Our War with Spain for Cuba's Freedom

by Trumbull White

CHAPTER XXVL

AMERICANS IN SPANISH DUNGEONS.

Spanish Hatred of the American Nation—Instances of Injustice—
The Case of Dr. Ruiz—His Death in a Dungeon—Julio Sanguilly—
Action of the United States Senate in His Behalf—A Correspondent
in Morro Castle—Walter Dygert's Experiences—General Lee Shows
His Mettle in the Case of Charles Scott.

Not content with their cruel and inhuman treatment of Cuban patriots, the Spanish officials have seemed to take special satisfaction in imprisoning and even murdering American citizens on the slightest pretext. The object of their most bitter hatred is the insurgent, but if they are to be judged by their deeds, it would appear that the American occupies a close second place in their black-list.

Time and again our government has been compelled to interfere to save the lives of its citizens, and unfortunately this interference has on several occasions been too late. It is not possible to present a list of all the men and women of American birth who have lost life, liberty and property by Spanish authority, from the massacre of the crew of the Virginius to the wrecking of the Maine, but a few instances may be mentioned, which will prove conclusively that the retribution, of which the glorious victory in Manila bay was but the commencement, came none too soon.

THE CASE OF DR. RUIZ.

One of the most flagrant of these outrages was the imprisonment of Dr. Ricardo Ruiz, a Cuban by birth, but a naturalized citizen of the United States. He was a dentist by profession, having studied in a Pennsylvania dental college, and after receiving his diploma, he returned to his native country to practice his profession.

He was accused of being in sympathy with the revolutionists, arrested and kept in prison for two years, when he died, probably from violence. In the following letter, written from Havana, regarding the case, will be seen the reasons for this supposition:

"Ruiz died, according to the surgeons, from congestion of the brain, caused by a blow or blows. When General Lee and Mr. Calhoun visited the jail in Guanabacoa, they were shown the cell in which the Spanish say that Ruiz died. The guard explained to General Lee and Mr. Calhoun that he heard thumping on the inside of the door, and when he opened it and went in, Ruiz was running at the heavy door and butting it with his head. Ruiz had only one wound on the top of his head. Had he butted this door, as the jailer says, his scalp must necessarily have been lacerated in several places."

Julio Sanguilly is another American citizen who was tried for treason, and sentenced to life imprisonment. This case attracted a great deal of attention in the United States, and a resolution was passed by the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, making a demand on the Spanish government for his release. During the debate on this resolution, Senator Daniel, of Virginia, said:

"Two years ago yesterday, Julio Sanguilly, an American citizen, was thrown into prison. Two years have gone by and this government has done practically nothing for this citizen. Great Britain would have released him as soon as one of her battleships could reach Havana. He has been brutally treated and condemned on unsworn testimony before military tribunals. This country and all civilization have been disgraced by the treatment meted out to this unfortunate man. Every citizen of this country would have patriotically applauded the President if he had sent a fleet of American battleships and compelled the release, of this American citizen, whose country has been insulted by the treatment accorded to him and to our representative in Cuba."

The Prime Minister at Madrid, realizing that trouble of a serious nature was likely to come from this affair, cabled Weyler to discharge the prisoner from custody, and banish him from the island.

Sanguilly immediately came to the United States, where he was warmly received by his friends, and he has since been actively engaged in work for Cuba's freedom.

Charles Scott, an employe of the American Gas Company, was arrested at Regla, charged with having Cuban postage stamps in his possession. He was in solitary confinement, in a damp, empty cell, five feet by eleven, for fourteen days. Once during his imprisonment he was left for two days without even a drop of water. General Lee, then United States Consul at Havana, cabled to Washington, asking that arrangements be made to send war vessels to Havana, in case of necessity, and declaring that unless his requests were complied with, he would leave the island. In this affair, as in many others, General Lee proved that he was the right man in the right place, for it was due to his efforts in Scott's behalf that he was finally given his liberty.

Mr. Charles Michaelson, a newspaper correspondent, and his interpreter, were imprisoned, in Morro Castle as suspects. It required fine detective work to discover this fact, for they were missing for some time before it was definitely known that they were in the clutches of Weyler, but the "Butcher" finally admitted it, and after a short delay was persuaded by the United States Consul to release them. Mr. Michaelson's treatment was almost brutal in its nature.

