In an
1898 diplomatic incident, the
DeLome Letter, which was intended to be a private letter to afriend by the
Spanish minister, was stolen from the Post Office in
Havana and released by
Cuban revolutionists to American newspapers. The minister wrote disparingly of
United States President
William McKinley "... McKinley is: weak and catering to the rabble, and, besides, a low politician, who desires to leave a door open to me and to stand well with the jingoes of his party." This event anticipated the
Spanish-American War