Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-04-14
IT WAS VERY WELL DONE.
Gen. Lee Tells About The Destruction Of The
Maine.


| NVt oh loTclBn FeiUtlOns III coIlHtN'loi
with the Investigation into the rela-
tons between the United States and
Cuba was made public today. It con'
stitutes book of about $50 pages and
Includes not only the testimony taken
since the disaster to the Maine. but
also much that was known before and
running back for year or more. The
statement which contains the greatest
current Interest Is that made by Con
sui General Lee on the twelfth inst. In
TINS statement Gen, Lee said thnt he
wars 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, or sub.
segment to the Maine disaster. and that
the switch board Ia in room in the
castle. ta
He said, however, that he had no in
formation of the placing of any tor
pedoes before the Maine was destroyed
ana none In regard to their purchase
abyoad by the Spanish authorities.
HAVE you any reason to suppose
mat the harbor was mined at all, be-
fore the blowing up OF the Manner
asked senator Fry.
No sir; had no reason to suppose
anything of that sort up to that time
1
| ler's letter to Santos Gusman had led
him to believe that mines might have
| Deen placed there previous to theMaine
Incident and he said that this suppo-
sition was strengthened by Il telegram
from Gen. Weyler. OF which he had
cognlzanee. Upon the whole he
| thought the Weyier letter tthe Lame
letter. was correct copy OF a gem
| uine letter. so
| The telegram to which he referred
was addressed to Eva Canela, "A noted
| Spanish woman. and an admirer of
Scn. Weyler, and to Senor Gusman
and It reads az follows.
-"Grave circumstances cause me TO
ASK you TO destroy the last letter of
| February L."
Gen Lee said that this telegram had
never before been published and he
found IN II strong conilrmatory EVIL
dence of the genuineness OF the Wey-
Ter letter
With reference to the responsibility
FOR the destruction of the Maine, Gen.
Lee said.
Il am satisfied that the explosion
was from the outside. / cabled the
state department few days after the
board assembled that II was almost
certain that the explosion was from
the exterior, as | have always had an
idea about the Maine, that OF course II
was not blown up by any private indi-
vidual, or by any private citizen. but
IL was blown up by some of the officers
WI, VIII nnu charge OF the mines and cleo
tric wires and torpedoes In the arsenal
there and thoroughiy understood their
business FOR 1t was done remarkably
well. '''
Il don't think Gen. Banco, the
present captain genera, of the island
OF CUBA, had anything to do with IL.
II don't think he had any knowl.
pNgh or II. EnNy him chnrttt.
the occurrence. | was sitting in nv
room at the hotel. / heard the ex-
pioslon, and from the balcony OF the
motel saw great column of fire 20
up In the air. A few moments after
ascertalning that II was the Maine, /
asked for Gen Blanco. He came In
directly by. himself. He had just
heard II and was crying. Tears were
coming out Of his eyes. He seemed to
regret It as much as anybody I saw
In Havana. l think 1t came from some
or the subaltern officers who had been
there under Weyler. and who were
probably anti-Blanco anyhow. and who
had full knowledge of the business"
Gen. Lee said that he had seen
copy of telegram from Admiral
Manterola dated Havana prior to the
Maine explosion, to the Spanish com
mission In London asking the COM
mission TO Hurry up the electrical
cables"
"Whether that referred to wire for
submarine mines or TO torpedoes
don't know" he continued. 81 tried
to ascertain IL any of the wire or
electrical cables had arrived there. hut
they came on Spanish ships and l
could not find out"
Gen. Lee said that this testimony
In regard to the Manterola and all of
that with reference to the Weyler
telegram had been furnished 10 the
court of inquiry which investigated
the Maine disaster. but had not been
sent to Congress nor published be-
cause of II request of his made to the
state department not to make them
public, "As / was afraid the Spanish
papers there would Tepublish 1t and
they would probably kill the man that
gave II 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 II when he got to the waters
edge he saw amy lights burning.
II did not notice that" said General
Lee. but have mnde inquiry since
and have ascertained that no electric
lights went out. | sent for electric hght
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 sim
gle electric light went out. one OF the
electric light men whom / called up Is
a friend of mine and he sent Tor the
man who has direct charge of the lights
who ca,ne to my office. This man, he
said, had not heard of any such thing.
said | want to know. with certain
ty. The man then made an eSploru-
ton OF an hour or two and returned,
saving that with the exception OF one
electric light near the harbor, and one
at another place, not very far distant,
where he thought perhaps the lights
might have gone out by tho shock,
no other electric lights went out"
General Lee also said he had not
felt the shock of the explosion at the
hotel.
Have you heard since the explosion
Of the Maine any expression by Span |
ish officers In relation TO IT, indlcnt- |
ing their pleasure at the facts?" asked |
Senator Frye.
General Lee responded. II heard |
two or three days afterwards from
various persons that came In that there |
was a good deal OF rejoicing among |
some of the officers. All reports I got |
said that they were drinking cham |
payne quite thing to do in honorjof |
the event, and In different portions OF |
the city were making merry I Mt |
tributed II to the fact that what they |
considered almost an enemys hnttla- |
ship had been blown up and II was that |
much In their favor"
He snid he had not heard any threats |
plritE room AVN nntSx