The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-01-08
The AMERICAN FLAG.
The Protection it Should Have
Afforded Barrundia.
SECRETARY TRACY's LETTER
Censuring Commander Reiter for His Conduct
in the Premises Subsidies to the
Merchant Marine.

mas WRITTEN a leUter OF unquallneQ cenSufe
to Commander Reiter. who was relieved of
his command for his action at San Jose
when senior officer with the Ranger
and Thetis at the time of the killing of
General Barrundia, on board the steamer
Acapulco. The following extracts will
serve to show the severity of the cen
sure:
''ln your situation in command of force
OF public vessels of the United States in
territory which, if not at that moment at
war, had certainly been the scene of hos
tilities as well as of civil disturb
ances, it was your duty to
watch with with the most active solicitude
over the interests of your country in that
quarter, especially interests afoat. From
the moment that the approach of the
Acapulco steamer bearing the American
flag was known to you, you should have
taken every step legally in your power to
give countenance and support to her cap
tain and protection to all persons on board,
especially when you knew their safety was
likely to be menaced. Instead Of this, in
your apparent endeavor to escape re
sponsibility, you remained so completely
passive that so far as events on board the
Acapulco were concerned, you and your
vessels might as well have been on the
other side of the ocean. Whenever any
passenger, whether American or foreigner,
Is received on board an American vessel he
comes under the American flag and is en-
titled to the protection and security of
which that flag is guarantee.
1T was within your legitimate power,
and 1t was your imperative duty, to exc
cute by every means legally at your COM
mand the guarantee of protection which
the United States gives to all vessels under
Its flag. Your ships were on the spot: you
had full knowledge of General Barrundia's
approach; you were informed of the nten-
tlon to seize him as political offender; he
was not fugitive from the territory of
Guatemala seeking to escape from terri
torial jurisdiction, neither was he con-
splrator attempting to return to his coun-
try to foment revolution. He was pas
senger on board an American ship, which
he had joined in Mexico with the intention
OF going to Panama, and he had thus, with
out your intervention and outside of local
jurisdiction, obtained a place under the flag
and protection of the United States
In this situation you found him: his
safety was threatened. Under these circum-
stances 1t was your PLAIN duty to proceed
at once to meet the steamer before she cast
anchor in port to warn the captain of the
danger and offer to his passengers, should
they desire it, an asylum on board your
ship. Even after the arrival of the
Acapulco in port your power of discre-
| tionary action was by no means taken
away. There were in particular three
points IN which the existing situation i'm
posed duty upon you as the senior naval
officer, present positive duty, namely:
Ito make full investigation of the
facts, to ascertain the sufficiency of the
charge and Of the authority on which the
| proposed removal of a passenger was based.
| TO prevent by your presence, with
such assistance as you might find neces-
sary. any proceedings on board the steamer
calculated to endanger the safety of those
on board.
| "3-f upon examination it appeared a
| seizure was to be attempted without proper
warrant, or that the proceedings were
merely in the nature of preteXt to secure
the person of a political fugitive, to offer
! him, IN accordance with the humane and
well established practice in the case of ref
uges whose lives are IN danger, the hospi
tally Of your own vessel. In none of these
particulars does it appear that you took
any action.
Secretary Tracy closes his letter in the
following words: sit is believed few cases
have ever occurred in the history of tia
| United States navy where the commanding
officer so completely abandoned the res
possibility of his position as, according tc
your own showing, you did upon this par
ticular occasion. A United States off Gel
does not ask Of a foreign government per.
mission to offer an asylum to any person OF
board an American vessel at sea VINO stand.
in need of refuge. An officer VINO so alb
dicates his authority and that of the natior
he represents and surrenders it to others
has a lesson to learn before he can safely b,
entrusted with the command of ship o.
war;