| Show THE VIRGINIUS MASSACRE the following interesting account of the massacre of the crew by the spanish authorities in cuba during the ten years war was written by the late richard mitchell and to Is especially timely just now every page of cuban history is id stained with the record of spanish atrocities long and persistent misgovernment has borne its fruits of at revolutions until today the most fertile and productive garden of america Amer toft Is a blackened ruin the severity of the home government that since the first years of occupation to the present day has followed the recommends thoas of the avaricious and despotic despot IQ officials sent out to govern the ever faithful isle became so unbearable that many attempts have been made to cast off the spanish yoke our own example combined with that of th successful south american republics was ever an object lesson to encourage them in their attempts to gain the freedom tor for which they longed but all efforts thus far have been uniform failures on the part of the poor cubans whose blood has flowed like water to satisfy their cruel oppressors thrice have we witnessed the massacre of our own citizens who had offered their services to the cause once under crittenden and lopez and later the virginius Virgin lus massacre almost identical in numbers the latter occurred during the 10 years war from 68 to 78 when cuba spilled its ita choicest blood hoping against hope for assistance from the tree free and power powerful fol republic but a few miles away and finally yielding to overwhelming numbers and the promise of concessions and reforms never carried out now they are again asked to lay down their arms under similar promise but the loss lose of their president martt mart and their devoted leader maceo with hundreds of others who preferred death to Sr spanish amish tyranny and with the experience of what spanish duplicity and cunning can accomplish to in broken faith and promises they 66 dare clare that nothing but absolute freedom froth from spain will ever be ac accepted tea are we not in view of past events rather straining a point in keeping our men of war away from cuban ports for fear of wounding the odthe of the proud and oversensitive over sensitive donst the massacre of 53 of the Virgin virgineus crew would have been prevented had there been one ship in the harbor of santiago de cuba when the tornado after lowering and insulting our fan foox brought the doomed crew into that port when one reads the details of refined spanish cruelty it seems all the more cruel because so anneo sary sart but for the timely arrival carz of lambert lorraine Lorr alne in the mi I 1 of war liobe the list of victims w wd have been increased by one hunt the presence of one american warship would have accomplished two ob ejects first it would have prevented the loss of a single life and secondly would have prevented spain from staining her escutcheon with so foul a N blot that it can never be eradicated the arrival of the niobe proves this for from the moment that her com mander walked into the governors palace the massacre ceased there are moments when diplomacy is too elow blow moments that mean months aye years of history and here was one on the action of the commander of the niobe depended the lives of one hundred and two human beings before another order could have reached santiago de cuba from spain burriel would have had them all murdered along the walls of the matadero and their bodies huddled in the trenches already dug for them but where was our navy it was an englishman gl ishman that stopped it the answer f is in this they were kept away from cuba for fear of wounding the dell deli cafe sensibilities of men like Jovel jovellar lax and burriel spanish caval cavallars cavaliers cava liers lers dig rifled spanish dons with inordinate spanish pride the nearest ship that could be reached was the wyoming at aspinwall commanded by cush ing what american boy does not know him it was said that he especially ally was kept away from the cuban coast knowing his too hasty temperament and fighting tendencies the consul at kingston learning that he was there telegraphed to aspin wall and cushing not finding time to notify the department and ask instructions took on coal and proceeded at once to santiago the account stated fated that burriel wrote the most arrogant Air letters to cushing he did but the sequel was that cushing not only threatened to bombard the town amt said hf he would sink anything he found in the harbor flying the spanish flag braine with the juniata now came ln in and more sailor diplomacy took place burriel sent his prisoners under cover of night to the morro ostensibly to give them up but really to ship them to cientuegos cienfuegos but braine 11 raine catching him at that demanded their return and gave the worthy orthy general a good breezy nautical opinion of such dastardly work tell ing the don with the inordinate eldell Wl dell that his word was absolutely worthless meanwhile what more bould those noble chevaliers chev aliers allers do but prepare their victims for death time after time they knew that they could not shoot them but then the victims 40 timis were in ignorance of that and 0 3 go o they could have their little spanish same they could see the poor felso tellow fellow