The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-09
THE RUIZ INQUIRY.
Alleged Report of General Lee to the
Secretary of State.

SecFetaTE OI
WASHINGTON, June S.-W. ]. Calhoun,
the special commissioner to Cuba, arrived
here this afternoon, and at once went to
the State Department. He said that his
plans were unmatured, and that he did
not know whether not he would go to
Nashville. When asked concerning the
publication of what purports to be Consul
General Lees report on the Ruiz case. he
said he had not compared the publication
with the report, but that the ne yspaper
publication looked very much like ac-
curate copy of Consul General Lees re-
port. The published report is dated Ha-
vana, May 81 and is addressed to Secre-
tary Sherman. In 1t Consul General Lee
is made to say:
II deduce from my knowledge of the
facts the following conclusions:
'FtrSt-Dr. Ruiz was arrested on a false
charge.
"Second-lIe was placed under an i'm
proper jurisdiction, and died before the
proper tribunal considered his case, thereby
giving him no opportunity to prove his
innOcence.
a solitary cell for 315 hours, in violation
of his treaty rights, which limit such con-
finement to seventy-two hours
"Fourth-He died from congestion of the
brain, produced by blow on the top Of
the head.
''Fifth-There are two theories connected
with the wound on the head. One that
in state of mental excitement he ran
across the cell, as described by one of the
jailers, and butted his head on the door
in a frantic effort to get out. Another.
that he was struck over the head with one
OF the clubs carried by the jailers, by the
immediate watchman who had probably
ordered him to cease his cries for relief
and for his children, and on his not doing
so, struck him with more force than ne
intended. or il Is possible the blow was de-
livered to make him confess or give eYi-
dence against others.
D0GgfbIp T)r RniZ
many causes combined to produce such
result. His knowledge of his own inno-
cence, his confinement i'm a gloomy cell,
where he was not allowed to communicate
with family or friends, or to send write.
Alone, all alone, the thought doubtless i'm
pressed itself on his mind that he was
liable. in the reign of terror then ex-
listing in and around uanabacoa to be
summarily executed at any moment He
loved his wife and children. and in the
darkness and loneliness of his cell he was
constantly crying out for them. The
thought that they were but few rods away
and yet he might never them again
or hear the sound of their voices or feel
the touch of their lips and hands. mad
dened him and proved too much for the
mind Of the distracted and unhappy man
and II is not improbable as the long hours
passed by, 1t may have given way and left
him madman. His wife says his Derby
hat was all battered up and his clothes
greatly torn when returned to her But
whether when bereft of reason he inflicted
the blows which produced brain conges-
tion whether he died at the hands OF
OtherS-the truth Will probably only be
known when the hearts of all are revealed
the fact remains his unjust confinement
killed him. and had he been released from
incommunicado by the hand OF man at the
end of seventy-two hours. the hand OF
death might not have released him at the
end of 3i5 hours and to-day the windovv
would have had the support of her hus-
band and the means of his fatherless chill
dren would never have been heard In the
land. / therefore conclude, saying as |
have done, I'm all previous reports about
this case that whether DR.. RuiE killed
himself or was murdered by some one else
Will under the existing conditions, always
remain unknown"
Assistant Secretary Day said to-day that
the report of Consul General Lee had not
yet been received at the State Department.
Consequently II was not possible to learn
whether the publications purporting tc be