The Portland daily press., 1897-06-11
SPAIN is BLAM ED.
For the Death of DIR. Ruiz in Cuban
Dungeon.

| DuhSNots
The following is the full text of the
report of Consul General Lee on the inn
prisonment and death of DIR. Ricardo
Ruiz:
United States Consulate General,
Habapa, May 81, 1897.
10 Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of
State:
Slr-Ihe right having been reserved to
MAKE separate report to my government
IN the RIl!z case l have the honor to sub
mlt the following statement, which l re-
quest VII! be hled with the report OF the
Commissioners:
he was about forty six years of age, a
dentlst by profession, married, and re-
slded With his wife and children at the
Town OF Guanabacoa, four miles from
Habana; arrested on February f. 1897,
ABOUT nine A. M, at his house in Guiana
bacoa, charged with being connected with
the attack on a railroad train on the night
OF January 16, 1897, at point nearly
midway between Iuanabacoa and Ha-
Dana, about two and half miles from
the latter city.
The evidence Of his most intimate
friends and that taken before the Military
9Sa a' as per record submitted with the
commissioners report, show he was
qulet and domestic in his tastes, peace
1ul American citizen, engaged in the ac-
tive pursuit of his professionalism he
| TOOK no part in the military or political
proceedings on this island, or had at any
Time any communication by writing or
otherwise with those engaged in the in
surrection, and that at the time of the at
tack by armed insurrectionists on the
train he was in the house of a neiphbor
and friend, opposite his own, in GUIANA
bacoa, until ten P. M, and then went to
his own abode, where he passed the night
and knew nothing of said attack until
next morning, when it was known gener-
ally to the public.
THE ARREST OF RICARDO RUIZ. n
He was taken from his home and pro
tesslon, wife and small children, carried
to jail and thrust into cell marked in
the diagram, and whose dimensions are
given in the report of the Commissioners
being one of three smallest cells of the
jail used for keeping prisoners in solitary
confinement. The dimension of the cell
in which DR.. Ruiz was confined is greater
than given in my previous reports. which
We're based upon the statements then
received from persons who did not and
could not measure it; but the fact re-
mains that he was in cell alone day and
night, with stone walls and stone floor,
and with no ventilation for air or light
except rectangular iron barred opening
or transom above the door,
The manner of his confinement was a
violation OF article $40, law of criminal
procedure, ruling in Cuba and Puerto
Rico, which demands that Provisional
l Imprisonment shall be made in the man
ner and form least prejudicial to the per-
son and reputation of the accused. -
a ,irxo,, 81 Ii -
confined at first to the jurisdiction of the
military authorities was violation o.
Section of the protocol between Spain
and the United States, signed January 10,
1877, which stipulated that no citizen of
the United States residing in Spain, her
adjacent islands or her ultranarine pos
sessions charged with any 'tcrime whatso-
ever shall be subject to trial by any ex
ceptional tribunal, but exclusively by the
ordinary jurisdiction, except in the case
OF being captured with arms in hand, the
testimony shows the jailer knew DIR. Ruiz
was an American citizen on the day of
his arrest-viz., 18th of February, 1897
and that the Acting Governor and Cap
tain General of the island was informed
OF the fact on the next day, but it was ten
days after his arrest and three days be-
fore his death-viz, February IA 1856
that the Acting Governor General direct
ed his case to be referred to the jurisdic-
ton of the civil court, and that he died
before said court considered it,
IMPROPER PROCEEDINGS FATAL
TO RUIZ
The improper judicial proceedings, in
the first place, and the length of time
consumed in getting the case before the
proper authority during which the soli-
tary prisoner was the occupant of cell,
proved fatal.
The testimony shows DR.. Ruiz was
healthy and unusually strong, able and
athletic man; that he had no hereditary,
mental disease or disease of the heart or
other body ailments.
He was confined incomunicado, and
neither his wife, children nor friends were
allowed to communicate with him. He
was carried alive to his cell, and at the
end of 315 hours was brought out corpse
having been subjected to "incomunica-
do imprisonment, in violation of his
treaty rights, 234 hours over and above
the seventy two hour limit.
From the time he was placed ssin
communicate" until his death all knowl-
edge of his condition was confined to his
jailers, and therefore there can be no
other testimony except that of these Off
Gals as to the mode of his treatment or
manner OF his death, and it could not be
expected that in case of bad treatment
they would testify against themselves or
against each other. So such testimony
should be received not with "a grain Of
SALT" but with barrel
TESTIMONY OF THE WIFE OF
RUIZ.
A witness named Rafael Galindo, who
holds a government position, testified
that he carried, at Mrs. Ruiz's request,
some bedclothes for the use of DIR. Ruiz
into his cell on the same day he was ar
rested, but the testimony of his most in
innate friends-viz., Juan Gratoeos and
Jose Puiggros-does not confirm such tes-
timony; and letter from Mrs. Ruiz to
me, written four days after his death. a
copy of which is hereby transmitted, SAYS
:" During the thirteen days he remained
'incomunicado' they did not allow me to
take to him cot or even hammock,
but only a hard chair, on the 9th of Feb
ruary, when the jail official finally, after
my repeated requests, consented or al
I<.rU nd