The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1898-04-15
FTr'S OPINIONS
E,;leuce of the Cuban Consul
General Before the Foreign
Relations Committee.
Maine Undoubtedly Blown Up by
SuaniSh officials BlancO
EXOncrated.
Reasons for Believing the Wey-
ler Letter Genuine---Spanish
AnneXatiOnistS

WASHINGTON, April 10. The testi.
rony taken before the senate commit.
be- on foreign relations III connection
with the investigation into the rela.
lions between the United States and
Cuba. has been made public. 1t con.
s,i,utes book Of about $50 pages, and
includes not only the testimony taken
since the disaster to the Maine, but
aso much that was taken before. and
1unnipg back for year or more.
The statement which creates the
greatest current interest is that made
lv Consul General Lee, on April II.
In this statement, General Lee said
lAat he was Informed OH very good
authority that the Spanish had placed
two row # torpedoes just at the mouth
Il Havana harbor. by Moro castle,
within the past two months, or sub
seQuen, to the Maine disaster, and that
the switch b lard Is i'll room III the
castle.
Believes the Weylsr Letter Genuine.
lIe then went ON to say that General
Weylcr' letter to Santos Guzman had
led hlm to believe that mines might
have been placed there previous to the
Maine incident, and he said that this
suppositlon was strengthened by n tele.
gram from General Weyler, OF which
ae had cognlzance. Upon the whole.
he thought the Weyler letter (the laine
letter. was copy Of the genuine letter.
The telegram to which he referred
vas addressed to Eva Camel, a noted
Spanish woman. aud admirer Of Wey'
eTs, and to Senior Guzman, and II
read as follows:
Grave circumstances cause mo tt
ask You TO destroy tho last letter o.
Feb -
General Lee said that this Telegram
had never before been published, an'
he found in it strong coniirmatory cv.
4enco Of the genuineness Of the Weyle
letter.
believes Onicrra Did II.
Mltl reference to the responsibilit.
icy the destruction of the Maine, Gen
era Lee said:
i am satisfied the explosion wa
from the outside. l cabled the stat
apartment few days after the boar
assembled, that it was almost certai
mat the explosion was from the ca
terror.
u have always had an idoa abou
.Ae Maine, that Of course it was nc
'.o"n up by any private individual
" any private citizen. but it was blow
up by some of the officers who ha
'nargo Of the mines and electric;
wires and torpedoes in the arsen'
mere who thoroughly understood the
ouslness. for it was done remarkab
well.
! don't think General Blanco. Il
present captain general of the Island
Suoa had anything to do with 1t.
uoht think he had any knowledI
Of it,"
Hurried Up Electrical Cables.
General Lee said that he had seen
,opy OF q telegram from Admiral Mo
.ofelia. dated In Havana, prior to Il
explosion Of the Maine, to the Spani
commission in London, asking {
.onmlss'on . to hurry up the electric
whether that referred to wire
ppuoMarine mines or torpedoes. do n
anow. he continued. II tried to
.v,'n e,,a1n II any Of the wire or electric
a'les had arrived there. but they Cal
~ ~. spanish ships. aud l could not Il
ueneral Leo said that this testimo
~ ~ regard to the Manterolla and .
" ""' with reference to the Weyler te
sam had been furnished to the col
inquiry, which investigated
- "'he disaster. but had not been q
congress nor published because Q
'eqoest OF his made to tho state dera