Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1891 — PURSUING THE ITATA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PURSUING THE ITATA

CHANCE FOR THE U. S. CRUISEB CHARLESTON TO SHINE. She I s Said to Be Hotly Chafing th« Chilian Privateer —Questions in Regard to Her Possible Capture Not Definitely Nettled. A dispatch from Washington says: The most pressing thing in state affairs now is the escape o# the Itata. The possibility that this can result in any serious destruction of our relations with Chili is remote, but the evar present specter of “indemnity” is what scares the State Department, “Indemnity” has become a hair-raising word in state circles. The Italians started it and the fear that Chili may also hoist an emblem with indemnity emblazoned on it causes uneasiness. Ever since we made Great Britain pay $15,000,000 for permitting the Alabama to escape wo have kept a weather eye keenly strained upon every fishing smack that might be suspected of wanting to carry a revolver to an enemy. Hence the first business of the administration is to recapture the Itata. Instructions were sent to Admiral McCann, now at Valparaiso, to put to sea with the Baltimore and Pensacola in order to intercept tbe insurgent vessel. Similar instructions were sent to Admiral Brown. The last report from him was that he had left Callao, Peru, with the San Francisco. His exact whereabouts along the coast is not known. Orders have also been sent to tho Charleston, now at. San Francisco, to start in pursuit as soon as possible. This last does not amount to much, for the Itata has five hundred miles and at least two days’ start from any vessel that could sail from San Francisco, and it is doubtful if tho Charleston could catch her in an even race. If the ship is caught or intercepted it will be by one of Admiral McCann’s vessels, though if the Charleston should catch her in one of the Mexican ports she could undoubted-

ly fasten on to her and tow her back to San Diego. The actual status of the Itata is not that of a pirate, but an authorized ship upon the seas. She has no flag, no clearance, no charter. Any ship of any nation can seize her, and if she resists she becomes at once a pirate. The position in which the United States is placed by the escaping of the Itata is a peculiar one, bearing in mind the forcible argument which Mr. Evarts and other able representatives of the United States laid before the tribunal at Geneva in respect to the escape of the “29,” afterward the rebel cruiser Alabama, upon which arguments Great Britain was mulcted in heavy damages. In that case it will be remembered the suspected vessel got away before the British authorities had received sufficient information, as they claimed, to warrant them in seizing her. In the case of the Itata tho vesfol was absolutely in tho possession of the United States Marshal, and tho responsibility for her escape can not be evaded. It may be a question between the Department of Justice and the United States Marshal as to whether proper precautions were taken to insure the detension of the vessel, but as between the United States and the recognized Chilian Government should Balmaceda be successful in the internecine warfare now in progress, there can be no manner of dispute as to the complete liability of tho United States Government for whatever damages the Itata uncaptured may be able to inflict. There is quite a feverish air of expectancy round the Navy Department as to the devclopements of the incident, and many of the officers on shore are envying the opportunities which tho Charleston and other vessels are .likely to have of brisk service afloat The question of the right of the United States to take the Itata on the high seas is not altogether settled. The State Department people have searched their authorities and have scrutinized the facts in the case, and are inclined to doubt the right. Tho whole question arises from a dispute as to the character of the vessel. Were she a pirate, a ship in the service of an enemy to this country, and a vessel of American register engaged in acts iu violation of treaty stipulations, tho case would be a simple one But she is merely a Chilian vessel, engaged in tho transportation of a suspected cargo, a cargo that may possibly be contraband in the light of the treaty, aud there is a very great risk involved.' No one doubts the right of the United States to arrest the vessel in our waters for the purpose of examination, and her detention was in accordance with this belief. But now that she has landed the deputy marshal and sailed along on her business she may prove a hornet that will sting in after years In the matter of the international law involved it would seem as though the State Department is not in entire accord witli the rest of the administration, for both Attorney General Miller and Secretary Tracy lean to the belief that the vessel Itata is legitimate prey. “Maria, why do you always turn your ear when I kiss you good-night?” loudly asked George Belvidero o ? his sweetheart. “Ears can’t smell,” sweetly responded Maria, as train 439 whistled for WeilsvhV The freedom of the press depends largely upon whether or not the old man is peeping through a crack in the parlor door. By the way, a widow is an ex pressed freedom to marry again. Having ascertained that an elevator is in charge of a regular attendant, it would seem absurd for the insurance man to ask if it has a governor. Scientists say the orange was originally a berry. In point of size som •of those to bo seen at the present time might readily pass as such.

U.S. CRUISER “CHARLESTON.”