Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1897-03-06
OLNEY AND GEL. LEE.
Correspondence Of the Depart.
ment Of State
with the Consul-General at iiavans-Th<
Latter Asks for War Ships to Back Up
His Demands for Justice to American
Citizens Incarcerated In Cuba.

His Demands for Justice to American
Citizens Inoarcerated In Cuba.
|
| WASHINGTON, March 2.-The corro$
spondence of the department OF state
with Consul-General Lee, at Havana.
III the case of Charles Scott, an Amcris
can citizen, which was laid before tho
senate last night, confirms the pub
lished story that Gen. Lee threatencds
to resign unless the department sup
ported his demand that Scott be rs@
leased from solitary confinement.
The correspondence is much like half
OF conversation by telephone, as tho
kilograms sent to the department by1
Gen. Lee only are transmitted; the de-
partment's end Of the interchange being
omitted.
February Q Gen. Lee wired the state
departments: "Charles Scott, an Amerl-
can, arrested at Regia this morning.
Charges not yet known"
The next is dated February 30, and
says Scott had been in Jail in Havana
without communication for 26i hours.
The dispatch continues: Cannot stand
another Ruiz murder, and have de-
manded his release. How many war
vessels at Key West or within reach,
and will they be forwarded at once IL
necessary to sustain demaud?"
February 23 he again telegraphs Sec
retary Olney, evidently replying to in
quiries and in language that can
scarcely be misunderstood Situation
simple. Experience at Guanabacoa
made it my duty to demand before too
late that another American who had
been incommunicado 26i hours be
released from said incommunicado, and
did so in courteous terms. IL you
support it and Scott is SO released, the
trouble will terminate. II you do not,
lmust depart. All others arrested with
Scott have been put in communication;
why should one America n not be; he is
incommunicado now 333 hours"
The correspondence closes with
telegram of the same date in which
Gen. Lee informed the state depart
ment that his demand had been com
piled with and that,5cott had been re-
leased from incomn unicado, after four,
teen days solitary confinement in a
damp cell five feet by eleven, wJ h
water on the floor. "Hc was not al
lowed a chair, or anything to sleep on
the telegram concludes, and discha rges
Of the body were removed only once in
five days. Scott says he went always
II hours without waters and once two
days. Scott was clsargal w th having
Cuban postage stamps in his, house,
In regard to the arrest of i. j. Case
anas an American citizen, Gen. Lee,
on February II, in Il disp Itrn announc-
ing his arrest, denounced it as u great
outrage and said there were similar
cases at hagua and elsewhere in the is
land. The departments, six days later,
ordered Lue to report npon, the whole
facts, and, on February "a, Lee replied
that Case anas insisted his treaty right
should be respected. The prisoner had
resided at's1agua sine, his registration
there in 1872. The other dispatches
| show the number of his registration
entry, number of passport, et,.
The correspondence in the case of
Sylvester Scoville, the newspaper cor
respondent, begins with telegram ON
February to Secretary Olney from
Gen. Lee, announcing his arrest at
Tunas, Santa Clara province, the pre-
vious day. Secretary Olney imme-
diately replied, asking Gen. Lee to see
that Scovills rights as All American
be protected and to use every exertion
that no summary action be taken,
adding that great fear was entertained
| by Scovill's friends.
February s Gen. Lo, cabled the par
ticulars of ScDvill's arrest saying he
was captured ON the railroad, return
ing from an inslrgcnt camp, and sup
posed incriminaying papers found on
his person. He mad asked the captain
general to bring Scovill to Havana.
February IL, nc states Scovill was in
a well-ventilated cell at Sancti Spiritus,
supplied with II bed and food, but his
case would be tried by civil court.
|
letter from Mr.. Scovill, in which he
saws that he had the misfortune to be
without military pass and was ap-
pretended while boarding train at a
way station-Zaza. The guard had
been instructed to look out for q
"Inglos" without papers. Scovil' say,
he came under that cate .c,T nnd
was taken into Gust >ay. He adds
that ho had b ,en well treated
lie denied the commission of any of.
fense an. Said he frankly told the
Juc sc that he had gone into the field
/ without let or hindrance from any au-
thority in the performance of his legiti-
mate duties as war correspondent and
that he had never comported himself
in any other manner.
A dispatch of February 16 says that
Scovill was first charged with rebellion
for travelling in the country without a
military pass; second, possessing a
false pass; third, obtaining same;
fourth, making use of same. Nopapers
were found on him, except notes eulo-
CYSTIC of the Spanish soldiery.
The correspondence concludes with
telegram from Mr.. Lee to Mr. Rockhill,
under date of February 10, in which
the consul-general says that compe-
tent lawyer had been obtained to de-
fend Scovill, and that this lawyer would
remain at Sancti Spiritus until the
trial the date Of which had not when
this dispatch was received, been fixed.
SLAM Will ARRlIRAIE.