Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-02-20
MORE LIGHT on sBIpHERD's BosAszA

MORE LIGHT on sBIPERRD's BONANZA
The correspondence which has been sent
to Congress from the State Department
relative to the operations OF Mr.. ShIpherd /
and his friends Blaine and Huribut. throws
some new light upon the remarkable I
Diplomacy which rendered MIR. Blalne's |
brief tenure of Cabinet position forever
memorable in the annals of Jingo states. !
manship. 1t is said that Shipherd. the
talented author of the United States
Chile. Peruvian middle, is gentleman who
has tried his hand at several lines of bust.
ness. An Eastern journal states that he is
81 IAN ex-minister Of the gospel, an ex-Sec-
''retary of the American Freedmen's Union
Commission. an ex-Secretary of the
American Missionary Association, an ex-
editor of a religious newspaper, an ex-
insurance agent, and an ex- broker or
"banker." In fact his aspirations are so
diverse that, like the Duke of Buckingham,
he "seems to be, not one, but all man.
"kind's, epitome. That SO versatile
genius should have conceived the idea of
the Peruvian Company is perfectly natural,
though what magic he employed to
gain over all the prominent persons
whose names he uses so freely,
! remains to be discovered. 1t is indeed
| alleged that he employed many Of these
| names without the consent of their owners,
but against that charge may be set the OBJ
vious fact that Mr.. Shipherd is q religious
man. 1t is however plain enough that he
succeeded in gaining the support of Blaine
| and Hurlbut. though the former found it
| necessary to restrain his ardor, and the lat
ter, after having been reproved for employ
| ing the United States Mission at Lima too
obviously as an agency of the. Peruvian
| Company, repudiated him. But Mr..
Blaine's letter to Mr.. Hurlbut concerning
the Landreau claim conclusively proves
that the material advantages promised by
the Peruvian Company rose superior in
his mind, at one time, to all considerations
of the merely diplomatic proprieties of the
situation. He could not bear to think
that Peru might cede territory to Chile
without first protecting the Landreau
ready for forcible Intervention on that
ground.
Bat Shipherd was altogether too fervent
and enthusiastic. To his simple intelli.
gence it appeared nothing but right that
the Government of the United States
should be engaged in the promotion of
his great scheme. and it was precisely one
of these conceptions which are moot GER
tain to captivate the tribe of Sellers.
Claims against Peru-whether genuine or
not, seems unpleasantly dubious-had
been purchased on contingent arrange.
ment. These claims were now to be rem
dered formidable by backing them up with
the whole power of the United States.
In support of the purely private specula.
tion of the Peruvian Company Chile was,
in fact, to be threatened with war if she
did not recognise demands which would
have left her without any substantial in
demnity. The claims purchased by the
Shipherd firm were upon the nitrate and
! guano beds of Peru. These beds consti-
tute the chief sources of Peruvian
revenues. They are, however, already
deeply mOrtgaged to European creditors.
and Chile must recognize the claims of
these creditors il she takes over the prop
erty, or she must be guaranteed immunity
in regulating them by some power will.
| Tag and able to stand between her and the
vengeance of tho European Governments
She could not undertake to recognize the
European claims and the Peruvian Com
pany's claim also, because to do SO would
be to part with whatever of value the
nitrate and guano beds represent. She
must consequently prefer the Peruvian
Company to the European creditors, and
her powerful protector must bear her out
in this action.
This is what the Peruvian Company's
programme really involved. In the frat
place Chile was to be threatened with war
if she refused to admit Mr.. Shepherds
claims. In the second place the United
States was to assume the responsibility for
a European war In case Chile did what was
demanded of her. And all this was to be
done for the sole benefit of a private cor
poration. As the case slowly develops
itself the audacity and greed, the folly and
impudence, which characterize every step
of it, become more conspicuous. Perhaps
Shipherd did make free with the names of
some prominent citizens, but we think it
sufficiently evident that for all this he re-
ally had the support of other prominent
citizens who may at present, and not I'M
naturally. be disposed to disown all con-
nection with his project. But it is not at
all doubtful that he received the warm and
effective assistance oi Mr.. Blaine and
Hurlbut, and that the latter threw himself
with SO much ardor into the role Shipherd
had selected for him-namely that of chief
Bully to the Peruvian Legation-that he
oyerdid the business, alarmed the Chile
ans, and made it necessary for the State
Department to administer sharp rebuke
to him. It is also clear that this rebuke
very much surprised Hurlbut, as well it
might. for of course he had been kept in
formed by Shipherd as to Blaine's real
sentiments. But Blaine was a sharper pol
| itieian than his subordinate. He was per.
haps not less eager to shake down the Pc
ruvian plums, but he did not want to be
caught robbing the orchard. If his object
could be accomplished under cover of sym.
pathy for the lamentable condition of Peru,
well and good but he saw that it would
not do to bring the Peruvian Company into
the foreground.
Hurlbut had no such doubts or scruples.
He thought the Peruvian Company a