Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 January 1892 — APOLOGIZE OR FIGHT. [ARTICLE]

APOLOGIZE OR FIGHT.

the united states has been INSULTED. President Harrison’* Messago to Congress Deprecating the Attack on Our Sailors— Minister Rgun Upheld—Reparation and Apology Demanded. Uncle Sam’s Demands. Chill must apologize or fight. That Is, In brief the declaration of President Harrison, whoso long-promised message, with Ihe mass of correspondence bearing upon tho issues involved, has been submitted to Congress. The ultimatum, which was made public, points distinctly to a resort to arms unless nn apology ,s forthcoming. The capital now rings with talk ot bloody war. Hatties oii'tbe seas and bloody eonflia s on . biUan soil are thought to be 010 a at hand. And everybody enjoys the prospect ot the just chastisement of tlio South American bantam that lAr months past has dared to flap its wings in the face of your forbearing Uncle Bam. Speaker Crisp called |the House to order, struck the desk and tlm bustuoss of the d *y began w-lth tbe usual prayer trpm the bllud ohaplain, who. despite thic rtnr' nfmoi-e, made no reference to them. In ttni expectation of listi-n----iug to the . hillan correspondence and the President's message a largo crew'd filled tho galleries to overflowing. Private Secretary Pstudeu, with-a largo bundle undep bis arm. pushed the,doors, aside and entered the House. Speaker Crisp at ouoe suspended the call of States lor the introduction of bills and nodded to the President's private secretary. The latter made the usual announcement that ho bore a message of the president, and handed the armful, consisting of tho message and correspondence, to tlio doorkeeper, who carried the heavy load to the Speakor. rho bfnrble of tongues, which had been so loud as to drown tho voice of the olerfa, ccasod. A hush fell upon tho House, aud amid a stillness which could not h«,y« been greater boa the big chamber been empty, tbe clerk began to road. The reading ot thi proMouA diiomnVnt, prihttd'fn pamphlet form, was listened to witu rapt attention. • . THK MKfWAUI! MOIMITTKD. To the Senate and Hous'd oi Repru.-oni'ativei t ' in my annual message, delivered*to (Congress at the beginning of the pre-ent session, atler-a brief statement of thp facts then iu the possession of this Government touching the assault in the slroete of Valparaiso, Chili, upoti the sailors of the United Mates steamship Hal Jmore on the evening of tho loth of October last, I said: >. . j , “This Government is now awaiting tho result of an investigation which has boon oouduoted by the Criminal Court at Valparaiso. It is reported uuoffloially that the ‘ luveUigiUion Is about completed, aud it is expected that the result wjll be oqmmuoioutod to this. Government, togothef w ith Borne adequate akld satisfactory VeqioUHe* to tbe note by »blob the attention of Chili was called to lliis incident. If these just expectations should bo disappointed or lurthei teuulesß delay iuterv* ues, 1 will, by a special message, bring thiß matter agalu to the attention of Congress for such action us moy .be necessary.'’ , lu my opinion tho time lias now come When I should lay before tbe Congress and the country the correspondence between this Government and the Government of * hill, irom the time of the breaking out of the revolution against Balmaoeda, together wit , all other' facts iu the possession of the Executive Department relating to this matter. The ulplomhtio oorrespon .euoe is herewith transmitted, together with some correspondence between the naval ollloors icr tho Um,« in command lu Chilian waters and the Secretary of the Navy, aud also the evidence taken at the Marc Island Navy Yard siuoe the arrival of the Baltimore at San I'rauolsoo. I do not dspiu it necessary iu this communication to attempt any full analysis of tho correspondenoe or of the evidenpo. A brief restatement of the international quest,ions involved and of the reasons why the responses of the Chilian Government are unsatisfactory is all time I deem necessary, . . . . i ~, ; i

It may he well at tbe outset to say that whatever may have been said iu tills countrypr in Chili in orltioism of Mr. Egan, our Minister at Santiago, the true history of this exalting period in .Chilian affairs, from tho outbreak of the revolution until this time, discloses no aot on the part Of Egan Unworthy of his position or that oould justly ho the occasion of surlous animadversions oy critic sui. lie lias, I think, on tbe whole, borne hluuelf. in vtry trying circumstances, witli dignity, discretion and courage, and has conducted tho ooirdspondsnoe with ability, oourteay,and fairneHH. i , It is worth while also at the boglnniug to say that the tight of Mr. Egan to give shelter iu the legation to certain adherents of Uib lliilmkceda Government, who applied to him ior asylum, has not been denied by the Chilian authorities, nor has any dec and been made for the surrender of those refugees. ’ That there was urgent need of oylum is shown l>y Mr. Egan's note* of August. 