Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-17
A BRAGGART
Intimates He Would Have Blown Up
Our Warships.
HE KEPT THEM AWAY FROM HAVANA
Letter 10 a Friend Published for
First Time.
STU ALTON AT MADRID

NEW YORK, March 1.-THE New York
Journal this afternoon prints a statement
written by Honore F. Laine, the hewspa-
per correspondent recently arrested and
searched by Spanish officials in Cabanas
prison, Havana. and later expelled from
the island. This is the opening of LANES
statement:
'On January "A at 10 O'Clock at night 1
net in the Cafe Inglaterra, the headGuar-
ters of the reporters in Havana, Francisco
Diaz a reporter of the r@bid Spanish pa
per. La Union Constitutional, with whom
1 frequently exchanged news.
ION asking him if he had anything TO
give me. he took from his pocket a letter
and handed it to me, saying: .Weyler wrote
this letter TO Santos Guzman, who sent it
to Move (the editor of the Union Consti-
tutionaD for him to read and write an ar
ticle on the acceptance by WeyIer of the
candidacy of deputy to the cortes for Ha-
vana- 1 took this copy, which you car
keep"
Letter to Guzman.
The following is the alleged letter:
His Exceliency, Don Francisco de Los
Santos Guzman. Havana.
My Distinguished Personal and Political
changed my views about the attitude which
our political party in Cuba ought to as
sumo. If 1 have thought before that it
was more dignified for US to abstain from
the electoral contest, L believe now that it
Is patriots duty for to go to the polls.
Our success cannot be doubted; neither
can he our majority of voters, nor thar
with a program of defense OF the national
honor We will have side by side with
alt these lukewarm politicians who, though
SpaniardS by heart, are deceived by the
irside combinations OF MoTet and Sagasta,
and take as scientific solutions of our
colonial problems What are really dishon-
ora bic humiliations of our country before
the United States.
Write on your flag, the flag of Spain,
Defense of rational HONOR and l offer
SOU my name as your candidate.
After having commanded during the two
years SU.U0D Spanish heroes in Cuba, the
Title l shall be more proud of is that of a
-teputy from Havana at the corte5 of Spain.
Insinuates Assaxsination.
By the way. 1 have read these days that
the Americans are bordering about sending
one of their warships to that city. During
my command in Cuba they did not even
dare to dream about it. They knew the
terrible punishment that awaited them.
1 had Havana harbor well prepared for
such emergency. / rapidly finished the
work that Martinez Campos careleSsly
abandoned.
If the insult is made, 1 hope that there
will be Spanish hand to punish it as ter
ribly as it deserves.
Romero Is in better health than his
friends could have expected. and notwith-
standing how morally sick l feel breathing
this humiliating atmosphere, l am well
a'so- Your afTectiorate friend and servant,
VALERIANO WEYLER.
Madrid, January s. 1888.
VIII Not Pay Indemnity.
faIIo
official note was issued here today: 1.-The
report of the SPANISH commission on the
Maine is not yet known; but the statements
of several technical officers, who have
made close examBs ton of the scene of
the disaster, show it was indisputahly due
to an internal accident. American asser-
tons to the contrary are therefore deplored
in official quarters tending to nlislead
public opinion ard reIder tine situation still
more difficult from the standpoint of MAIN
tanning friendly relations between the two
countries.
1T may be regarded as certain that should
the American technical commission present
report declaring the disaster to be due to
an external explosion the public here will
refuse TO accept such a finding, and any
demand for an indemnity based thereon
will be Indignantly repealed by SPAIN
Statement by Laine.
Lame says that he read the letter and
rived he called at the Office of the Union
Constitutional to see Diaz, in an effort to
secure the original of the letter. Some
days after the Maine explosion Lame met
Diaz- who asked him If he remembered the
letter and what it's contents were about
All American warship.
the American correspondent replied that
he did. and that be believed some one had
followed Weyler's advice. Lame Gays that
he has since found out that Diaz informed
the chief of police that he Q1aine) had a
copy of a letter written by Weyler which
might bring trouble to the Spanish govern
nen.. especially as he was an American
newspaper correspondent who was asso-
eating with Captain Sissbee.
On March Lame was arrested by Col
Paglieri, chief of police of Havana. His
friends were informed of his being impris-
oned by q cabman who knew him. Accord
ing TO Lame Chief Paglieri said to him:
We'll. sir. we have you here secured, and
let NE tel. you that the secret that know
you possess will never be known by others.
as no one will ever know what becomes of
you
Lame replied: IF you think that you
can murder me were Aria and ro5asa
the two young men who were taken from
here and killed in the Cerro. you are mis-
taken"
The colonel replied in a calm but stern
way: mo. sir; am not mistaken"
You may not be mistaken" said Laine,
but 1 can tell you that this moment
the French as well as the American consul
has been notified that l am here"
This changed the chiefs attitude some
what. but he persisted in trying to secure
information from Lame.
GEN. PANDO IS FOUND.
Missing Spanish Omcer Turns In In
Puerto Principe.
HAVANA, March 17.-General Pando