AMERICAN AND BRITISH CLAIMS ARBITRATION. CLAIM NO. 27. CUBA SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH COMPANY, LIMITED. CLAIM No. 36. EASTERN EXTENSION, AUSTRALIA AND CHINA TELEGRAPH It seems to be important that the Tribunal should be fully informed regarding the places where, and the conditions under which, the submarine cables of the Cuba Submarine Telegraph Company, Limited, and the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company, Limited, were cut by the naval forces of the United States in 1898, during the war with Spain. Since this information is not adequately set forth in the documents filed in these cases by either of the two Governments, the United States submits herewith, for the convenience and assistance of the Tribunal, certain additional documents in relation thereto. LIST OF DOCUMENTS. I. Proclamation by the President of the United States, dated April 22, 1898. II. Proclamation by the President of the United States, dated June 27, 1898. III. Affidavit of Cameron McR. Winslow, Rear Admiral, United States Navy, retired, dated June 1, 1923. Enclosure 1: Report of Rear Admiral (then Lieutenant) Cameron IV. Affidavit of James M. Helm, Rear Admiral, United States Navy, retired, dated May 21, 1923. Enclosure 1: Report of Lieutenant Lucien Young, to Rear Admiral Enclosure 2: Report of C. W. Jungen, to commander in chief, United VI. Statement of Edward W. Harden, July 11, 1923. 98x44 4 I. PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DATED APRIL 22, 1898. [UNITED STATES STATUTES AT LARGE, 55TH CONGRESS, 1897-1899, VOL. 30, PP. 1769-1770.] [No. 6.] By the President of the United States of America: A Proclamation. Whereas, by a joint resolution passed by the Congress and approved April 20, 1898, and communicated to the Government of Spain, it was demanded that said Government at once relinquish its authority and Government in the Island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and Naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters; and the President of the United States was directed and empowered to use the entire land and Naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the several States to such extent as might be necessary to carry said resolution into effect; and Whereas, in carrying into effect said resolution, the President of the United States deems it necessary to set on foot and maintain a blockade of the North coast of Cuba, including all ports on said coast between Cardenas and Bahia Honda and the port of Cienfuegos on the South coast of Cuba: Now, therefore, I William McKinley, President of the United States, in order to enforce the said resolution, do hereby declare and proclaim that the United States of America have instituted, and will maintain a blockade of the North coast of Cuba, including ports on said coast between Cardenas and Bahia Honda and the port of Cienfuegos on the South coast of Cuba, aforesaid, in pursuance of the laws of the United States and the law of nations applicable to such cases. An efficient force will be posted so as to prevent the entrance and exit of vessels from the ports aforesaid. Any neutral vessel approaching any of said ports, or attempting to leave the same, without notice or knowledge of the establishment of such blockade, will be duly warned by the Commander of the blockading forces, who will endorse on her register the fact, and the date, of such warning, where such endorsement was made; and if the same vessel shall again attempt to enter any blockaded port, she will be captured and sent to the nearest convenient port for such proceedings against her and her cargo as prize, as may be deemed advisable. Neutral vessels lying in any of said ports at the time of the establishment of such blockade will be allowed thirty days to issue there from. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this 22d day of April, A. D. 1898, and of the Independence of the United States, the one hundred and twenty-second. WILLIAM MCKINLEY. II. PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, Dated JUNE 27, 1898. [UNITED STATES STATUTES AT LARGE, 55TH CONGRESs, 1897-1899, VOL. 30, P. 1776.] [No. 13.] By the President of the United States of America: A Proclamation. Whereas, for the reasons set forth in my Proclamation of April 22, 1898, a blockade of the ports on the northern coast of Cuba, from Cardenas to Bahia Honda, inclusive, and of the port of Cienfuegos, on the south coast of Cuba, was declared to have been instituted; and Whereas it has become desirable to extend the blockade to other Spanish ports: Now therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, do hereby declare and proclaim that, in addition to the blockade of the ports specified in my Proclamation of April 22, 1898, the United States of America has instituted and will maintain an effective blockade of all the ports on the south coast of Cuba, from Cape Frances to Cape Cruz, inclusive, and also of the port of San Juan, in the island of Porto Rico. Neutral vessels lying in any of the ports to which the blockade is by the present Proclamation extended, will be allowed thirty days to issue therefrom, with cargo. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this twenty-seventh day of June, A. D. 1898, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second. [SEAL.] By the President: J. B. MOORE, WILLIAM MCKINLEY, Acting Secretary of State. III. AFFIDAVIT OF CAMERON MCR. WINSLOW, REAR ADMIRAL, UNITED STATES NAVY, RETIRED, DATED JUNE 1, 1923. Affidavit. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, County of Suffolk, ss: I, Cameron McR. Winslow, Rear Admiral, U. S. N., Retired, of Boston, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having been first duly sworn, on oath say that, on May 11, 1898, I was attached to the U.S. S. Nashville, with the rank of Lieutenant; that, on said date, the Nashville was operating off the South coast of Cuba, near Cienfuegos. On the said date, under superior orders, I took command of the launches and boats of the Nashville, which transported a force to cut the submarine cables landed near Cienfuegos. That Lieutenant (now Rear Admiral) E. A. Anderson cooperated in the expedition in command of the launches and boats of the Marblehead. That two cables were cut, a short distance from the beach and within Spanish territorial waters. A third cable which was picked up was not cut, because of heavy firing from the land. The reports made at the time by Lieutenant Anderson and me, of which copies are attached, are truthful statements of the details of the expedition, and the attached plat1 shows approximately where the cables were cut. CAMERON MCR. WINSLOW, Rear Admiral, U. S. N., Retired. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 1st day of June, 1923. [SEAL.] HARRY P. NOURSE, Notary Public. Enclosure 1: Report of Rear Admiral (then Lieutenant) Cameron McR. Winslow to Commander B. H. McCalla, dated May 11, 1898. U. S. S. NASHVILLE, 3D RATE, Off Cienfuegos, Cuba, May 11, 1898. SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the cutting of the ocean telegraph cables at the entrance to Cienfuegos Harbor: Under your verbal orders, I proceeded about 7 a. m. to-day with the steam cutter and sailing launch of this ship and the steam cutter and sailing launch of the U. S. S. Marblehead to execute the duty assigned me. After the ships had demolished the cable house and had apparently dislodged the enemy from the chaparral, hills, and rifle pits. I proceeded with the boats under my command directly for the cable house, opening fire from the Colt's automatic gun in the bow of the Nashville's steam cutter and from the 1-pounder cannon in the bow of the Marblehead's steam cutter, also from the sharpshooters in both steam cutters. We cast the sailing launches off from the steam cutters when about 300 yards from the beach. I was in the sailing launch of this ship; Lieut. E. A. Anderson, of the Marblehead, in the Marblehead's sailing launch. Ensign T. P. Magruder was left in command of both steam cutters, with orders to keep up a fire on the hills and chaparral. The fire from these two boats was kept up incessantly while we were engaged in the work of cutting the cables. The cable going to the eastward was first grappled, and was underrun by both sailing launches, and a section about 24 fathoms in length was cut out of this cable, the sea end being cut in about 13 fathoms of water. The section of this cable cut out was brought to this ship on the return of the sailing launch. After cutting the first cable we proceeded in both sailing launches to the southwestward of the demolished cable house and grappled within 60 feet of the beach for the cable leading westward. [The plat which accompanies this affidavit is not reproduced.-Agent's note.] After about one-half hour's work we succeeded in grappling this cable. Great difficulty was experienced in lifting this cable, and we were only able to underrun 15 fathoms of it. We cut a section out of this cable about 15 fathoms long and threw it overboard in deep water, leaving the sea end of the cable in from 6 to 10 fathoms of water. While working with the second cable, we discovered a third cable, much smaller than the other two, parallel to the cable leading to the westward. After cutting the second cable we proceeded to grapple this third cable. Up to this time the enemy had from time to time opened fire upon us, but we were able to silence his fire by the fire from our steam cutters and the continuous heavy fire maintained by the Marblehead and the Nashville. While grappling the third cable, the enemy apparently greatly increased its force and opened a deadly fire on our boats. Believing that we had cut the two important cables, and knowing that we could not endure the terrific fire of the enemy, I ordered the sailing launches to let go the third cable, and ordered the steam cutters to take the sailing launches in tow. We manned the oars of the sailing launches to keep the boats clear of the breakers until the steam cutters could take them in tow. At the same time we opened fire from the men in the sailing launches not at the oars, the steam cutters keeping up their fire. We continued firing while in retreat, under a very heavy fire from the enemy, our men displaying great coolness. Shortly after my launch was taken in tow, while I was reaching for a fresh rifle, I was struck by an enemy's ball in my left hand, but was not crippled, and I was able to continue in command. We steamed as rapidly as possible against a head sea for the Marblehead and the Nashville, keeping up our fire as we retreated. One man in my boat, Robert Volz, seaman, was shot in the head and badly injured. The Marblehead's boats, though farther from the beach than the Nashville's, suffered more loss. At the present time I do not know the extent of their loss. No one in the Nashville's steam cutter was injured. The work, owing to the heavy armored cables used, 12 inches in diameter, and the heavy swell rolling in, was extremely difficult. The water being clear, we were able to see the cables at a great depth. Had it not been possible to have seen the cables, it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to have grappled them, as the uneven formation of a coral bottom continually caught our grapples. The boats were splendidly supported by the heavy fire of the Marblehead and the Nashville. Toward the end of the action the Nashville took a position to the eastward and close in on the reefs, and admirably covered our retreat, crossing her fire with that of the Marblehead, and passing quickly between our boats and the enemy. Owing to the fact that the enemy had excellent cover in the hills and chaparral, and to the fact that they used smokeless powder, it was impossible to accurately locate them. At the last part of the engagement, just at the completion of our work, judging from the very hot fire, the enemy must have been in large force. I have to state that I was ably supported by Ensign T. P. Magruder, in command of the steam cutters, who displayed great cool |