The age-herald., 1898-08-25
STORIES OF
 FITZHUGH LEE

command at Jacksonville this week, leav- ing his friends in the dark regarding his intentions, says the New York Tribune It is known that he declined a. place on the military commission which will represent the United States in the evacuation of Cuba by the Spanish army The surmise is that he prefers to wait until Havana is occupied by American troops, and then be in command as military governor of the province. But General Lee also has political ambition, and wishes to be sena- tor from Virginia. The legislature is not to be chosen this fall though the pre- liminary campaign work will be done, and some of the generals supporters desire to have him the ground. However, one advantage of being absent is that he can be claimed by both the gold democrats and the Bryan free silverites without hay ing to explain in person just where he stands.
 Some of General Lees friends were ral- lying him one evening during his stay in Washington on his failure to announce whether he preferred to be a member Of the military commission, military gover- nor of Havana, United States senator from Virginia or president. He finally explained ms attitude by telling a story.
 Down in the ague country" he said. ''where the only healthy person is the one who has malaria, there was an old fellow named Jim Robinson, who for good many years had been the shakes. The chill would come at certain hour of the afternoon, as regularly the sun got to certain point in the sky. Every day Jim Robinson would go out just before the time, take look around him, hump his shoulders, and say to himself, to anyone who happen ed to be passing: Reckon it's about time for my regular shake, and I'll be power- fully disappointed if it don't come on.
 General Lee did not tell it of himself but some of those who were in Havana while he was consul general are responsible for the statement that Virginia's old-time election methods had become famous enough for the Spanish authorities to hear of them. Dr. Congosto, the secretary gem eral, was alternately on terms of cordial friendship and bitter enmity with the con sul general. In one of his periods of con- fidential friendship he sought Lees ao- vice. It was when the farsical arrange ment was being made to hold elections un- der autonomy. The palace, as General Blanco's government was called, was Will ing that the Spanish classes who were ops , posed to autonomy should be represented in the new colonial government, but dla not care to give them representation large enough to embarrass the autonomlst nolicv. They were coaxed to accept minority representation in the proportion of one anti-autonomist to two autonomlsts. Some were in favor of doing this, while others opposed taking part in the elec- ttous at all. The Blanco government, now ever, was afraid that the opposition at the . last moment might rally and control the elections.
 It was on this point that Secretary Gen eral Congosto sought the advice Of Gen- eral Lee He explained that it was i'm portant to go through with the elections and to be sure that the government had a safe majority The authorities, however, were afraid that under the liberal program outlined for the elections they might not be able to manage it, and Secretary Con- gosto delicatey hinted that General Lees advice would be useful to them, because they knew he was from Virginia and they had heard that in Virginia it was so con- trived that the colored vote should not prove an embarrassing factor Neither Lee nor Congosto ever told what advice the consul general gave, but in a few days it was quietly whispered around that Con gosto had not been initiated into the Vfr- ginia methods. Nevertheless, when the time came, a certain number of ballots were counted, and a so-called autonomist majority of two-thrds was returned.
 General Lee has been consulted by the. administration about the feeling of the Spanish classes in Havana who wanted an nexation, and also those who might be opposed to protectorate of the United States. He does not think that any diffi- culty need be expected from this source. and he anticipates no trouble from the volunteers. Many of the officers of that organization, he said, were at heart anx- ious to become Americans. In proof of this he repeated his experience with a colonel of the volunteers who is a leading merchant of Havana. This colonel was telling the consul general the political changes he himself had undergone. First he had been a Carlist, than an ultra-con- servative Spaniard, after that a moderate conservative, and then a reformista, as the Spaniards were called who were in favor of giving Cuba measure of home rule. When autonomy was adopted by the Sa- gasta ministry he became an autonomista.
 After he had recited his political evolu- ton General Lee asked him, innocently: "What next?" "Yankee." promptly re- piled this colonel of volunteers. Accord ing to the consul generals belief, he was simply a type of many.