Los Angeles herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1890-1893, 1891-12-24
TIM BALTIMORE INCIDENT.
Chileans Make Light of the Killing of
American Sailors.

American Sailors.
SANTIAGO DE CHILE, Nov. 81, (via San
Francisco, Dec. 23). The excitement
here month ago, by the attack upon
sailors OF the United States cruiser Bal
timore by mob in Valparaiso, and the
correspondence which followed between
Minister Egan and the provisional gov
ernment, has subsidized within the last
two weeks, as no step of any Importance
has been taken in the matter recently.
The instructions W which were received at
from the state department at Washing
ton, just after the affair occurred, were
very strong. The reply which was sent
to Minister Egan by the provisional gov
ernment, was not regarded as satisfac-
tory. In fact, the American officials
here did not hesitate to declare that the
reply was an insolent one, and they
expressed the belief that the authorities
at Washington would regard it as such,
and would take prompt action in the
matter. Secretary Blaine was informed
of the sitnation, but three weeks have
passed since then and nothing OF start
ling nature has developed.
1t is generally believed here that the
controversy arising out of the attack
upon the Baltimore sailors is to be re-
ferred to the United States congress in
December. President-elect Montt as
sured the Associated Press correspondent
recently that this question and also the
question of the disposal Of the refugees
in the American legation, would prob
ably be submitted to the congress of
IL - 1ot
vened here two weeks ago, but these
questions have not been laid before
it vet.
Up to Che present time the Chilean
officials have not manifested disposi-
ton to express any regret on account of
the killing and wounding of the Amer
lean sailors, or to offer any satisfactory
explanation OF the affair. The feeling
strong ever since the Congressional
party came into power, that
the majority of the people herelare dis
posed to regard the killing of few
American sailors as a very trifling affair,
and they express much surprise that
the United States should have taken
official notice of the matter. They still
speak OF it lightly as an ordinary sailors
fight, but the report OF the intendente
of Valparaiso states that there were 20O0
men were fighting at the time, and it is
known that not more than fifty of these
were Americans. The intendente places
the crowd at the large figure of 1000 for
the purpose OF showing that the police
were powerless to quell the disturbance.
AS matter of fact, there were not
1000 men fighting, nor half that number,
and the police found ample opportunity
to arrest thirty-six American sailors
who were defending themselves against
the mob. The fact that the men were
attacked in widely separated portions of
the city for no other reason than that
they wore American sailors uniform,
and that six OF them received knife
wounds and more than a dozen
others were seriously injured in other
ways, while none of the Chileans re-
ceived anything worse than a few
bruises, and the fact that half dozen
small pocket knives were the only
weapons taken from the Americans who
were arrested, would seem to indicate
whether or not the affair was an ordin-
ary sailors fight.
But the point that has formed the
principal feature of the recent CORE
spondence between the two govern
ments, was the prominent part which
the police took in the disturbance. Not
withstanding the claim made by the
Chilean officials that the police were en-
tirely blameless, the fact that Riggin,
one Of the victims, was shot and killed
by policeman while he was in an in
sensible condition from knife wounds,
is beyond dispute. A number of injured
men received bayonei wounds, and that
is weapon which is only used by the
police. There is also abundant proof
that the police treated the Americans
in a brutal manner while they were
taking them to prison.
Another Indication of the attitude of
the Chileans toward the Americans is to
be found in the manner in which this
affair was investigated by the auth orr
ties of Valparaiso. For twenty years
past it has been the custom in the
. criminal courts there that whenever