Evening star., 1904-03-17
"A RUSE THAT FAILED
Signed for Their Pay and
Tricked Into Service.
CREW THEN DEMURRED
HEARING RESULTS IN DISSENT
ING SAILORS RELEASE.
Tables Turned on Captain and Alleged
Mutineers Have Him Arrested
Spain Sends for Ordnance.

The arrest yesterday of Capt. William q.
Cutler of the lighthouse service, and VINO
is stationed at the San Juan navy yard,
was the elimination of a series OF sensa-
tional incidents during the past week in
connection with the United States tug
Nina and her crew.
The Nina was recently loaned to the
lighthouse board, and arrived in San Juan
on December IL last from New York. The
Nina, manned by crew from the Glouces-
ter, has sailed for Pensacola, Fla, but has
left trouble behind her here. Her present
crew is composed, it is said, of sailors
whose terms of enlistment have nearly ex-
pired, and who will secure their discharge
upon arriving in the states.
The Nina will be put upon dry dock in
Pensacola, having hole in her bottom,
caused by running aground last January
and pounding for half hour on the rocks.
The Nina's original crew, now in san
Juan, charge that they were 'shangha1ed
into the service. They claim that they un-
derstood they would be returned to New
York, and that they were hired by verbal
agreement, no paper of any kind being
signed by them until the first of last month.
At this time, when their monthly pay was
received. the men state, a paper was pre-
sented for their signature, the import of
which they did not know. One of the men,
John ChrIstofferson, claims that he asked
what it meant, and was told by the ship S
captain that he was only signing for his
pay.
Deluded in Signing for Pay.
By these papers, it appears, the men
signed themselves into the service for a
term Of one year. Dissatisfaction existed
among the crew for some time, and when
the Nina was ordered to Pensacola, the
crew demanded some guarantee from Cap
tpi,, G,,tI4 tIo+ tIai, to. Nart
York from that port would be paid. This
the captain could not give, and the men
made UP their minds to return on the
Coamo, and requested that their wages for
February be paid them.
1t was stated that this was refused and
they found themselves bound to the serv-
ice; consequently at the hour of sailing
they refused to work until assurance was
given them that they would be given their
passage to New York.
Those who were watching the Coamo as
she left the harbor, saw the little Nina
leave the naval station wharf, describe a
large circle and then return to her berth
But only those within the naval reServa-
tion saw, shortly afterward a squad of
marines, with bayonets fixed, rush from
within the barracks and remove from the
ship fifteen members Of her crew and
march them to the lookup within the
grounds, and known to the sailor the
brig" Meantime the Nina was tied here
until another crew could be secured, which
was several days later.
Men Are Discharged.
United States Commissioner Anderson
gave a hearing to the men, who claimed
that they used no violence, but simply re-
fused to work until their demands were
complied with. Capt. Cutler charged them
with mutiny aboard ship.
Commissioner Anderson, after hearing
the stories of the men, discharged them.
Then Thomas ]. O'Mara, Fred Norrbe,
John Christofferson and Vernon Ball
swore before the commissioner to a COM
plant charging Capt. Cutler with having
illegally deprived them of their liberty and
having threatened them with revolvers,
rifles and other deadly weapons. They
name as alleged victims all members of the
Nina's crew.
Capt Cutler was placed under arrest at
his office yesterday morning by Chief
Deputy United States Marshal H. W. Hub
bard The deputy also held a warrant for
Capt. Charles Lyman, commanding the
tender Nina, but was unable to serve the
same as Capt. Lyman is at present aboard
the Nina en- route to Pensacola.
Capt. Cutler was brought before United
States Commissioner Anderson and fur
appearance and hearing before che com
missioner later. The American Colonial
Bank furnished the security.
Spain Sends for Guns.
The steamer Catalena, from Spain
brought to San Juan a few days ago a
commission of Spanish officers, composed
of Don Servano d. Ozouvilie, Ramon Acha,
Pauline Garcia, Monandro Amores and
Angel Martinez, to take charge of remoy-
ing the ordnance guns which are the prop
erty of Spain, and which still remain in
the fortifcationS of Porto Rico at San
juan In forts Ell MORO and San Cristo-
ball. Under the treaty of Paris the heavy
ordnance remained the property of Spain
provided the United States did not elect to
purchase it.
Spain made several propositions to the
United States to sell the guns but after a
thorough investigation this country decid-
ed that 1T did not want them They are
out of date and the smokeless powder now
used in modern guns cannot be used in
them. AS the old style of powder does not
give the necessary speed to the projectile
and therefore not enough force, they are
demed practically useless
1t is said that Col. Crane has not re-
ceived the necessary orders to turn over
the guns to the commission as yet and
that until he hears from Washington he
cannot permit their removal
The recent decision by Congress to fortify
San Juan with modern long-range guns
and to make the city practically frnpreg-
| nable has caused much satisfaction here
| The cost will be comparatively small and
| the results would be of incalculabIe yalue
| in event of war.