24, ISttjl, U\o disorders that provatlea in Santiago, aiiih by tho ovMcjiou of Captain Schley its to tuu pillage aud violence that prevailed at Valparaiso. The correspondence discloses, however, that tho request The precedents qltod by him lu the correspondence, particularly tils, eitVo r (>r tbrevevdhitftnHn Peru in IHDS, did not leave the Chilian Government in such a position to deny the right of asylum to polUlcul refugees and seems very clearly to support Mr. Kgau's contention that a safo conduct to neutral territory was a m oeasary and acknowledged lucident of tho a*ylum. Those refugees have very recently, without formal safo oouduot. but by the ooqui esoence of the i hillan authorities, been placed on hoard the Yorktown and aru now being conveyed to Callao, Pern. This incident might bo considered wholly cloned, but for tho disrespect manifested toward this Government by the olobo ana offensive police surveillance of the legation premleos, which was maintained during most of the period of tho stay of the refugees therein. After the date of myaunual message aud up to the time of the transfer of tho refugees to the Yorktown, tho legation premises seem to have been surrounded by police in uniform, and polios agents or detectives In citizens' dress, who offensively scrutinized persons entering or leaving the legation, and, on one or more oocaslons, arrested members of the Minister's family. Commander Evans, who by my direction recently vlsitoil Mr. Egan at Santiago, In his telegram to the Navy Department, deacrlbed the legation as a "veritable prison," and atatoa that the police agents or detectives wero, after bis arrival, withdrawn during his stay. It appears further from the note ot Mr. Egan, qf Nov. 20, 1801, that on one occasion at least these police agents, whom lie declares to be known to him, invaded the legation promises, pounding on its windows and using Insulting and threatening language towards persons therein. This breach of tho right of a Minister to freedom from police osplonage and restraint seems to have been so flagrant that the Argentine Minister, who was Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, having observed it, felt oalled upon to protest against It to the Chilian Minister of foreign Affairs. Tbe Chilian authorities have, as will be observed from the correspondence, otiarged tbe refugees and the inmates of the legation with insulting the police; but it seems tome incredible that men whose lives were in jeopardy and whose safety could only be secured by retirement and quietness should have sought to provoke a oolllslon which could end only in their destruction, or to aggravate tbelr condition by intensifying "a popular feeling that, at one time, so threatened the legation as to require Mr. Egan to appeal to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. But the most serious incident diaolosed by the correspondence is that of tbe altaok on the sailors of the Baltimore in the streets of Valparaiso on the 10th of October last. Jn my last annual message, speaking upon the information then in my possession; 1 said : “Bo far as I have yet been able to learn no other explanation of this bloody work has been suggested than that It had Its origin in hostility to these men as sailors of th, United htatee wearing the uniform of tbelr Government, and not in any Individual act or personal animosity.” W e have now received from the Chilian Government an abstract of the conclusions of the Fiscal General upon the testimony taken by the Judge of Crimes in an investigation which was made to extend over nearly three months. I very much regret to be compelled to say that tbls report does not enable mo to modify the conclusion an nounced In my annual message. I am still of the opinion that our sailors were assaulted, beaten, stabbed and killed, not for anything theyor sny one of them bad done, but for what ihe Government of the United States had done, or was charged with having done, bylts civil officers and naval commanders. If that be tbe irue aspect of tbe case, the injury was to the Government of the United States, not to these poor sailors who wero assaulted In a manner so brutal and so cowardly. Before attempting to give an outline of the facts upon which this conclusion rests, I think it right to say a word or two upon the legal aspect of tbe case. The Baltimore was in the harbor * f Valparaiso by virtue of that general invitation which nations are held to extend to tbe war vessels of other powers with whloh they have friendly relations. This invitation, I think, mast be held ordinarily to embrace the privilege of such communication with the shore as is reasonable, necessary, and proper for the comfort and convenience of the officers and men of such vessels. Captain Schley testifies that when his vessel returned to Valparaiso, on September 14, the city offloers, as is customary, extended tbe hospitalities of the city to his officers and crew. It is not claimed that every personal collision or injury in which a sailor or olficer of such naval vessel visiting thd shore mav be involved raise* an international question,* but I am clearly of the opiniou that where such officers or sailors are assaulted by a resident populace, animated by hostility to the government whose uniform these sailors and officers wear, and in resentment of acts done by their Government, not by them, their nation must take notice of the event as one involving an infraction of its rights and dignity; not in a secondary way, as where a citizen is Injured ana presents his claim through his own Government, but in a primary way, precisely as if its Minister or Consul or the flag Itself had been the object of the same character ot assault. The efflrers and sailors of the Baltimore were in tne harbor of Valparaiso under the orders of tbelr Government, not by their own choio9. They were upon the shore by the

