Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-04-15
But on Every Side Are the Increasing Signs that War
With Spain Is Now Close at Hand.
Powers May Again Attempt Peaceful Settlement Spain
SWears to Resist to the Bitter End.

/ Washington. April 14.-Testimony
| taken before the Senate committee on
| foreign relations between the United
/ States and Cuba was made public, to-
! day. 1t constitutes a book of about
/ go pages and Includes not only the tes-
/ timUny taken since the disaster to the
| Maine, but also much taken before ana
remaining back fer year or more.
| The statement which contains the
+ greatest current interest it that made
/ 10y Consul General Lee on the 18th inst.
| In this statement. General Lee says
! that he was informed on very good
authority. that the Spanards had plae-
! ed two rows of torpedos just at the
| mouth Of Havana harbor by MORO Cas-
! tie within the past two months, or sub
| sequent to the Maine disaster, and tina /
/ the switch board is IN a room in the
castle, lie said, however. that he had
no information of the placing Of any
/ torpedoes before the Maine was de-
! stroyed. and none in regard to the pur-
! chase abroad by the Spanish authori-
/ ties.
Have you any reason to suppose
/ that the harhor was mined at all before
| the blowing up of the Maine?" asked
Senator Frye. NO sir; | had no rea-
son to suspect anything of the sort up
| to that time"
| He then went on to say that Gen.
| Weyler's letter to Santos GuZtos had
! led him to believe that mines might
have been placed there previous to the
! Maine incident, and he said that this
! supp0Sition was strengthened by tel
egram from Gen. Weyler of which he
| had coSni2ance. Upon the whole he
thought the Weyler letter. (the Lainc
| letter. was a correct copy of a genuine
| letter. The telegram TO which he re-
ferrei was addressed to Eva Camel,
noted Spanish woman. and an admrer
| of Weyler's and to Senior Guzrnan ana
it read as follows:
Grave circumstances cause me to
ask YOU to destroy the last letter OF
February 18TH
Gen. Lee said that this telegram had
never before been published. and he
found in it strong coniirmatory evil
dence of the genuineness of the Laine
letter.
With reference to the responsibility
for the destruction of the Maine, Gen.
Lee said: Il am satisfied the explosion
was from the outside | cabled the
state department a few days after the
board assembled that it was almost
certain that the explosion was from the
exterior. | 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.
Il do not think General Blanco, the
present captain and governor genera
of the island of Cuba. had anything to
do with it. | do not think he had any
knowledge of it. | saw him just short
iy after the occurrence. | was sitting
in my room at the hotel and from the
balcony of the hotel l heard the eXplo-
sion ana saw a great column of fire so
up in the air.
a "A few minutes after aScertainins
that it was the Maine. | went right
down to the palace and asked for Gem
eral Banco. He came in directly by
himself. He had just heard it and was
crying; tears coming out of his eyes.
He seemed to regret it as much as any
body / saw in Havana. l think the ex-
plosion came from some of the sub |
allan officers who had been there under |
Weyler, and who We're probably anti |
Blanco, anyhow. and who had fun |
knowledge of the business"
Cen Lee said he had seen copy of |
telegram from Admiral Manterolia.
dated in Havana. prior to the explo-
SIGN of the Maine, to the Spanish COM
mission in London, asking the commits
sion to hurry up the electrical cables.
Whether that referred to wire for
submarine mines or torpedoes, L do not
know" he continued. Il tried to ascer-
tain if any of the wire or electrical
cables had arrived there, but they came
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