No. 578.
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Fish.
Madrid, September 16, 1874. (Received October 5.)
Sir: The following is the text of a telegram which I had the honor to send to you at 11 o’clock this day:
Fish, Secretary, Washington
Minister of state authorizes assurance that story of contemplated transfer of Puerto Rico to Germany is utterly destitute of truth, either in fact or intention.
CUSHING.
Madrid September 16.
Permit me to add a brief explanatory commentary.
My dispatch No. 83, written soon after the arrival here of telegraphic repetition of the statement contained in the “Freeman’s Journal” of the intended cession of Puerto Rico to Germany by Spain, referred briefly to this subject, reporting contradiction of the rumor on the basis of unofficial information. But on the arrival here this week of newspapers containing the detailed statement, with extracts of pretended diplomatic communications on the subject, it seemed to me that you would approve my going so far as to obtain direct, official, and authoritative contradiction of the statement. I accordingly called on the minister of state yesterday and presented the subject to him in such terms as to invite him to make such explanations if he might see fit. Mr. Ulloa responded [Page 913] promptly and positively that not only was the whole story false in substance and in detail, but that to the contrary of so many newspaper stories, which have in them an atom of fact upon which to raise a great structure of falsehood, the present statement did not possess even that exceptional atom of fact, but was in its entirety destitute even of a shadow or pretense of foundation. He added that the alleged letter of Admiral Polo de Bernabé having just come to his knowledge, he had caused Admiral Polo to be notified thereof, in order that the latter might in his own person expose the falsehood and the fabrication.
I have, &c,