The morning call., 1891-06-13
THE APPEAL OF THE CHILEANs.

The appeal of the COngressiOnals in Chile
to be recognized as beligerenIS is entitled to
consideration by the powers, not for tho
sake of the insurgents, but for the relief
of neutralS from embaTrass ment When two
nations 90 to war neutTalS know what rights
the rules of war grant them and what duties
they impose But a war between a recOg-
nzed nation and an insurgent party which
has no standing among the nations plunges
ueutrals into confusion. In the language OF
leading writer on international law such
war is not governed by the rules of war as
set forth i'll the books.
The powers of Europe at very early
stage of our Civil War recognized the
Southern rebels as belligerents At the time
we regarded the act as unfriendy, and no
doubt the recognition did prolOng the war;
but recognition of the beligerentS in Chile
is quite different 1t would shorten tine
struggle.
The appeal of the Chilean Congressionals
for recognition as beligerents rests on
stronger grounds than the appeal which
Jefferson Davis addressed to the European
nations thirty years ago. They control the
richest portion of Chile, including over one
half its total population. They are masters
of the sea which washes its shores, and as
Chile is really a mere long strip of territory
fronting on the ocean, the power which con-
trolls its coast may be said to hold the cOun-
try. They count among their adherentS the
| best-known and moSt-respected citizens Of
the republic. On the other hand Balmaceda
has on his side nothing but the army and
the two cities of Valparaiso and Santiago;
the former consists mainly of raw leyies
who have enlisted as soldiers of fortune
and Of the cities Valparaiso would long ago
| have been taken by the insurgents if tn ey
| had not feared that the destruction of foreign
property which a bOmbdrdment would in
! vOlve might ALLEVIATE foreign sympathy.
! Bamaceda is bent on losing no oppOr-
| tunity of proving to the world that he be-
! longs 20 that old school of Spanish politi
/ clans which is impervious to modern i'm
| proyements and to liberal ideas. Every
| newspaper but one has been suppressed at
/ Valparaiso and no paper is allowed to APP
pear at Santiago but two organs of the Die
! tator. The first impulse of q usurper is to
/ muZZle the press. Whenever a belllgerent
takes to suppressing newspapers it may be
assumed that he is in the wrong and that
| his cause is on the wane.
A refusal at this time to recognize the
/ CongresSjonals as bellgerents would be an
| overt act Of sympathy with Balmaceda and
would be disbursement to the friends Of
liberty and Chile. The recognition might be
| accompanied with a strong appeal to the
| contending parties to submit their cOntrO-
| versy to the arbitration of friendly neutTals.
In such an arbitration the United States
would probably be quite willing to take
part; though, in view of the danger that our
Minister TO Santiago may have formed
intimacies with members Of one or the other
OF the cOntending factions. it would perhaps
be best that, in "a tribunal Of arbitration,
this country should be represented by some
| one who combined absolute impartiality
with a knowledge of international law.