so bid each other goodby good by and atch them suffer mentally although abey still had strength enough to hide if tuch from their tor mentors well chey had 63 at any rate that was a comfort they get plenty of AAne rican beef at the matadero but got a fair portion port loil now the wretches hes were under the protection of men of war and spanish beer beef to is down dow to the same price as amerl ameri cam beef burriel ts is now roaring as fegtly as a sucking dove he dare pot attempt to dully bully the commanders of chime ships as an he did the american vice consul although mr in gw most dignified way showed in his cepues js how little he feared him and aft h of the two was t xe he caballero C afe ime would not think of stopping the official amr fal telegrams of braine of cush awby tW by reason of right vested in me 4 amr reply to them as he did to mr when questioned that he had amm no attention to ahree most vartany tant official communications be jaube ause for the past two days I 1 and ir officials were engaged in the pious auty of meditating on the divine mys teries of all saints and the commemoration comme me of all souls day as aa prescribed by our holy and blessed religion 11 he had however during those two days of religious meditation established two courts that had tried gen ryan nadien canadian Ca bembera Bem beta varona del sol and cespedes with capt fry and 37 others about one half cubans and the other halt half americans and english the first group were s shot hot on the ath the day the above letter was written to consul schmitt and the second batch on the ath the ath opened auspiciously the niobe had arrived the shooting began in squads there were 42 to be shot and it was one of these squads that lorraine met demanded what it was and upon being told hastened to the palace and with no uncertain voice made the ruff occupant understand der stand him in a way that sent an aide post haste to the matadero for one more death meant the fall of his palace about his ears and the force of the two great anglo saxon nations crushing down upon spain ln and just in time he was to save a group standing against the wall a group in which there were three americans two of whom were mere boys from new jersey that was the end of the bloody saturnalia and now how did diplomacy thrive hardly had the cable flashed the news to spain before our minister gen sickles was in the presence of carvajal the spanish minister of foreign affairs to announce the capture of the virginius on the high seas by the spanish man mam of war tornado and to warn him that the Virgl virginius was flying the american flag with american citizens on board in the subsequent communication to the spanish minister he stated the american position first spain not having declared war ete eft isted in cuba and the united states not having recognized recognize a them as belligerents the tornado had exceeded her instructions in undertaking to capture a ship under a foreign flag in the open sea second the united states denies the right of any power to visit molest or detain on the high seas in time of peace any american vessel this is claimed and observed by all great maritime powers Carvajal tried Bur burriell Burrl riela els style of diplomatic letter writing with gen sickles but very quickly abandoned it and adopted a different tone castelar telar the president of the spanish rt public was dignified and gentlemanly throughout the controversy he assured minister sickles that he had sent ept a telegram at 7 a m pov nov 6 as soon oon as he had received news of the capture admonishing capt gen jovellar that the death penalty must not be imposed on any noncombatant non combatant without previous approval of the cortes nor on any person taken in arms against the government without out the sanction of the executive this was simply pimply the repetition of an order perfectly well understood by jovellar and burriel notwithstanding this wholesale shooting continued until roan noon of the ath the spanish minister declared that the shooting ceased lm atle receipt of the home telegram at santiago but the terrifying apparition of the commanding officer of the alobe must have beon ben coincident with the placing or the telegram into the trembling hands handa of burriel so much for their respect for home orders in cuba now while the men of war watch the spaniards at santiago rapid working of the able cable goes on between secretary fish gen sickles minister carvajal and the spanish minister at washington admiral polo de berne be and we have a kaleidoscope view of spanish chivalry and honor car I 1 A hajela receives word from ties that the Virg lAius kakuno papers was therefore nota documented american ship fore had no right to fly flag but the consul at King toW blared she did have papers that tha atey were properly made out ad were subsequently handed to I 1 the cap captain wu of the tornado by capt frye fe aito js 0 o flying the flag mr carvajal Car vaSal ww informed by secretary fish fiah shaugh h gen sickles sickle s that the ua united acted alted 1 t reserves the right to wa j 4 e tion and under no circumstance sWill 1 l ii allow it to be decided by any y admer ea r nation spain theft the claimed hij the virginius was discovered lati landing hg n and munitions of war anthe cult coast was chased