The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-04-15
He Thinks Captain-G General BlanCO Is In
n0CeDt.
HAVANA COULD BE DL0cKADEO
He Tells the Foreign Relations Committee That
in this Event Citizens Could Neither Es-
cape Nor Get Proysions-His
Entire Testimony

Washington, April .14.-The testimony
taken before the senate committee on
foreign relations in connection with the
investigation into the relations between the
United States and Cuba was made public
today. 1t constitutes a book of about $50
pages, and includes not only the testimony
taken since the disaster to the Maine, but
also much that was taken before and rum
ming back for year or more.
The statement which contains the great
est current interest is that made by Consul
General Lee on the 18th inst. In this
statement General Lee said that he was
informed on very good authority that the
Spaniards had placed two rows of torpe-
does just. at the mouth of the Havana har-
bor by Moro Castle, within the past two
months or subsequent to the Maine dis
aster and that the switchboard Is In
room in the castle.
He said however that he had no infor-
nation of the placing of any torpedoes be-
fore the Maine was destroyed, and none
in regard to the purchase abroad by the
Spanish authorities.
"Have you any reason to suppose that
the harbor was mined at all before the
blowing up of the Manner asked Senator
Frye.
mo, had no reason to suspect anything
of that sort, up to that time"
weyler's Letter Was Suspicious
He then went on to say that General
Weylers letter to Santos Guzman had led
him to believe that the mines had been
placed there previous to the Maine incident.
He said that the supposition was strength
ened by a telegram from Weyler, of which
he had cognizance Upon the whole, he
thought the Weyler letter (the Lame letter.
was a correct copy of a genuine letter.
The telegram to which he referred was
addressed to Eva Camel, a noted Spanish
woman and an admirer Of Weyler's, and to
Senior Guzman, and it read as follows:
Grave circumstances cause me to ask you
to destroy the last letter of February 49,"
General Lee said that this telegram had
never before been published, and he found
in it strong confirmatory evidence of the
genuineness of General Weyler's letter.
With reference to the responsibility for
the destruction of the Maine, General Lee
said: II am satisfied the explosion was
from the outside. cabled the state de-
partment a few days after the board as
sembled that it was almost certain that
the explosion was from the exterior L
have always had an idea about the Maine,
that of course 1t was not blown up by any
private individual or by any private citi-
zen, but 1t was blown up by some of the
officers who had charge of the mines and
electrical wires and torpedoes in the arsenal
there, who thoroughly understood their
business, for 1t was done remarkably well.
Does Not Implicate Blanco
st do not think General Blanco, the pres
ent captain-general of the island of Cuba,
had anything to do with it. I do not think
he had any knowledge of it. 1 saw him
just shortly after the occurrence I was
sitting in my room at the balcony of the
hotel. l heard the explosion and saw a
great column of fire go up in the air. A
few moments after ascetraining that it was
the Maine, 1 went right down to the palace
and asked for General Blanco. He came
in directly by himself. He had just heard
it and was crying; tears were coming out
of his eyes, He seemed to regret 1t as much
as anybody saw in Havana; but I think
1t came from some of the subaltern OFF,
GERS, who were there under Weyler, and
who were probably anti-Blanco, anyhow,
and who had full knowledge of the busi-
ness"
General Lee said that he had seen copy
of the telegram from Admiral Mantrolla,
dated in Havana prior to the explosion OF
the Maine, to the Spanish commission in
London, asking the commission to hurry
up the electrical cables" "Whether that
referred to wire for submarine mines or
torpedoes, I do not know" he continued
ST tried to ascertain If any wire or cleo
came on Spanish ships and could not find
out"
Afraid Witness Would BE Killed
General Lee said that his testimony in re-
gard to Mantrolla and also with reference
to the Weyler telegram had been furnished
to the court of inquiry which investigated
the Maine disaster and had not been sent
to congress or published because of his re-
quest made to the state department not to
make them public, "as I was afarid the
Spanish papers there woul republish it and
they would probably kill the man that gave
it to me-"
Continuing his testimony, General Lee
says that after the Maine explosion he was
at the palace talking to General Blanco.
and that the latter gave him an order for
a boat to take him out in the harbor.
Senator Morgan asked that when he got
to the waters If he saw any lights burning.
st did not notice that" said General Lee,
'but 1 have made inquiries since and have
-ascertained that no electric lights went out.
I sent for electric light men and gas men.
Some gas jets went out in one or two places
caused by the shock or something, but ]
could not ascertain from these men that a
single electric light went out One of the
electrical men whom called UP is friend