The herald., 1898-04-15
the TESTIMONY TAKEN
By THE SENATE INVESTIGATING
COMMITTEE
LEE AND sIesBEE AGREE
In the Belief That the Maine Disaster
Was Deliberately and Mali
I ciously Planned
Associated Press Special Wire

ASSOCIATED ETeSS 0pcCldi VAio
WASHINGTON. April 14.-The testi'
mony taken before the Senate Commit
tee on Foreign Relations in connection
with the investigation into the relations
between the United States and Cuba
was made public today. 1t constitutes
q 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 contained the
greatest current interest is that made
by Consul General Lee on the 18th inst
In this statement General 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 Morro Castle with
in the past two months, or subsequent
to the Maine disaster, and that the
switch board is in a room in the Castle.
He said, however, that he had no infor-
nation of the placing Of any torpedoes
before the Maine was destroyed and
none in regard to the purchase abroad
by the Spanish authorities.
Had you any reason to suppose that
the harbor was mined at all before the
blowing up Of the Maine?" asked Sena-
tor Frye.
mo, sir; had no reason to suspect
anything 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 believe that mines might have
been placed there previous to the Maine
1,A hot =, &c l.
tion was strengthened by a telegram
from General Weyler of which he had
cognizance. Upon the whole he thought
the Weyler letter (the Laine letter. was
q correct copy of the genuine letter.
The telegram to which he referred
was addressed to Eva Canela, noted
Spanish woman and an admirer of Gen.
Weyler, and to Senior 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 strong confirmatory evil
dence of the genuineness of the Weyler
letter.
With reference to the responsibility
for the destruction of the Maine, General
Lee said: IT am satisfied the explosion
was from the outside. I cabled the
State Department a few days after the
board assembled that it was almost GER
tain that the explosion was from the ex-
terror. 1 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 blown
up by some of the 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 well.
IT don't think General Blanco, the
present Captain-General, had anything
to do with it. I don't think he had any
knowledge of it. I saw him shortly
after the occurance. /! was sitting in
my room at the hotel. I heard the ex-
plosion, and from the balcony of the
hotel saw great column of fire go up in
the air. A few moments after ascer-
tanning that 1t was the Maine, I went
right down to the palace and I asked
for General Blanco. He came in directly
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 I saw in Havana. I think