Implied fnvftatfon of the Government of CUlt and with the approval of their command! ing officers, sod it does not dlstto, gnlsh their case from that of a consul that his stay is more permanent ot that he holds the express invitation of the local government to justify his longer res dense! Nor does it affect the question that the injury was the act of a mob. If there bad been no participation by the polioe or military in this cruel work aud no negleot on their part to extend protection, the ease would stilt be one, hx my opinion, when its extent and character an considered, involving international rights. Tbe incidents of the affair are briefly as follows: On the 16th of October last, Capt. Schley, commanding the United States ship Baltimore, gave shore-leave to 117 petty officers and sailors of his ship. These mtn left the ship about 130 p. m. No incident of violence' Oocnrrod; irdi» of our men were arrested; no complaints lodged against them; udr did any collision or outbreak occur until about 6 o'clock p. m. Capt. Schley states that he was himself on shore aud about the streets of the city until 5 :30 p. m.; that he met very many of his men who were upon leave; that they were sober and were conducting themselves with propriety, saluting < hillan mid other officers as they met them. Other officers of the ship and Captain Jenkins, of the merchant, ship Keweenaw, corroborate Captain Schley at to the general sobriety and good behavior of our men. The Bisters of Charity at the* hospital to whiah our wounded men were taken when injured, stated that they were sober when received. If the situation had been otherwise, we must believe that the Chilian police authorities would have made arrest*. About 0 p. m. tho assault began, aud it is remarkable that the investigation by tho Judge of Grimes, though so protracted, doe* not enable him to give any more satisfactory aooount of its origin than ie found in the statement that it began between drunken sailors. Repeatedly In tbe correspondence it is asserted that it was Impossible to le iru the precise cause of the riot. Tile Minister of Foreign Affairs, Matta, in his tolegram to Mr. Montt, under date of Deoember 31, state* that the quarrel begau between two sailors in a tavern aud was continued in the street, person* w ho were passing joining in it. The testimony of Talbot, an apprentice, who was with Itlggin, is that the outbreak in whiah they were involved began by a Chilian sailor spitting in tho face of Talbot, whioh was resented by a knockdown. It appears that Rlggfn and Talbot were at the time un&ooompanied by any others of their shipmates. > * * * * * * After summarizing the correspondence np to a certain point ho Bays : T'tie. communications of the Chilian Government in relation to this cruel and disastrous attack upon our men, as will appear from tho correspondence, have not in any degree taken the form of a manly and satisfactory expression of regret, much less of apology. Tne event was of so serlouß a character that if the injuries suffered by our tneu had b-cn wholly the result of an oaoldent in a Chilian port tba Incident was grave enough to have oalled for some publlo expression of sympathy and regret from the local authorities. It is not enough to say that tbe affair was lamentable, for humanity would require that expression even if tbe beatffig and killing of our men had been Justifiable, It is not enough to say that the incident is regretted, coupled with the sta ement that the affair was not* of an unusual character iu ports where foreign sailors are aooustomed to meet. It Is not for a generous and sluoere government to seek for words of small or euulvooal meanings in which to convey to a friendly power an apology for an offense so atrocious as tbis. In the case of the assault by a mob in New Orleans upon the Bpaniau consulate in 18S1 , Mr. Webster wrote t > the Hpanlsh Minister, Mr. Calderon, that the aots com- { dallied of were “a disgraceful and flagrant ■reach of duty and propriety,” and that bis Government “regrets them as deeply as Mr. Calderon or his government could possibly do;” that “these acts have caused the President very great pain and he thinks a proper acknowledgment Is due to her Majesty." He invited the Spanish Consul to return to hi* post, guaranteeing protection, aud offered to Haiti to the Spanish flag if the Consul should conio In a Spanish vessel. Buob a treatment bv tbe government of < bill of thin assault would have been more creditable to tbe Chilian authorities ; and much less oau hardly be satis alto ry to a government that values its dignity and honor.

