Omaha daily bee., 1889-01-25
PUT TO SHAME In SAMOA.
Consul General Sewell Tells How
Americans are Treated There.
MADE HIM AN INTERPRETER
Defiant Utterances OF Bismarck
Organ and the Interpretation
Put Upon Them at
Washington.


New YORK, Jan. 2i.-lSpecial Telegram
TO The BEE. "A Washington correspondent
telegraphs that he has seen the secret testl-
mony given by Consul General Sewall be-
fore the senate subcommittee that investi-
gated the Samoan question. There has
probably never been given by an official of
the government of the United States testi-
mony more condemnatory of the head of the
department of which he was an official.
Throughout the testimony there Is q guarded
but emphatic condemnation of the attitude
of Secretary Bayard toward the Samoans.
Mr.. Sewall constantly tells of appeals made
to the state department to support him in
the position which he took, under instruc-
tions, he says, from Secretary Bayard, and
he constantly suggests that the Samoan peo-
pie have been placed in this present unpleas-
ant predicament by the failure of the state
department to fulfill its promises made
through him. Sewall gave history of the
negotiation of the treaty with Samoa and of
the difficulties on the island.
In answer to question OF Mr.. Evarts re-
garding the ambassador from Samoa with
whom the treaty was negotiated Sewell
said: HE is still there, impressed into the
service of the government which Germany
put into power, as an interpreter, forced to
served by threats at the peril of his life. He
is an intelligent man, and the fact that we
sent him on a vessel of war was one of the
evidences of our attitude toward those peo-
Pile that much impressed him. | sometimes
think as affairs have gone on it was quite un-
fortunate we ever had a treaty with them
and ever maintained the attitude toward
them we have, which has not been consis-
tently maintained. They have been made to
suffer for this, and they are suffering now
most cruelty"
Concerning the attack of Germany upon
the Samoans, Mr.. Sewell said: 81 was
quickly made confident on my arrival in
Samoa, from what was suggested to me
with some positiveness from u German
source, that this movement then contem-
plated by Germany was part of a great move
ment which would begradually enforced and
| think the course of recent events has justi-
fed this conclusion. 1t was that Germany
was to take Samoa and England was to take
Tonga island, and it was suggested that the
Hawaiian islands would remain as they were.
But | was made to feel at that time, and my
impression has been strengthened since, that
if the Samoan islands went to Germany and
Tonga to England, both of those powers
combined would, for the benefit of either,
begin active operations in Hawaii
Sewall related at length the high-banded
and bullying acts of the Germans and par
ticularly their very evident anlmosity
toward Americans, whom they are evidently
bent on driving out Of the country, that they
may monopolize its trade. Mataafa has re-
Trained from active operations against the
insurgents under TaInssesoexcept in defense,
because of assurances Eiven him by Bayard
through Sewall that the United States would
see that his government, which is the only
one, was maintained. The state department
has utterly failed to do thing toward car
rying out these promises and Mataafa is in
very unpleasant predicament.
Sewall told the committee that the sending
of our warships to Samoa with the class of
instructions Admiral Kimberly had been
given would be useless. The German CON-
manders are fully advised of the nature of
these instructions and know just how far
they can go with them. sit is not question
of actual protection of American property
there" said Sewall, $50 much as the protec-
tion of valuable and growing commerce, and
the fulfillment of absolute pledges made to
that people. This can be done only by pro-
tecting the Samoans against spoliation."