Los Angeles herald., 1891-10-31

port on the way Where 6he can be
reached by cable, if there be need.
At the cabinet meeting this afternoon
the time was devoted to the discussion
of the Chilean situation. 1t is surmised
that Secretary Blaine submitted for con-
sideration an outline of the reply to be
made to Minister Egan's communica-
tion; that its details were perfected,
and that in due time it will be made
public.
There have been nofurther dispatches
from Minister Egan or Commodore
Schley.
SENIOR MONTHS ADvICEs.
Se1or Montt, official representative of
the Chilean government, today received
the following dispatch from the Chilean
minister of foreign affairs, at Santiago:
San investigation was instituted i'm
mediately and continued with all dill
| gence, and is not yet finished. The
trouble began in Clave street and soon
became tumult. The regular soldiers,
police and the special guard of the in
tendente restored order. OF the COM
batants thirty Americans and eleven
Chileans were committed before the
judicial authorities. They fought with
knives, stones and everything they could
lay their hands on. There was one
killed and several wounded. 1t is es-
timated that 100 American sailors from
| the Baltimore were on shore at the
time of the tumult."
MANY ABSURD RUMoRs.
During the afternoon all kinds of SEN
sational, and in many cases manifestly
absurd, stories were telegraphed to
Washington from other cities in the
country and Europe for confirmation or
! contradiction. In the latter category
was the-startling announcement cabled
to Europe by sensation-mongering
news agency, that the presidents cab
met had decided to declare war on Chile,
and that all of our navy yards had been
ordered to prepare vessels to leave i'm
mediately. When this story was brought
to the attention OF the officials of the
state department, they were amused,
rather than indignant at the inventive
fecundity shown by the news agency
which has been for some time debarred
from access to the news given out by the
department itself, One of the associate
secretaries, after characterizing the
story as absurd, remarked that the
author had overlooked the fact that un-
der the terms OF section of the consti-
| tuition, the congress of the United
| States alone has power to declare war,
4 and that the president and his cabinet
had no share of this power. So, too,
the story that Minister Egan had been
recalled was promptly declared an in
vention without foundation in fact.
The navy department officials evil
IDENTITY have no expectation of the imme-
diate outbreak of war. Altogether there
was an air OF serenity and everyday
humdrum about the state and navy de-
partments, which no less than the de-
mails, offered an emphatic contradiction
of any and all sensational reports of
warlike disturbances.
CHILE NEEDS A THRAsHING.
The Evening Sun has this: 'It
would be a wholesome thing for the en-
tire South American continent" said a
prominent naval officer, ''if this coun-
try should turn in and give Chile good
sound thrashing. They have most in
sane idea down there, and really think
they could defeat the United States
without trouble. There are about
5000, 900 of them in the whole country,
and they have not the slightest concep-
tion of the magnitude of this nation and
its tremendous resources. They are
| fighters from the word go. They have
just been through severe civil war,
and their blood is up. The masses are
probably eager for brush with
the United States, and l should
not be surprised to see belligerent
demonstrations before long, and / should
welcome such a thing, not for the sake
of activity in the navy, but for the good
and wholesome effect it would have on
the world at large. Then, too, it would
firmly establish once for all, our supre-
macy on this hemisphere. The Chileans,
in my opinion, are the finest lot of peo-
pie in South Anne RIGA.
CHILEANs HATE AMERICANS.
Another officer said ga Chilean
hates an American worse than poison.
He distrusts him and takes every oppor-
tunity to get whack at him. do not
know why, unless because we have sent
down so many poor specimens of our
race to trade and thus deprecated our
own stock through our representatives.
| l should like to see an affair with Chile,
not only for professional reasons, but
also because / think the time has come
| for this country to administer lesson
to some one. The cry goes up that the
United States is very brave in bully
raging small countries. That is all
nonsense. The big countries do not
dare give us chance to bullyrag them,
and when it comes right down to the
matter, there never has been such
backguard bully among the little pow
ers as England herself, and the whole
world knows it..
OUR LACK OF CoALING STATIONS.
Still another naval officer said: "We
have before US demonstration OF the
wisdom of Washington's maxim, In
time of peace, prepare for war; Some
of those who are now urging vigorous
and warlike demonstrations are men
whose care it should have been to pre-
pare us for an emergency. The navy
department has been trying to impress
upon congress the Importance of pro-
viding coaling stations on both the At
lantic and Pacific, but nothing has been
done, and we are now without means of
coaling our vessels in those waters. The
only thing to do would be to capture
port and establish coaling station.
| CALIFORNIA CITIES IN DANGER