In our note of Ooiobor 23d last, whloh appears In the correspondence, aftor receiving the report ot the board of ollloors appointed by < antaln Hohlsy to investigate the affair, the Chilian Goverupiont was advised qf the aspect which it then assumed and called upon for any fftotkhi its possession that might tend to modify the unfavorable Impression whioh our report had created. It is very clear from the correspondence that,, before the receipt of tilts note the examination Was regarded by the polioe authorities as practically closed It was, however, reopened aud protracted through a period of pearly three months. We might justly have complained of this unreasonably delay, hot in view of tbe fact that tho government of Chill was still provisional and with a disposition to bn forbearing and hopoful of a friendly termination, 1 have awaited the report whioh ha* but recently been made. On the 21st lust. I caused to be oommunloated to the Government of Chili, by the American Minister at Hantlogo, the ooitoluslobs of'thi* Government, after a full consideration of all the evhlenoe and of every suggestion affecting this matter, and to those conclusions 1 adhere. They wore as follows : 1. That tbe assault is not relieved of the aspect whloh the early Information' of the event gave to it. viz i That of an attack upon the uniform of the Uu| ed Btato* navy, having Its origin and motive In a feeling' iff hostility to ’ thi* Government, and not in any aot of, tha sailors or of any of the men. 2. Thai* tho publlo authorities at Valparaiso flagrantly failed in their duty to protect otir men, and that some of tho polioe: and of the Chilian soldiers and sailors wero themselves guilty of unprovoked assault* upon bur sailors before and after arrest. He fthe President) thinks the preponderance' of the evidence and the inherent probabilities lead to the conclusion that Itlggin was killed by the police ox soldiers. 3. That he (the President) is therefore compelled to bring the case back ■to *th e position taken by tills Government in the note or Oot. 23 last, anil to ask for a suitable apology ami' for Home adequate reparation for the injury done to this Government. A claim for reparation t has been made in behalf of this man; for, while he was not a citizen of tire United Htat.es, the doctrine *P k>ng held by us, as expressed in the oonsular regulation, is A The principles Which are tnaitotal ned by tbls Govornm, ntf iu. regard to the protection, as distinguished how the relief, of seamen are well Hettled, It is held that the circumstance that tho vessel is American ie evidence that tho seamen on board are sueb; and in every regularly documented merchant vessel the crew will find their protection In the flag that covers them. “ I have as yot received no reply to onr note of the 21at Instant, but, in my opinion, I ought not to delay longer to bring these matters to the attention of Congrees for such action a* may be deemed appropriate. [S'guedj Benjamin Hardison. Executive Mansion, January 25,1802. The above is President Harrison’s presentation of tho Chilian affair to Congress. The voluminous correspondence shows on the part of Chill evasive duplicity, covert sarcasm, insolence, and about all the offences that can be committed under tho forms of diplomucy. With all this there was nothing expressed nor implied to Intimate that Chili intended to apologize for its misconduct In surrounding the American Legation at Santiago with police spies; for the impudent letter of its former Forolgn Minister, nor for the murder of our sailors In uniforni. , , , Tho little republic has evidently depended oh its distance, the difficulty in making an offensive war against it, piossibly on the wretched help of a peace party in the United States, and on the intrigues of the nitrate trust to delay, discourage and finally defeat the demands of tho United States. This mistake will probably be rectified soon. What is substantially the ultimatum of tho United States—its last peremptory demand beforo adopting war measures—has been sent to Chill. Tho President asked the immediate withdrawal of Matta’s insulting note, an apology for the assault on the Bailors, and the payment of damages. Not receiving a favorable reply the President asks Congress to declare war and to authorize its prosecution. This is the purport of the President’s message. *