The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-07
WEYLER'S RULE In CUBA.
He Held a strict Censorship over War
Correspondence.

manned in office six weeks longer, Garcia
| column would have been broken and dis
| persed and Santiago would have become as
| free from instruction as the other prov
| inces In other words, the insurgents would
| have dwindled into predatory bands, without
organization and without an attempt to
maintain an insurrectionary government.
| The weylerites laugh at the effort of Sa-
| gasta and Blanco to organize an autonomic
| government.
Certain it is that Weyler is a remarkable
| man. He was a military attache of Spain
| at Washington during the American civil
war. He served with Sheridan in the valley,
and had a great admiration for Sherman
and Grant. He speaks English fluently and
ought to be thoroughly acquainted with the
resources and disposition of the people OF
the United States. He is about the size OF
| John T. Davenport, quick in motion, alert in
mentality, decisive in action and unrelent-
| ing in purpose. At certain hour each day
he would appear upon the Prado in Havana,
| in full uniform, and march up and down the
square for thirty minutes, entirely unac-
| companied.
| On assuming office he sent for the Amer
! lean newspaper correspondents. He asked
| how many of them had seen service in the
| American war There were some who had
fought within the ranks of the Confederacy,
and others who served in the Union army;
! others had followed their profession in both
armies. Weyler told the latter that they
| hardly needed instructions as to the news
which they would forward to their papers.
| Their experience in the civil war had I'M
doubtedly ripened their judgment, and they
would send nothing that was improper or
liable to be of service to the insurgents. As As
| captain general, he had determined to do
away with all censorship. AS republican
| he believed in full liberty of the press. inc
| correspondents We're at liberty to sehu
| everything published in Havana ana any
| other real news, but nothing alarmlngly
| sensational, and nothing that they knew 10
be untrue: They should be cautious TO 70, give I'VE
| no news that wodld tend to disclose mlltary
| plans or movements.
| your messages will go by cable, ne
said. There will be no censorship; l s 1aii
| can wire them in the English language. L
| want you to understand that anything you
may send of an improper nature VIII re.
! fleet on me both here and in Madrid and
| / shall be held responsible and be censured
| for removing the censorship"
| He told them that they were at liberty
| to come and see him at all times, and gave
| orders to admit them without Iormallty
and at all hours. Nothing apparently couid
| be feared; yet within week the captain
| general received bitter complaints from the
| Spanish minister at Washington and from
| Madrid about the press kilograms He was
| censorship. s1e
Weyiers moods varied At times he would
! invite a correspondent to sit down upon a
sofa with him and enter into a free con-
1 versation. At others he would receive the
correspondent while seated at his his, desk c2t
| to see me? Well. what is it? Speak, am
| quite busy"
| He spoke English. only when his adjutants
| were not present. He seemed to be appre-
| hensiYe that ii would create q suspicion
! within their minds il they heard him con-
Itr-l1 nF,t
| If correspondent produced a clipping
| from a newspaper Weyler invariably seized
it and put it in his pocket. He patronized
| all the clipping bureaus in the United
| States, and had a score of scrap books. All
clippings of denunciatfon against himself
We're underlined with red ink. They were
| placed in a separate scrapbook. All carica-
| lures of himself and of the little King OF
Spain were put in a different volume.
| At times he was facetious. George Bry-
son, a weIl-known correspondent, once Wis
| tied him and asked permission to see the
| Competitor and other American prisoners
| in the Cabanas. If you don't care to let
me enter the fortress" said Bryson, please
be so kind as to have them brought to the
gate where o, can t talk to them hem Won
that there are no American prisoners in
the Cabanas? Haven't you yet learned that
| 1 have fed them all to the sharks?"
No Bryson answered. II hadn't learned
WELL" replied weyler, 'you don't read
| the postoffice officials brought me a letter
| addressed to Mr.. God, managing editor of
| the New York Sun (the managing editors
letter. 1 looked over it and found that two
! bodies of prisoners had been picked up off
| MORO Castle with their arms and legs eaten
off by sharks. The correspondent further
| asserted that nearly all the prisoners in the
| Cabanas had been fed to sharks: and the
| sharks got so fat they were hardly able to
| swim. There was only one thing to do with
| such letter that, continued Weyler,
| land that was to seal it up and forward it.
| 4 a recognition confidence
| correspondent in the Spanish mail system.
| Other correspondents would have sent the
| letter to Key West In a special dispatch
| boat. Well the Sun printed it with far
| ing caption. The only regret that 1 had
/ about it was that my friend, Don Pancho.
| of the Associated Press, was beaten out of
| the news. But 1 gave Pancho chance af-
| terward. On the following day 1 sent for
| him and gave him shark story.
| Have you heard what the sharks did
| to-day? / asked to him.
| No. he replied.
squad over to the Cabanas to shoot two
| Cubans. The squad was headed off in the
| bay by two big sharks. One of the sharks
jumped into the boat and drove the firing
| squad to the masthead delaying the execu-
ton until new squad appeared
lie 6T actually f9ced 1e1 Paneho to send END
next day" said Weyler, with a smile Don
| Pancho received dispatch from the New
| or crazy"
Some absurd stories threw the captain
| general into an uncomfortable rage. one
| day he read in an American newspaper
a story accusing him of wrapping the stars
| and stripes around an American prisoner
| and then burning him alive Weyler gritted
| his teeth stamped his feet, worked his Aus
| TRAN chin with anger, and said that if he
could catch the correspondent who wrote
| the story he would wrap him in the Spanish
| flag, place a dynamite bomb beneath him,
and blow him off the island. This was said
in the censor's Office while a score of cor
| respondents were awaiting a revision of
| their dispatches. Next day two of these
correspondents disappeared from the island.
| AT another time speaking of the attitude
| of the American press, he became sarcastic,
| saying that, Notwithstanding their foul
| friends and had been of great service to
| him, Spain was continually throbbing with
| Indignation over the invectives heaped
| upon him. Editorial comments upon his
| course. in American newspapers, were re-
| produced in the Madrid press They
| aroused Spanish patriotism and proved a
| great factor in the enlargement of his ar
| my He wanted to thank the New York
newspapers for adding at least 1900 troops
| to the Spanish army in Cuba
At one time, apologizing for his alleged
| ferocity he said he was simply obeying the
| commands of the Canovas Ministry He al
| legged that the reconcentrado decree had
ace in Havana He himself was the simple
servant of the home Ministry, loyal to
| Spain, and determined that she should win,
| even if every man, woman and child born
| on the island of Cuba had to be sacrificed
| He would make the island a wilderness.
| covered with ashes and bones, if this would
| insure victory.
! what care l." said he, with a wave of
| the hand ''how great the sacrifice of life
| TO crush out the spirit of rehellionP II /