Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-03-21
TO BLAME
CORRESPONDENT SAYS HE LAID
MINES IN HAVANA HARBOR.
MUCH. DYNAMITE IN PORT
Weyler Lays a Number of Mines and
Expresses the Hope That if the
United States Sends Warship to
Havana Spanish Hand Will Be
Found to Elk plode a Mine


New York, March 18.-The Jour-
nal prints a sensational statement by
Honore F. Laine, newspaper cores
pondent, recently expelled from Cuba.
Lame says: ION Jan. "a, met Fran
cisco Diaz, a reporter of a rabid Span
ish paper, La Union Constitutional,
with whom Il frequently exchanged
news. Taking from his pocket letter
he handed it to me saying: 'Weyler
wrote this letter to Santos Guzman,
who sent it to La Union Constitution
al for him to the editor to read
and to write an article
oa the acceptance of Weyler's candi-
dacy as deputy to the cortez for Ha-
vana' In the alleged letter referred
to, Weyler is represented as saying
that he had changed his views and
come to believe his political confreres
should go to the polls in the coming
election, believing success undoubted,
as with program i'm defense of nation
al honor they would have with them
the lukewarm politicians, deceived
by inside combinations of Moret and
Sagasta, who would take as
scientific solution of our
colonial problems what was
really a dishonorable humiliation of
our country before the United States.
Weyler them offers himself as can
didate saying: After having COM
nsanded for two years 100000 Spanish
heroes in Cuba, | shall be more proud
of the title of deputy from Havana to
the cortes of Spain The letter con-
tinues: BY the way, I read that the
Americans are bordering about send
ing one of their warships to Havana.
During my command they did not dare
to ever dream about it. They knew
terrible punishment awaited them.
had the Havana harbor we'll pre-
pared for such am emergency. If the
insult is made, hope there will be a
Spanish hand to punish it as terribly
as it deserves. The letter was dated
Jan. at Madrid
Lame says that he read the letter
and pigeon7holea it. When the Maine
arrived he called at the office of the
Union Constitutional to see Diaz in an
effort to secure the original letter.
Some days after the Maine explosion
remembered the letter and what its
contents were about the American war
ship. The American replied that he
did and that he believed some one had
followed Weyler's advice. Lame says
that he has since found out that Diaz
said to the captain of police that he
Qaine) had copy OF the letter writ
ten by Weyler which might bring trou-
BILE to the Spanish government, es-
pecially as he was an American news
paper correspondent, associating with
Captain Sigsbee. On March A Laine
was arrested by Col. Paglieri, chief
of police of Havana. His friends were
informed of his being imprisoned by q
cabman who knew him. According to
Lame, chief Paglieri said to him: We'll,
sir, we have you here secured, and let
me tell you secret know that what
through you by others, as no one will
ever know what becomes of you. ;
Lame replied: If you think you can
murder me as were Aria and Posua,
two young men taken from here and
killed in Cerro, you are mistaken
The colonel replied in a calm, stern
way: No, sir, I am not mistaken
You may not be mistaken, said Lame,
but | can tell you that at this mo-
ment, the French as well as the Ameri-
can consul has been notified that I
am here. This changed the chiefs
attitude somewhat, but he persisted
in trying to secure information from
Lame. I know he said all about
the copy of the letter of General Wey-
Ter which you have, and the trouble
you intend to cause with it, but I do
not care very much about that What
| want to know now, and I hope
that YOU will answer me in considera-
ton of the good that it may bring
you, is what information you gave to
Consul Lee on the 21st of February
about your suspicious of the plot sug-
gested by that letter and the placing
of dynamite mines in the harbor, with
which fact you said that you became
acquainted during the period of your
incarceration in the time of eWeyler.'
This was really surprise to me-
LANES narrative continues. I had
referred to the incident of the letter
to Lee and had also spoken to him