Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1897
Mr. Sherman to Mr. Woodford.
Washington , August 28, 1897 .
Sir: I inclose herewith for your information copy of a dispatch from our consul at Santiago de Cuba touching the request of the military governor of the province of Santiago for a list of American property within that district, and of the Department’s reply through the consul-general at Havana, wherein is set forth this Government’s position that in the absence of any provision of United States law or treaty requiring the consular registration of American property in Spanish jurisdiction, the furnishing of lists based upon information voluntarily supplied by our citizens in Cuba can not be suffered to prejudice in any way the rights of any other American property holders whose names may not so appear.
Respectfully, yours,
Mr. Hyatt to Mr. Bay.
Santiago de Cuba , August 6, 1897 .
Sir: I have the honor very respectfully to report to the honorable Department of State that on Monday last I received a communication from his excellency, Francisco Oliveros, military governor of this province, asking for a list of all American property within this zone. I learned that the same request had been made of my agent at Guantanamo, and whether at other agencies or not I have not learned.
I also learned that similar requests had not been made to the consuls of other nations.
Having no knowledge of why the request was made or for what purpose it is to be used, after getting his excellency to define the boundaries of the zone mentioned, I made the inclosed reply, since which have heard nothing, and therefore take it for granted that the answer is satisfactory to the officers of Her Spanish Majesty’s (Government, or at least is a fair and proper answer to their question.
I remain, sir, etc.,
United States Consul.
Mr. Hyatt to Mr. Oliveros.
Santiago de Cuba , August 3, 1897 .
Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your second communication of August 2, concerning real estate owned by Americans within this zone.
I desire to give your excellency as good a reply as possible, but find the question beset with difficulties that do not appear at first sight, owing to the absence of any property register at the consulate. A very few American citizens have voluntarily made a list of their property, mostly personal, and left it at this consulate; but, so far as I recall; outside of the zone mentioned.
[Page 528]The inclosed list contains the names of all Americans registered at this consulate whose houses have of late been or now are within the zone given by your excellency.
An examination of the books of the assessor would show whether any property, if so what, is placed in their names. Several of these parties are now absent from Cuba, and I do not know who has their property in charge. Some others own property here who long since ceased to reside here, and their names do not appear on the register. Still others own property in this city and perhaps elsewhere on the island who, so far as I know, never set foot on Cuban soil. To illustrate: The property occupied by this consulate, now and for the last fifteen years, belongs to an American woman, and neither I nor any other consul before me ever knew it until within the last few weeks, when the death of the former agent made it necessary that a new one should produce a new power of attorney, which revealed the fact that the owner lived in Brooklyn, N. Y., and was never here, and owns other property on the island.
Mr. Ramon Villalon is the agent of an old lady living in New York, who owns several houses here, yet has not been here for many years. These cases I learned by mere accident. How many others there may be I have no means of knowing.
In the inclosed list I have placed the letter “P” after the names of those that I think own property; others are marked “away” because absent.
There are three or four corporations of American citizens who own property within the zone mentioned. First, the Juragua Iron Mining Company, Limited, that owns several thousand acres of land, on which are located extensive and valuable iron mines, several hundred dwellings and other buildings, a railroad extending from the mines to a valuable iron pier in Santiago Bay, a large number of cars, locomotives, repair shops, machinery, tools, waterworks, and all the necessary paraphernalia for running and operating such an extensive plant, including valuable houses, offices, and other property at the terminal point known as La Cruz.
The Spanish American Iron Mining Company at Saiguiri owns a property quite similar in scope and character to that of the Juragera company.
The Salanilla and Maroto Railroad, although under a Spanish charter, is nevertheless mostly owned by American capitalists. The main offices and shops are located in the city, and some 10 miles of the main track are within the zone mentioned. This company also owns a valuable manganese mine at Ponupo, one of the terminal points of the road, but outside of the limits of the zone.
Should the information in this communication prove insufficient, I will most cheerfully in any particular case aid your excellency in any way within my power in arriving at such facts as your excellency may desire.
With highest consideration, I am, etc.,
-United States Consul.
- Francisco de Paula Auza. (Away.)
- Dr. Frederick Arze.
- Francisco Javier Auza. P.
- Pablo J. Auza.
- Agustin Aquilar.
- Pablo Berges.
- Zenon Hipolito Borde.
- Martin Boix.
- Antonio Boudet.
- Manuel F. Blanco.
- Thomas Badell.
- Luis F. Carbonell. P. (Away.)
- Julian Cendoya.
- Domingo Capote. P. Demetrio Castillo. (Away.)
- Joaquin Castillo. P. (Away.)
- N. Castillo de Garzon. P.
- Elisha D. Ely.
- Joaquin Ferrer. P.
- Charles Fox.
- Domingo Ferrer.
- Horatio B. Fox.
- Asher Gruver.
- Juan Emilio Goule. P. (Away.)
- Bernardo Hechavarria.
- Dr. Phillips Hartmann. P. (Away.)
- Luciano Hernandez. (Mulatto.)
- Buenaventura Leon.
- Robert Lyman.
- Francisco Martinez.
- John Mendoza.
- Carlos Mesa. (Negro.)
- Francisco Nunez. (Mulatto.)
- Dr. Ramon Neyra. (Away.)
- Catalina Tamayo de Neyra. (Away.)
- Mrs. Lura Ely Navarro. P.
- Thomas Ortiz.
- Pedro N. Ortiz.
- Mrs. Dolores Fayardo Ortiz.
- Juan Francisco Portuon de Barcelo. P. (Away.)
- Jose Picaso.
- Adrian Portuondo.
- Peter E. Rivery.
- P. John A. Rivery. P.
- Federico Soler.
- Joseph Sans.
- Leopoldo Tomassevich.
- Andres Yillalon. (Away.)
- Chas. Ziegenfus.
- Juragua Iron Co.
- Spanish American Iron Co.
- Sabanilla and Maroto Railroad.
Mr. Cridler to Mr. Lee.
Washington , August 24, 1897 .
Sir: I inclose for your information a copy of a dispatch from the consul at Santiago de Cuba in regard to the request of the military governor of the province of Santiago for a list of American property within the consular district.
Mr. Hyatt’s reply to the governor illustrates the difficulty in the way of furnishing even a partial list of American owners of realty in the Santiago district in response to the request which it would seem has been addressed to the United States consul alone and not to the consul of any other nation. In the absence of any provision of United States law or treaty requiring the consular registration of American property in Spanish jurisdiction, the furnishing of lists based upon information voluntarily supplied by our citizens to our consuls in Cuba can not be suffered to prejudice in any way the rights of any other American property holders whose names may not so appear. Their rights under treaty and under public law are inherent in their national character and can not be impaired by any arbitrary formality of registration prescribed by local authority. The principle is much the same as in regard to the attempt last year to debar unregistered American citizens from their lawful rights. (See Foreign Relations, 1896, pp. 680–682.)
This Government is disposed to facilitate any reasonable resort to registration as a convenient means of announcing and making patent the rights of our citizens in case of need, but it can not admit that omission of a formality not required by our treaty or our laws can impair the mutual relation of allegiance and protection between the Government of the United States and its citizens in a foreign land.
Respectfully, yours,