of
the three men named in the resolution, to-
gether with the proceedings thus far had
by the Spanish authorities, the trial. SEN
tence, etc The report characterizes it a
'mockery of a trial" The atfidavits of the
parties are cited to show that they were
coerced into Spanish waters in which case
they were not amenable to Spanish juris-
diction. They were not subject to piracy
and intended no act of depreciation on the
high seas, nor were they subject to the
Spanish authorities on account of alleged
rebellion. The report then says:
irrespective of any of the foregoing con-
siderations the conduct of Spain, as herein
before detailed, constitutes such delay and
denial of justice and such an actual infiic-
ton of injustice on these men as to make it
the duty of this government to demand
reparatiOn therefor irrespective of any act
which these prisoners may have committed
up TO the date Of their capture Among
the acts of PREPARATION which ought to be de-
manded should be the release OF these cap
tiVes."
Secretary T1varts is quoted to sustain this
position. The report declares that the
rights of the men have been violated and
continues: They have been tried and SEN
fenced to death by summary naval court
martial in a proceeding which has been an
nulled by the Appellate Court of Madrid.
upon the ground that such court-martial
had no jurisdiction whatever over them.
Ten months have elapsed since this death
sentence was annUlled and they have not
again been brought to trial. In the mean
time they have been subjected to protracted
preliminary examinations preparatory to
their trial by another court-martial which
differs from the first only in the fact that
it is less summary and more formal in its
character than the first
The report says that the men at the first
trial did not know until after the testi-
mOny for the prosecution was in that an
interpreter was present, and the only trans
lation made to them was at the close Of the
sanguinary proceedings when they We're
asked if they Had anything TO say. and nee
essarily they could have little to say. yet
one of them protested that he had not I'M
derstood one word of the proceedings
'
judged forfeited.
With these protests" continues the re-
port. the trial ended and the defendants
were Immediately sentenced to death. 1t is
now fourteen months since they were ar
rested. during all of which time they have
been held in Cabanas fortress as prisoners.
Melton and Laborde are unquestOnably cit
liens of the United States. Glider is a Brit
ish subject, but he was a sailor on an
American vessel when taken, acting as
it's mate. and it is the opinion of your COM
mittee that he is entitled to be protected
by this government. He was serving under
the flag and he is entitled to be protected
by 1t.
I'm our opinion, these acts of delay and
denial Of justice and of the infiiction of IT.
justice vitiate and make void any right
which Spain had in the beginning of this
transaction TO proceed criminally against
any of these men. This government should
the Competitor be restored to her owner
as there is no evidence that the owner
knows anything about the divergence of