The interior of the castle is like a dungeon, and he was compelled to sleep on the floor, as a hammock sent to him by friends outside was not given to him till the day of his release. His food was thrown to him through the bars of the door, and meals sent in to him were eaten by the guards. Rats were his constant companions, and when, occasionally, he would sink into a light slumber, he would be suddenly awakened to find one of the animals in his hair, another burrowing under his coat, and still another making a meal on his shoes. On one occasion he threw a shoe at a rat, which struck the door of his cell, whereupon the guard threatened to punish him for a breach of prison discipline, the noise being against the rules.

Walter Dygart relates his experience while the enforced guest of the Spanish government. It is evident that the keeper of a prison in Cuba has a profitable occupation.

"A child may weep at brambles' smart,
And maidens when their lovers part;
But woe worth a country when
She sees the tears of bearded men."

"These lines by the poet, Scott, recurred to me when I saw aged men weeping and heart-broken at being separated from their families and shut up in this hell. But why does the Spanish government shut up helpless cripples and non-combatants? This is a question that puzzled me for some time, but I finally solved it, and will answer it after I have described the food and water.

"A little after six in the morning we were, each of us, given a very small cup of coffee. The first meal of the day, if it could be called a meal, came after nine o'clock. It consisted of a little rice, which was generally dirty, a few small potatoes, boiled with their skins on, and often partly rotten, a little piece of boiled salt beef, or beef cut up in small bits, with soup, just about half enough, and of the poorest quality. The meat was often spoiled and unfit for anything but a vulture to eat. The second and last meal of the day came about four in the afternoon, and was the same as the first.

"I had no opportunity to count the prisoners, but I learned that there were about 180 on the average confined there. I learned as definitely as I could, without seeing the contract, that a certain party had the contract to feed these prisoners at twenty-five cents each per day. Thus he gets $45 a day, and I learned that the food costs him only $7 to $8 a day, and, as some of the prisoners did the cooking, his profit can be readily seen. On such a contract he could afford to divide with the judge and army officers to keep the prison full."

A MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN MORRO CASTLE.

The Southern Baptist Missionary Society has a mission in the city of Havana, and it was formerly in charge of Rev. Alberto J. Diaz, whose home is in the United States. Ever loyal to his flag, and believing in the institutions of his country, he lost no opportunity to preach civil as well as religious liberty, and though often warned to desist, by the Spanish authorities, he continued the course which he regarded as his solemn duty. He gives particulars of his arrest as follows:

"About three o'clock one morning I was aroused by a knock at the door of my house, and when I opened it I saw some fifty or sixty Spanish soldiers, with their guns leveled at me. I quickly shut the door and talked through it. The captain said he must search the house, and I consented to let three men come in. They spent seven hours looking through two trunks full of sermons, and other papers, and when the search was completed they had found no incriminating documents."

Nevertheless, both Dr. Diaz and his brother were imprisoned in Morro Castle. They were tried for treasonable utterances and sentenced to death. Fortunately one of the sentries of the prison was a member of Dr. Diaz's church, and through his kind offices, a message was sent to the president of the Southern Baptist Missionary Society in Atlanta. He communicated with the authorities at Washington. This resulted in the execution being postponed, and the brothers were accorded more humane treatment than they had received heretofore.

Dr. Diaz now addressed a telegram to our Secretary of State, giving the particulars of the arrest, trial and conviction, and appealing to him to demand their immediate release. The message was smuggled on board a boat bound for Key West, and Weyler, hearing of it, at once cabled to Washington that Diaz had been released. He, with his brother and his family, was compelled to leave the island by the first steamer, and they returned to the United States.

In our treaty with Spain, which was in force up to the time of the declaration of war, was the following clause:

"No citizen of the United States, residing in Spain, her adjacent islands, or her ultramarine possessions, charged with acts of sedition, treason, or conspiracy against the institutions, the public security, the integrity of the territory, or against the supreme government, or any other crime whatsoever, shall be subject to trial by any exceptionable tribunal, but exclusively by the ordinary jurisdiction, except in the case of being captured with arms in hand."

This treaty was supposed to protect American citizens from trial by martial law, but it was disregarded by Spanish officials in Cuba time and again, and, in fact, up to the time of General Lee's arrival in Havana, an American citizen had very little advantage over a Cuban insurgent, when the safety of his property or his person was concerned.