The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-04-14
DEATH TRAPS.
Gen. Lee Gives Confirmation to
the Report
That Two Rows of TOrpedOes
Have Been Placed
ACROSS THE ENTRANCE
To the HarbOr of Havana
Within Two Months.
The Switchboard is Located in
Moro Castle.
TeStifieS to the GenuineneSS OF
the Weyler Letter.

Washington, April 14.-The testimony
| taken before the senate comnittee 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 running back for a
| year or more.
The statement which contains the
| greatest current interest is that made
| by Consul General Lee on the 18th inst.
! In this statement Gen. Lee said that he
| was informed on very good authority
that the Spaniards had placed two rows
| of torpedoes just at the mouth of the
Havana harbor by Moro castle, within
the past two months, subsequent to
the Maine disaster and that the switch
| board is in a room in the castle. He
said, however, that he had informa-
ton 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 Maine?" asked
Senator Frye.
mo, sir, I had. no reason to suspect
anything of that sort up to that time
He then went on to state that General
Weyler's letter to Santos Guzman had
led him to believe that the mines might
have been placed there previous to the
Maine incident and he said that this
suppositiOn was strengthened by a tel
egram from General Weyler of which
he had eognizance. Upon the whole
rect copy of the genuine letter.
The telegram to which he referred
was addressed to Eva Canela, a noted
Spanish woman and an admirer of
Weyler's and to Senor Guzman and it
read as follows:
Grave circumstances cause me to
| ask you to destroy the last letter of
February 12.' General Lee said that
this telegram had never before been
published and he found in it a strong
conffrmatory evidence of the genuiness
of the Weyler letter.
With reference to the responsibility
of the cause of the destruction of the
Maine, General Lee said: Il am salts
fed the explosion was from the outside.
cabled the state department a few
days after the board assembled that it
was almost certain that the explosion
was from the exterior.
t'I have always had an idea about
the Maine that of course, it was not
blown up by any private individual or
by any private citizen, but it was
had charge of the mines and electrical
wires and torpedoes in the arsenal there
who thoroughly understood their bust
ness for it was done remarkably well.
Il do not think Gen. Blanco, the pres
ent captain general of the island of
Cuba had anything to do with it. 1 do
not think he had any knowledge of it.
/ saw him shortly after the occurrence.
I was sitting in my room at the hotel
and from the balcony of the hotel 1
could hear the report. I heard the ex-
go up in the air. A few moments after
ascertaining that it was the Maine, 1
went right down to the palace and /
asked for Gen. Blanco. He came in di-
rectly by himself He had Just heard
it and was crying, and tears were COM
ing out of his eyes. He seemed to re-
gret it as much as anybody I saw in
Havana, but think it came from some
of the subaltern officers who had been
there under Weyler and who were prob
ably anti-Blanco anyhow, and who had
full knowledge of the business"
Gen. Lee said that he had seen a copy
of a telegram from Admiral Manterola,
dated Havana, prior to the explosion of
the Maine to the Spanish commission
in London, asking the commission to
hurry the electrical cables
Whether that referred to wire for
submarine mines, or torpedoes, I do
not know" he continued Il tried to
ascertain If any of the wire or electrical
cables had arrived there but they came
on Spanish ships and could not find
OUT Gen. Lee said that his testimony
in regard to Manterola, and also that
with reference to the Weyler telegram.
had been furnished to the court of in
ouiry which investigated the Maine
disaster but had not been sent to con-
gress, nor published, because of a re-
quest of his made to the state depart
ment not to make them public, ''aS I
was afraid the Spanish papers there
would republish it and they would
probably kill the man that gave it to
me-"
Continuing his testimony Gen. Lee
said that ten minutes after the explo-
sion he was at the palace talking to
Gen. 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 burning.
II did not notice that" said Gen. Lee
ssb1lt I have made inquiries since and
have ascertained that no electric lights
were out 1 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 1 could not as
certain from these men that a single
electric light men whom I called upon
is a friend of mine and he sent for the
man who has direct charge of the
lights who came to my office. This
man said he had not heard of any such
thing 1 said L wanted to know with
certainty The man then made an ex-
pIoration of an hour or two and re-
turned and said that with the exception
of one electric light near the harbor
and another at the palace not very dis
tant where he thought perhaps the