PBA Galleries

Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst writes to the American Consul General in Cuba regarding his publication of a copy of Lee's official report on the circumstances regarding the death in prison of Ricardo Ruiz de Ugarrio a Cuban-born, naturalized American citizen who was held incommunicado, denied a hearing or trial, and found dead in a filthy Guanabocoa jail cell by the Spanish authorities on 17 February 1897. The Journal's reporting of the incident was one factor in the lead-up to the Spanish-American. Hearst writes "I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of June 16th, inquiring how the Journal managed to get a copy of your report on the Ruiz matter. I can very frankly say that I am as much in the dark as you are about this. If I knew I would gladly tell you..." Consul General Lee has written beneath this, in a large scrawl, "Quite a diplomatic response from the Proprietor N.Y. Journal! F.L."