off aad miles from jamaica ial all or 0 proved false I 1 n on nov 14 six days after I 1 hl fusillade at the matadero mr mh demanded within twelve days tae restoration restora Uon of the virgi I 1 ahei lease of the survivors the it of jovellar and burriel an and anfe t saju to our flag of twenty 0 one e guns i t santiago de cuba with amt tut bebart tion to all american citi r families that were on ba board A te 6 VI fintus at the time of her captola capt dlA this spain de declared cAred to be humiliating and inaam 1 64 JEW we they had not had sufficient ruffic e en tifft examine into the facts and 9 CO ed the moderation of england aith th our impatience the g good ABU af pf england were requested auf de except on the basis of complete com I 1 aaion to the united states spa p 4 countered a similar rebuff fron k many spain now requested thai tha y te i wt matter be left to coppag to gain time to reinforce her hi iii wat alt cuba and to increase her fore by the fall of cartagena V 0 was waa daily expected this our government govern nent refused declaring it a subject lional honor of which she herself was judge in the meantime 0 were loud in denunciation w te k united states the vos de det aubi uba wn granulated the brave tars i oi ota ahe tornado and hoped that the awod of justice would fall without ar pelay upon the infamous wretches ae s serve no consideration abused spanish clemency tig for them to feel spanish justice justic it y r ciote 4 the application of the clemency and justice the Sp appah papers those of the ministry ac vell declared their entire approval of abo procedure not one expression of 0 regret or disapproval camer came fran le foreign office r nothing having been heard a ocar mr sickles demand ata at p m of the gm the secretary of the legation tur adee placed in the hands wm cajal a note from our requesting passports for hims elfand an family and for the officials ab ithe 16 l I 1 ration gation the italian government mad I 1 authorized its minister to documents mr carvajal know if hla his note had not bent at the legation this was M one half hour later it imm ing been detal detained ned to see if ottar go government t would carry out to I 1 sever diplomatic relations in foht note spain agreed to the demands of oe ahe united states as much for the sake of quieting foreign dignity as for the relief of her own C conscience I 1 if such violations exist as is L tw reason of the seizure of the clr or by subsequent acts roe e will be glad to repair the iba el ftp cording to its just ampo TO proving that the reign of la law de lne e judgments favorable fairo rable or adverse ad esthe first essential to national IN loi I 1 1 that the observance of law ant ant born to assume a pie in rafie senate of cultured nations the final details of the agreement were worry that on the uth mth of Mp december oember tol 4 spanish man of wr war would 4 ar urn ap pp over the Virgl virginius flying the aj american u biag nag to an american war au theorized authorised zed to receive her between the hours of 8 a m and 4 p ma m should accident prevent the arrival of auld the e american man of war then as soon thereafter as possible that 48 ji irs after aft r the arrival of a united tea man of war at santiago de 41 adall ill the survivors of the Virgin virgineus fus 11 I 1 be safely escorted on board said p between 8 a m and 4 p m and 14 r surrendered to her commander shall notify her arrival to the orioles I 1 it f before the day of december shall have failed to prove that the unlawfully carried the el cited 1 states flag a salute of 21 guns snail hall be fired at santiago de cuba as a salute to the american flag which wate salute shall bo be returned gun for gun ty an american ship then present if ft b toy ahalt date spain shall prove to the of the united states that tace virginius carried the flag bay the salute garate shall be wal waived vlod that firoved proved that the proceedings ima and ro AMert american can citizens by det against of de cuba ebeth e keefa failures to comply IT lie 1 l the he oi of or I 1 ettes tea the spanish government see to 0 arraign the authorities be f ft J JL ico tent tribunal any re that diat yally be referred erred by elther government 1 shall be conW dd d bent mhd lie it nd agreement ahal be reached they shall be sub tiff fied to A a third government gover Merit by co consent epaty pledged the national faith for immediate fulfillment of her prom wen ais mr fsr fab had bad previously nott notified fied Sid liles that hat there awe tf grave ave as to the right of the toft to fly the ilag flag and this As easily easily proves by the spanish minister inister to so on dec 20 the salute was waived and lowry who to santiago in the canan to officially witness and return the cne salute was recalled the sur out of were taken on board the juniata dec 16 and landed in new york dec 28 capt chief of staff went to babaa honda on the despatch and the Virgin virgineus the american fag bang hoisted at her peak and the despatch entered the harbor barbor she was 1 condition when ahr to IL a tw worse keky lB Vly sank marik with the filibusters and y did sink in a gale ot oft wind ep n omiga ute t to 0 charleston afen alien ft kles in 1 n dl dI agust now rk re his hie recall vi was too much for the bluff and honest bovest doer ate was |
