The evening times., 1897-03-13
HER PLEA FOR JUSTICE.
Mrs. Ruiz's Statement to the
Secretary of State.
HER HUSBANDS LAST WORDS
She onyinced Herself of the Muir
der of DIR. Ruiz, Committed by the
Spanish Prison Authorities-He
Died in Solitary Confinement and
without Medical Assistance.

Mrs. Ruiz is losing no time in her efforts
to have Spain make amends and pay dam
ages for the murder of her husband, DR.
Ruiz.
Secretary Sherman was greatly impressed
with the Cuban lady's pathetic statement
| yesterday, and bore its import to the White
House himself to lay it before the Presi
| dent The Administration has interested
| itself in her behalf. A statement prepared
] by Mrs. Ruiz, with translation into Eng
lish, was laid before the Secretary of
| State today.
The following is a literal translation oi
the statement OF Mrs Ruiz
On the 4th OF February last, at 8 O'Clock
in the morning, a police agent came TO my
house, No. Jesus y Maria street, in Guiana.
bacoa, to arrest my husband. Ricardo Ruiz
| dc Ugarrio, an Amerie can citizen, by order of
the military judge. ewas taken To prison
and kept "incomm unicado'' in cell hich
has but one skylght at the back TO allow
OF the seanty ventilation possible through
the iron bars that protect it The only
person who ever entered was the prison
1
hand side going in, in row Of three,
| and into this cell they did not allow me
to send cot OF hammock.
His statement was taken the very same
| day, and he handed over n certificate of
American citizenship, dated the 9th OF
August, 1896, ia Havana, and signed D.. the
| consul general of the United states, Gen
| Lee. He named three wci-known people
| in Guanabacoa as witnesses t0 prove that
he had not participated in any way in the
political disturbances, and that he only oc-
cupied himself with his work as a surgical
dentist and with hiS family These three
witnesses were Jose Puiggros, Juan Gra-
tacros and Yaidro Puiggros.
! Their Statements proved of no avail, nj
he was kept n solitary confinementin spite
of the fact that no charge could be proven
against him other than that OF being au
/ American citizen, which privilege was ever
| my husband S ideal He always said with
pride that he would always be respected, as
he had nothing to do with political affairs
| and had in his American citizenship per
sonal safeguard.
He remained in this state in prison for
thirteen days. Two hours after his arrest
informed Consul General Lee, taking to him
everything thatproved my husband sAmer-
ican citizenship. Il n spite OF his having re-
quested that my husbands s case be turned
over to the civil courts, my husband lost his
life without Gen. Lee succeeding in his
purpose.
on the 9th OF February sent through
Ramon Saradi, patient of my husband,
who had the contract for furnishing pro-
visions to the prisoners, a steamer chair
in which my husband could rest, and on
which chair he has left a dying farewell
message to my children and myself,
message in which he entrusts them TO my
care and begs them always to respect and
obey me, and in which he gives US TO
understand that his life was threatened
and that he was going to be taken 20
Havana. 1t is painful for me to write
Ricardo's words, which 1 Rave already
told repeatedly, and which are engraved
in indelible characters on the piece OF the
chair that handed TO Gen. Lee.
On the 18th, at $3.50 in the afternoon,
was advised by Juan Grataces, neighbor,
of N Y husbands & death, but neither the mil
ltary nor the civil authorities ever notified
me officially. Nor did they notify the Amer
ican consul for was the one who sent him
the news. My husband received no medical
assistance; he died in solitary confinement.
His death was denied to me, and for two
hours after his death the prison officials still
admitted the food / sent him from home.
His body was not given to me, and it
was only through a friend that / sue
ceeded in gaining admission TO the prison
against the officials orders, twelve hours
of.a I
myself Of the horrible murder of which he
was the victim. ] experienced the horror
of seeing the wound on his skull, three
centimetres in length, when ] stopped
down to cut off a lock of his hair, which
1 wished to preserve iE his memory. His
left hand as purple with bruises and his
fist clinched tight. On his left forearm
there were marks OF blows. unequlvocal
signs of attack on one side and defense
on the other. All this ] have told DR..
Burgess. who witnessed the autopsy as
the physician attached to the American
consulate.
A horrible wrong was committed upon
nv unfortunate husband, and as his idea
was to return to this country, where he
wishes to have his children educated, | ask
to have Justice done me for the sake OF
those unfortunate orphans who are under
the protection of American laws and who
have lost, with the death of their father,
the only protection and guidance they had.
and to have those punished who have
plunced into the direst misery poor
woman, who prays God for strength to
bear so hard a blow.
RITA LESCA DE RUIZ.