The times., 1898-02-27
AN UPRISING EXPECTED
BlancO Unable TO Control His
Own Soldiers.
WEYLERITES MUCH EXCITED
A Big Demonst stration In Havana
That Threatens the Safety of All
Americans in the Cf;y-Gen. Lee
in Consultation With the British
Consul General.

Havana Feb. %, via Key West, Feb.
26-The city of Havana is in a state of
fermentation. and no further attempt
to avoid open rupture will be successful
Owing to the press censor, even General
Lee cannot send messages derogatory TO
the Spanish side of the situation and it
would not require much to make open
rupture between Spain and America.
An outbreak is more imminent tonight
than anyone not here can understand, and
even Blanco realizes that his hold on the
people is extremely weak. When the
steamer Montevideo arrived with the ad-
dtion to the Spanish forces. the soldiers
could not restrain their fiendish joy up
on learning of the fate of the Maine and
her crew.
The wreckers and marines engaged in
the ghastly work of recovering the bodies
were compelled to listen 10 cold-blooded
tauntS and sneers.
Death TO Americans was the yell.
Early in the week it was BlancOs in
tention to send large force into the in
terror, but he has abandoned il because
of the monster demonstration TO be held
here on Sunday. All of the Captain Cen
erals threats have been unavailing. His
attempts to prevent it have been futile.
The element which is opposed to au-
tonomy and which favors the bringing
back of Weyler is growing all the time.
1t proposes to be heard, and heard it will
be on Sunday.
Even Blancos soldiers sympathize with
the people, and it is a question whether
he can control them. Tt is felt in Havana
today. on the part of conservatives, that
Sundays demonstration is the beginning
of a studied movement to depose the
Captain General
General Arolas, the military governor
of Havana, whose military strength as
sisted in crushing the last demonstration.
is i'll. and the military control of the po-
lice and the soldiers is in the hands of
weaker leaders, in whom the foreign con-
suls have no confidence.
1t is significant, in connection with the
uneasiness evidenced on every hand. that
Gen. Lee holds frequent conferences with
the British consul general. England's
representative may be called upon to care
for American interests and even to
guard American lives for it is in no way
improbable that an unquenchable out
break against Americans may occur on
Sunday.
Four Secret Service men from Wash
ington are here. They are acting under
secret Government orders and have
nothing to do with the work of the court
of inquiry.
The publication in Havana papers of q
dispatch from New York quoting Sena-
tor Hanna as saying. 1.-The catastrophe
to the Maine was accidental is looked
on here as an attempt of the Admins
tration to ward off suspicion for political
reasons.
The Spanards are making great capi-
tai out of Senator Hanna's utterance,
the papers printing it in bold faced types.
Spaniards are parading it in public
places and this while the court of in
auiry is still in Havana.
1t is open talk among the ultra-Span-
ish that America will not fight even if it
should be ascertained that the Maine was
blown UP by Spaniards acting under or
ders from Spain itself. This is why
the demonstration may result in harm to