Birmingham state herald., 1897-03-03
TWO CONFLICTING REPORTS
As To the Treatment of Ruiz In
 Prison.
A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION
Ordered By the Spanish Government Regardless Of Whether He Belonged To Cuba or
 Was An American Citizen.

Washington, March 2-Secretary Olney today responded to the senate resolution calling for the correspondence in the Ruiz case by sending an abstract of the matter. declining to send the full corre- spondence on the ground that it would not seem to be in the public interest.
 The abstract furnished by the state department shows the following facts: That Ricardo Ruiz g native born Cuban and came to thi5 country during the progress Of the Cuban instruction which terminated in 1878. He received his final papers as a naturalized citizen in January 1880, in Philadelphia lnl- mediately after he returned to Cuba, en- tered in the practice of dentistry, mar ried and reared family, and has resided there permanently and continuously ever since. He was arrested Feb 4, ana thrown into prison under the charge or participating in the capture anu roppeIg of a railroad train. His arrest WIS IT. ported to this government Dy lelesFaph on the same day, and until the lIth noun ing more was heard of the case py the department, which assumed that IL "ss being attended to by the consulate, III the regular course; that at the end ol seventy-two hours the prisoner would either be put incommunicado or II nol that a proper demand for such TetieI would be made; and that if such demand were made and were not SucceSSfui the department would at once be notlhea' No measures of the sort were taken, hawever, though the prisoner remained incommunicado, and on the lfth the con sulate reported to the department that Ruiz had been found dead in his cell un- der circumstances which justified ana led to demand for immediate lnVs9tlga- ton. Tho consul general reported thaL Ruiz was kept 315 hours in a. small, cosao and most filthy cell, three by i've rect having g. rough stone floor, with no Win dow and only a six inch opening in the door for the admission Of f0od, Wnlch aparture was shut except when used, that no one was allowed to see him. that he died from neglect and violence; that ne became deranged; that an autopsy show ed severe contusions on top of the heso; that he died from congestion of the braln; that there was no fracture of the skull.
 That all knowledge was confined to offi- cials and 1t was difficult to ascertain the facts
 Secretary Olney then quotes the report of the acting governor general Of Cuoa to show that Ruiz was kept in a large roomy cell, lighted and ventilated that he had an easy chair and mattress, SneetS and pillows, etc; that blow being heard in his room the 18th, he was found very much excited with a confusion on the head, and was afterward removed to better room where he could more easily
  treatment that on the 17th he was found by an attendant in the act of putting his head against the grating of the door and though quieted by the atterdant, shortly after died that an autopsy being held the physician present concurred in the opinion that death ensued from ce1ie- bral congestion not induced by the wound on the head, which was superfcial and that the prisoners treatment during con- finerent was most considerable and bet fnr fIta., fr, fl1qa nf n an attendant going to his room whenever called for.
 Secretary Olney says that the conclu- sions of the official reports of the two governments being thus radically con- 1icting. another open and thorough inVeS- tigation seemed to this government in- Cispensabe In this view the Spanish government concurred and letter from Minister De Loue is quoted bearing on the case, dated Feb. 27. In this note he says:
 .'The Spanish government has ordered that ample, thorough investigation be made in order to throw the light on the facts so that if it appear therefrom that there has been culpability or negligence all the weight of the law may fall upon the guilty. To this end. after receiving General Ahumada's telegram, the govern ment ordered by cable that udge be designated who in view of the facts charged and communicated by MT. Tey- lor, United States minister a Madrid shall institute a judicial process in which all circumstances shall be scrupulously and actively ascertained. His Ma jesty's government wishes. and to that end d. rects that the consul of the United States be invited to submit if he desires any evidence which may assist in making the facts clear and of which he may have knowledge; and also to take cognizanca of the proceedings of the same.
 If the consul of the United States de- sires to become a party in the proceed ings he can so do, and to that end he will