The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-15
Who Were Probably Induced to COM
init the Terrible Crime by the
Notorious Butcher" WcyIer.
GEN. BLANC0 EXONERATED
LEE SAYS HE CRIED WHEN HE
HEARD OF THE HORROR.
other Important and Interesting Evil
eraI-Capt. Sigsbee's Testimony.

WASHINGTON, April 1.-THE testimony
taken before the Senate committee on
foreign relations in connection with the in
vestigation into the relations between the
United States and Cuba was made public
to-day. 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 run
ming back for a 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 state
ment General Lee said that he was in
formed on very good authority that the
Spaniards had placed two rows of tor
pedoes just at the mouth of the Havana
harbor by Moro Castle within the past
two months or subsequent to the Maine
disaster, and that the switchboard is in a
room in the castle. He said, however, that
he had no information of the placing of any
torpedoes before the Maine was destroyed
and none in regard to their 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 Maine?" asked Senator
Frye.
mo. sir, had no reason to suspect any
thing of that sort up to that time" He
then went on to say that General Weyler' s
letter to Santos GuZman had led him to be-
lieve the mines had been placed there
previous to the Maine incident, and he said
that this superstition was strengthened by
a telegram from General 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 adj
dressed to Eva Camel, a noted Spanish
woman and an admirer of Weyler, and to
Senior Guzman, and it read as follows:
Grave circumstances cause me to ask you
to destroy the last letter of Feb. 49," Gen.
Lee said that this telegram had never be-
fore been published, and he found in it
strong confirmatory evidence of the
genuineness of the Weyler letter.
With reference to the responsibility for
the destruction of the Maine General Lee
said: Il am satisfied the explosion was
from the outside. 1 cabled the State De-
Sembled that 1t was almost certain the ex
plosion was from the exterior. l have al
ways had an idea about the Maine that,
of course, it was not blown up by any pri-
Vate individual or by any private citizen,
but that it was blown up by some officers
who had charge of the mines and electrical
wires and tOrpedoeS in the arsenal there,
who thoroughly understood their business,
for it was done remarkably we'll
BLANCO ENUMERATED.
'I do not think General BIanco the pres
ent captain general of the Island of Cuba,
had anything to do with it.. do not think
he had any knowledge of it. L saw him soon
after the occurrence. I was sitting in my
room at the hotel and from the balcony of
the hotel could see the harbor. 1 heard
the explosion and saw a great column of
fire go up in the air. A few moments after
ascertaining that it was the Maine l went
down to the place 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 it as much as anybody ] saw in
Havana, but 1 think it came from some of
the subaltern officers who had been there
under Weyler and were probably anti-Blan-
co, anyhow. and who had had full knowl-
edge of the business"
General Lee said that he had seen a copy
of a telegram from Admiral Manterola,
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 re-
ferred to wire for submarine mines or tor
pedoes the general did not know. He con-
tinued: II tried to ascertain II any wire or
electrical cables had arrived there, but they
came in Spanish ships and could not find
OUT.
General Lee said that this testimony in re-
gard to Manterola and also that with refer
ence to the Weyler telegram had been
furnished to the court OF inquiry, which in
vestigated the Maine disaster, but had not
been sent to Congress nor published be-
cause of a request of his, made to the State
Department not to make them public, las
republish it and they would probably kill
the man that gave it to me-.
Continuing his testimony General Lee said
that ten minutes after the 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 into the harbor.
Senator Morgan asked if. when he got to
the waters edge. he saw any lights burn
ing; ia co,
''but l have made inquiries since and have
ascertained that no electric lights went out.
/ sent for the electric light men and gas
men, Some gas Jets went out in one or
two places. caused by the shock or some
thing, but / could not ascertain from these
men that a single electric light went out.
One of the electric men who called on me
is a friend of mine. and he sent for the man
in direct charge of the lights who came to
nv Office This man said he had not heard
of any such thing. I said wanted to know
with certainty. The man then made an in
vestigation of an hour or two and returned
saying thdt. with inc exception OF one elec-
trio light near the harbor and one at an
other place not very far distant. where he
thought perhaps the lights might have gone
out by the shock. no other electric lights
went out General Lee also said that he
had not felt the shock of the explosion al
his hotel.
SPANISH OFFICERS REJOICED.
''Have you heard. since the explosion of
the Maine. any expression by Spanish OFF,
GERS I'm relation TO it, indicating their pleas
ure at the fact?" asked Senator Frye.
General Lee responded 81 heard two or
three days afterward from various persons
who came in that there was a good deal of
rejoicing among some of the officers. All
reports l got said they were drinking cham
payne. quite a thing to do in honor of the
event. and in different portions Of the city
officers We're making merry. ] attribute il to
the fact that what they considered almost
All enemys battle ship had been blown up,
and it was that much In their favor" lie