The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-04-27
MINES IN SAN JUAN HARB0R.



Juan. Porto Rico, dated April 16, tells of
the hurried preparations of the Spanish
to mine that port The letter reads:
The Spanish military authorities in this
island are attempting the impossible task
of making good in a few weeks the ne
| elect of years Strenuous efforts con-
| tinue TO be made with d view to the
completion of Notifications and defensive
works. The chief labor employed on the
stone and earth works is convict
Despite all that is being done to rush
matters, several works in hand approach
completion. Good progress, however. has
| been made with a new battery to the east
OF San Christobal Castle, where fourteen
of twenty-five heavy rifled breeCh-load-
| ing Hontoria cannon have been mounted
| The most effective defenses are the
| submarine explosives. These have been
| pretty extensively utilized, and the work
of laying fixed torpedoes and submarine
mines. not only at the entrance of the
harbor. but outside the fort, has engaged
the attention of the photographic COM
mission for several days The steamer
Alfonso XII on April y brought from Ha-
vana sixteen torpedOes and the same
| number of submarine mines. with the
necessary attachments. These, together
| with twenty tons of dynamite, were stOr
| ed aboard barge, which had been towed
| to the head of the harbor. This floating
| magazine is guarded night and day by
| an armed boats crew, which encirCles
| the vessel.
| A further scheme is on foot for making
| use of an old wreck. the CristobaI Colon.
1 il ont with 10 idea
| IL is said. of filling her with explosives
| and towing her to a narrow part of the
| harbor channel. where she might be
| blown up in the event of hostile vessels
| attemptig to pass in her vicinity.
| The Spanish forces were augmented on
April Is by a battalion of soldiers. The
/ men were i'm a state that reflected the
greatest discredt on their officers. Some
were so sick and weak that they were
| compelled to fall out of the ranks and
crawl TO the barracks as best they could.
| l understand that ii is not intended to
keep them in the city, the idea being to
| draft them off i'm companies to the out
posts and interior towns, which are very
| ineffectively guarded at present.
Despite all that the Spaniards may say
about the loyalty of the people of Porto
Rico. the longer | am here the more con-
WINGED | am OF the widespread hatred
and detestation of the Spanish govern
ment. To a stranger the people are TIM
orous of expressing their feelings and as
pirations, but their confidence once gain
ed. they will unfold long story of Span
ish misrule. oppression and tyranny.
Thousands, instead of resisting an Amer
lean invasion, would aid and welcome it.
There has been for several months a
movement among the working classes.
the majority of whom are colored, with
the ostensible object. by means of organ
ization. of securing the betterment of
their condition. Ii is only lately that
they have mustered up courage and
sought to give voice to their grievances.
II is has been intimated TO me that if
they had been left alone nothing would
have been heard. Outside agitators''
are charged with being the exciting
cause of the movement.
One person upon whom suspicion had
fallen was young man named Santiago
Iglesias, a compositor, a native of Ca
licia, who has travelled somewhat and
imbibed strong socialistic ideas. He was
looked upon as a kind of labor leader,
and the police were put upon his track.
Timely notice reached him, and he went
into hiding.
He was to have left Rio Grande,
place about twenty-five miles from here,
in a schooner for St. Thomas. He was.
however. stopped by the police and
has not deferred the publication of
small paper called Ensayo Obrero. the
organ of the working classes, and to
which he is said to have been contribu-
tor. The issue of April II was of such
character that everyone is -astonished
that no attempt was made to suppress it
until copies had been pretty widely cir
culated.
The very day upon which the article re-
ferred to appeared was the one selected
for strike on the part of the laborers
employed on the largest sugar estate in
the island, Canovanas, owned by the
Colonial Sugar Company. Without pre-
vious warning the laborers threw up
work and REINFORCED by some two hun
dred and fifty men of the district, carry
ing their machetes, marched to the
works and demanded an increase of 80
per cent in their wages The authorities
had taken away the guards to do mill
tary duty, and in order to pacify the
crowd and save the works from the des-
truction they were threatened with. the
manager was forced to accede to the de-
mands of the men to the extent of a so
per cent increase.
He sought the first opportunity, how
ever, to ride into San Juan. AS a result
of his representations, the governor i'm
mediately ordered the dispatch of a mill
tary guard to protect the property. The
British consul was also notified of the
occurrence, and informed of the likeli-