The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-01-15
THE CHILEANs HAVE IN NO SENSE
BACKED DOWN.

THE CHILEANS HAVE IN NO SENSE
BACKED DOWN.
Washington dispatches say: The
probability is that the President will
send the correspondence with Chile to
Congress at an arly day. Whether it
will be accompanied bya message viii oh
will explain the attitude of the Admins
tratiou is matter which the Preside mt
keeps to himself. No member of his
Cabinet is able to make any statement
regarding it. 1t is not probable that the
President will care to wait for any fur
ther official communications from the
Government of Chile. The dispatch
which was presented by Minister Montt
last week is sufficient illustration of
the official documents which are likely
to be submitted to this Government by
the Government of Chile.
This official note of the Chilean Cabi-
net, it can be stated, makes very UNI
pleasant impression in administrative
circles. If this official document of the
Chilean Government is to be believed,
there is an irrepreSsible conflict between
the American and the CHILEAN version of
the Valparaiso incident The alterna-
tive presented to this country is to either
believe that the officers and men of the
United States Navy are III a conspiracy
to declare to lie, or that the Chilean
authorities haze deliberately misrepre-
scented every important feature of the
episode. There is no possible escape
from that conclusion. This, at least,
is the Interpretation which members of
the Cabinet choose to give to this cor
reSpondence.
The Chilean Government officially rep
resents to the United States that the riot
in Valparaiso was confined to one local
ity: that it originated in drunken
brawl, and that the CHILEAN police did
their duty in protecting the United States
soldiers. On the other hand, the officers
and men of the Baltimore unite in assert
ing that the riot was not confined to one
locality: that it did not originate in Il
drunken brawl, and that the police not
only did not exert themselves to protect
the United States uniforms, but, on the
contrary, engaged in, if they did not
actually incite and direct the assault.
Capt. Schley asserts as fact within his
personal Knowledge that the riot broke
out simultaneously in three or four diff
ferent parts of the town, indeed, whcr-
evu, United Stltes uniform was dis
PLAYED. lie infers-and he could hardly
infer anything elsG--that the attack was
therefore deliberate and preconcerted.
He declares, therefore, that armed and
uniformed Chileans took part and fired
~ on the BaltimOres men. He asserted
all this ut the first and has mlintained it
stoutly ever since. The testimony of
the seamen which has recently been
taken by Judge Advocate Remey i'll San
Francisco cOrrobOrates these statements
of Capt. Schley i'll every particular. 1t
is known that lie realizes that Chile has
been endeavUring to create sympathy for
herself i'll this country, and to moderate
the indignation by forcing delay and
by getting her own version of the Val
paraiso outrage before the public. The
investigation which has been conducted
by Judge Remey will be in striking con-
trast to the official CHILEAN statements.
Secretary Tracy said to-day that Judge
Remey would require three or four more
days to complete his work, but shat
enough already has been discovered by
him to justify every aggressive move
ment and the determined attitude of this
Government in the eyes of the American
people. Such Democrats as Blount of
Georgia, Chairman of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, McCreary of Kentucky,
Senator Butler and many others have
publicly and privately expressed their
determination to sustain the dignity OF
the government IN whatever demand the
President may cho 'se to make upon
them. A Cabinet officer says that all the
reports that Chile has proposed arbiTra-
ton ur made any overtures to this cOun-
try are wholly speculative. Nothing Of
fetal has as yet been received from the
Chilean authorities and it is impossible
to predict when any settlement can be
made or whether one will be made at all.
Everything will depend upon the Chilean
Government.