The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 2, No. 11, March 17, 1898 | Page 5

of Key West.
These sailors say that the Spaniards treated them with the utmost
kindness.
The first body from the Maine was brought to Key West last Thursday.
All flags in the city were at half-mast, and although the body was that
of an unidentified seaman, it was given the burial of a naval hero.
Captain McCalla, of the Marblehead, with Fleet Chaplain Lee Boyce
and a guard of honor of forty sailors, received the body, and it was
borne in state through the quiet streets of the city to the graveyard on
the outskirts. The sailors were drawn up facing the grave; the chaplain

read the service, and the body was lowered to its resting-place. The
simple ceremony was then ended by the ship's bugler sounding the
recall, and the guard at "shoulder arms" marched back to the pier.
It is reported that the uninjured survivors of the Maine feel very much
distressed over orders they are said to have received from the Navy
Department. All but five of the men are ordered to report for service on
the ships of the fleet at Key West. Naturally, they are desirous to get to
their friends in the North, and an effort will be made to induce the Navy
Department to allow them to do so.
It seems that, of the men killed on the Maine, a great number were
natives of foreign countries. The governments of these countries have
demanded an explanation of the disaster, and in case it is found that the
explosion was due to faults of construction or carelessness, an
indemnity will undoubtedly be demanded; or, if Spain is responsible
for the disaster, she will be called upon to pay this indemnity.
* * * * *
March 7th it was reported that Señor Gullon, Spanish Minister of
Foreign Affairs, had intimated to Minister Woodford that the Spanish
Government desired the recall of Consul-General Lee from Havana.
This news created great excitement. Our Government promptly cabled
to Minister Woodford, refusing to recall General Lee, and Spain
officially retracted the request, and the incident was practically closed.
A minister exercises his functions only by permission of the country to
which he is sent. If at any time that country has reason to object to his
presence, it can demand his recall, or, by withdrawing his exequatur,
make him at once a private American citizen, and nothing more.
An exequatur is the written official recognition of a consul or minister,
which is issued by the government to which he is accredited,
authorizing him to exercise his powers in the place to which he is sent.
We have already explained, in connection with the De Lome incident,
how a country may dismiss a diplomatic representative.

If Spain had demanded Lee's recall, or dismissed him for any reason
which she considered sufficient, there would have been no just ground
for offence. It would not even have been necessary for her to explain
her reasons.
Spain's action in intimating that she desired the recall was a courteous
way of putting the matter. President McKinley, in refusing to consider
it, took a wise course, for the recall of General Lee at this critical time
might have added to the strained relations existing between the
countries; besides, General Lee is so thoroughly acquainted with the
situation in Cuba that it is to the best interest of this country to retain
him.
* * * * *
Reports from Cuba as to the insurgents' cause have this week been
perceptibly fewer. It is known that a number of filibustering
expeditions have landed, and the Cubans feel very much elated. They
say that the Maine disaster has helped them in this country, for it has
increased the feeling against Spain.
The condition of the reconcentrados is terrible. You will remember that
General Weyler issued a decree that the farmers with their families, and
the people who lived out in the country, should leave their homes and
come into the towns. This was done because it was believed that these
people were supplying the insurgents with food and aiding them in
other ways. Of course, when these poor people were herded together in
and around the cities and towns, a great many of them had no possible
way of making a living. Starvation has resulted, and thousands of these
reconcentrados, as they are called, are dying. It is estimated that there
are very nearly 300,000 of them, and what food and clothing they need
must be given to them. The Spaniards, as can be imagined, have not
been very charitably disposed toward these poor people, and the United
States has generously come to the rescue. Tons of food and clothing
have already been sent to the island, and almost every day we read of
some vessel starting for