Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-02-08
Ell A NEWS S.
KILLING OF COLONEL RUIZ.
consul General Lees Reports Submit
ted to the louise
(By TeleSraph

ted to the House.
CBy Telegraph.>
WASHINGTON. Feb. THE Presi-
dent transmitted to the House today
'rne reports from CONSUL General Lee
relative to the execution of Colonel
kuiz. Which the House called for by
resolution. Those reports consist OF
Two dispatches to the State Department
from General Lee. The first. under
a narrative account of the circumstan-
ceS attending the execution. AS a mat
ter OF public interest,"" says General
Lee, Il have the honor to inform the
department that IN Monday, December
Is, Lieutenant Colonel Don Joaquin
Ruiz, OF the Spanish corps of engineers
aide-de-camp OF the carNajn sranerS
al. an officer we'll and favorably known
IN the city, visited Colonel Arangurpn
an active and enterprising insurgent
chief with whom he had been formerly
Wen a~cHuainted.a as the latter had been
IN his employment when Ruiz had
charge of the water works OFF this CITY.
Colonel Ruiz left at 6 \. NJ. Monday
IL, aliS'hnting at camp Flovido.
tweniy-one miles from this city, where
he breakfaSted With the Spanish com
lrialider n in company with Practices
Cgu!des) a White man and a negro, he
rode on horseback in the direction OF
ArdnSurenS camp. After he had pro-
2eeded two leagues he was met by Ar
anSuren. VINO was mounted and had an
escort of fourteen cavalry. Colonel
ttuiz, after THE exchange of s~alutations,
began Il speech to Aranguren and his
party. setting forth the prospective glo-
rleS OF autonomy. and, l ann advised,
made oilers upon the part of the au-
thorlt.es here Tor the surrender of his
command, whereupon Aranguren, act
ing under the instructions of his gener-
a~l-in-ehief. X Gomez. had Colonel
ftuiz and his two men executed.
" Will be remembered that
in November last General Gomez
issued al proclamation ordering
his officers to put to death any
person or persons that Should approach
tlem with the effort to make them
traitors to their comrades or cause, or
to induce them TO accept autonomy
under Spani.h rule. -Aranguren, pre-
vious to the war, lived in Havana with
his mother. but has since been a bold
and active officer in the inSurgent
ranks.
I'm accordance with a request made
to me by the Russian Consul and other
friends Of Colonel Ruiz. and with tine
Knowledge, consent and approval of
General iBlanco, l made the attempt to
save the life of the Spanish officer by
sending to Colonel Arangurcn MIR. Ern-
est Iusca, as my representative here,
with tine following note:
Habana, December 16. 1897.
Va \ t1llS u III.
My Dear Sir: / ann Informed that q
Spanish officer named Colonel Dan
Joaquin Ruiz is your prisoner. I write
to say that the said officer lis a personal
friend of mine and has shown me kind
ness and courtesy since my arrival in
Habana j therefore request YOU as a
special favor to me to release Colonel
Ruiz and to allow him to return to his
capital. The bearer of this note, Mr..
rrnes ToSca, is my personal represent
tatjve and | commend him to You.
:" i am. etc, -
~osiyned) TlTzHuGH LEE
II regret to say continues General
Lee, THAT my representative did not
reach the insurgent camp in time to de-
liver said note before Colonel Ituiz's eX-
ecution, which had taken place ON the
day Of Ruiz'S arrival"
On December 10th General Lee wrote
as follows;
Referring to my previous dispatch, I
desire to say further that the note to
Aransuren contained therein was not
delivered. because wten my representa-
tive reakllel his Camp this inSurgent
but the next ranking officer, then in
command, gave to Mr. ToSca the follow
ing statement:
Camp OF Cuba. Detilas of the
death of Lieutenant Colonel Don Joa-
Quin Ruiz: The gentleman came to
these fields dressed in the uniform of a
Spanish military officer and before the
Cuoan forces made to Colonel Neslor
~ArangGren, respecting the orders of our
army, made Ruiz prisoner and he was
executed later, after a court martial
had been held, and i'm the name of the
law organization of our army, and
tina it may be known, ! furnish this in
formation to Mr.. Ernest Tosca. who
came commissioned by THE American
consul at Habana.
T" p y L. Country and Liberty). Army
of Cuba, December 10, 1897,
,CSigned)
MAJOR ALFREDO lima"