The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-04-15
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had knowledge Of The location OF the
torpedo7 v 7. : "a q n (
Mart Have Had Knowi.dse.
Consul General Lee Yes; I lave new
or been certain. that tho sub.marlne
explosive was placed there prlortto Tho
entrance Of tho Maine into tho harbor.
II might have bcch done afterwards.
The Maine was anchored TO a buoy by
some little chains. "A vessel swinging
around that way some tImcs gets at
various places all around the circle.
When she would swing OF that way,
with the bow next to tho buoy and
these boats plying about the harbor nil
tho time, anybody could go pretty we'll
In front OF her on a dark night and
drop ono OF these submarines OF i've
hundred pounds. They have fingers, as
II were. and as the boat goes around It
would touch the finger. which makes
contact and cxplodes tho mine. That
might have been done after, tho Maine
got In there and not be discovered. One
or two men rowing quietly In n boat
could drop 1t OFF tho stern OF tho boat on
q dark night. though Sigsbee had his
patrols out. a boat would not have
been noticed because boats 80 there al
ways to q late hour OF tho night. The
harbor Is full OF these little boats. A
mine weighs about i've hundred pounds
ana suppose It would take two or
three men--one man to row and prob
ably three or four 10 handle the mine"
In reply to n question from Senator
Gray General Lee said that the Spanish
population Is not especially hostile to-
wards tho United States. Tho Spanish
portion are principally the merchants.
shop keepers and all this agitation Is
affecting very much their busi-
ness. A great number OF them are
really Sannexatlonlsts, because they
think 1t Is the only way out OF tho trou-
BILE and they would much prefer annex
alton to the United States to Cuban
republic. AS to the Cuban part Of the
population they are generally oil for
free Cuba. The condition OF the recon-
ccntrndos out In the country is just as
bad as In General Wevlcr's day. 1t has
been relieved good deal by supplies
from the United States, but that has
ceased now. D Nv
General Blanco published q procia-,
nation, resembling General Weyler's
bando. as they call It there, but It has
had no practical effect, for In the first
place these people have no place to
which to go: the houses have been burn
ed down; Their is nothing but the bare
land there, and It takes them two
months before they can raise the first
crop. In the next place they are afraid
to 30 out from the lines Of the towns
because the rowing bands OF Spanish
guerrlllas, as they ore called. would kill
them. So they stick right in at the
edges of towns Just like they did, with
nothing to eat except what they can
get from charity. The Spanish have
nothing to give.
Senator Lodge asked: what does this
cessation Of hostilities spoken OF in the
last few days amount TOT" To which
General Lee responded: Nothing ;prac-
ticallr nothing-the armistice amounts
to nothing"
Gomoz's GeueraIsiilp.
In response to an inquiry from sena-
tor Frye as to his reasons for saying
that the insurgents would pay no atten-
ton to the armlstice, General Lee said:
Because every attempt so far to
make terms or to make peace or to buy
the insurgents or their leaders has me.
with signal failure; and whatever may
be said about old General Gomez, he Is.
in my humble opinion, fighting that wa-
In the only way II can be 1one-scat-
tering his troops out-because to con-
centrate would DO to stave, having no
commissary train and no way to get
supplies. They come in some times fo-
the purpose Of making some little raid,
where he thinks it vii, do something;
but he hos given orders, SO I have al
ways been informed, not TO fight. not to
become engaged, not to lose their cart
ridges; and some times when he gets
into a fight each man Is ordered not to
fire more than two cartridges. When
General Weyler was there he went out
after him some times and they would
move up q column and fire and some
times flank the column. and the Span
ish soldiers would deploy and throw out
skirmishers, and the Cubans. like In
dams, would scatter out. Then the
Spanish troops would countermarch and
go back to town. three men killed and
ten or twelve wounded.
Suppose Havana was blockaded,"
said Senator Mills. $50 that no provis-
ions could go in. would the people there
have any way to get any?"
None whatever" responded General
Lee; "the town would surrender in a
short while"
No Hope for Spain.
Senator Frye asked: what, in your
Judgment, Is the probability OF Spain
conquerlng the insurgents and rcstor-
ing peace to the island?"
Consul General Let do not think
there IS the slightest possibility OF their
doing It at all In any way. The same
condition OF things existed when Mr..
Cleveland asked me to so down there
last June year ago. I gave him re-
port three weeks after got there, in
which told him there was no chance
in my opinion, OF the Spaniards ever
suppressing that Instruction, nor was
If there is a history Of
weak lungs in your family,
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