The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1892-01-30

Captain Schlcy testiHcs that when his vessel
returned 10 Valparaiso, on Sept. "A, the city
officers, as is customary, extended the hospital
ities Of the city to his officers and crew. Il is
not claimed that every personal collision or
injury in which q sailor or officer Of such naval
vessel visiting the shore may be involved raises
an international question; but / am clearly Of
I the opinion that where such sailors or officers
are assaulted bya resident populace, animated
/ by hostility to the government whose uniform
| the sailors and officers wear and In resentment
| Of acts done by their government, not by
/ them. their nation must take notice Of the
event one involving an infraction OF its
/ rights and dignity; not I'm secondary way, as
where q citizen Is injured and presents his
claim through his own government but In
| primary way, precisely as II its minister or
consul or the Gag itself has been the object Of
] the same character of assault.
An International Anront,
The officers and sailors Of the Baltimore
were IN tho horbor Of Valparaiso under the
orders Of their government not by their own
choice. They were on shore by the implied in
] vitation Of the government Of Chill aud with
the approval Of their commanding officer, and
Il does not distinguish their case from that of
| a consul that his stay Is more permanent or
that he holds the express invitation Of the
local government 20 justify his longer resi-
dence. Nor does it affect the question that the
injury was the act OF q mob. II there had
been no participation by the police or military
.
TO extend protection, the case viii still be one,
In my opinion when its extent and character
are considered involving international rights.
Tho Incidents Of the Anair.
The incidents Of the affair are briefly as fol-
lows:
On the 10Th Of October last Captain schley,
commanding the United States steamship Bal
timore, gave shore leave to III petty officers
and sailors Of his ship. These men left the
ship about M p m No Incident Of violence
occurred, none Of our men were arrested, no
complaint was lodged against them, nor did
any collision or outbreak occur until about Q
O'Clock y. IN. Captain Schley states that he
was himself on shore and about the streets Of
the city until $50 p. m, that he met very many
Of his men who were upon leave, that they
were sober and conducting themselves with
propriety, salutiug Chilians and other officers
as they met them. Other officers Of the ship
and Captain jenkins, Of the merchant ship
, Keweenaw, corroborato Captain Schley as to
the general sobricty and good behavior Of our
men.
The Sisters OF Charity at the hospital to
which our wounded men were taken, when in
; received. II the situation had been otherwise,
we must believe that the Gillian police author
tiles would have made arrests.
! About p. M the assault began, and It is
: remarkable that the investigation by the Judge
I Of crimes though so protraCted, does not en-
, able him TO give any more satisfactory account
I of its origin than is found in the statement
/ that II began between drunken sailors. Re
peatedly in the correspondence 1t is asserted
that It was impossible to learn the precise cause
Of the riot. The minister Of foreign affairs,
Malta, in his telegram to Mr.. Montt under
b date Dec 81, states that the quarrel began be-
y tween two sailors in a tavern and was con-
t tinued in the street, persons who were passing
q Joining in 1t.
How the Fight began.
The testimony Of Talbot, an apprentice who
was with Riggin, is that the outbreak in which
they were involved began by a Chilian sailor
d, splitting In the face of Talbot, which was re.
sented by a knockdown. II appears that
u Riggin and Talbot were at the time unaccom.
panied by asy others Of their shipmates
These two men were Immediately beset by q
g crowd Of Chilian citizens and sailors, through
a which they broke their way to a street car and
= entered 1t for safety. They were pursued
- driven from the car and Riggin was so seri
n Ously beaten that he fell in the street appar.
i entity dead. There is nothing in the report Of
r the Chilian investigation made 10 us that seri
ously impeaches this testimony.
= 1t appears from Chilian sources that almost
l. Instantly, with a suddenness that strongly i'm
L plies meditation and preparation, a mob STATED
n by the police authorities at one time to mum
e Der ZOO and at another l,0OO, was engaged II
p the assault upon our sailors, who are repre-
d sented as resisting with stones, clubs ant
e wright arms.m The report of the intendente o.
t. bet. 30 states that the fight began at p. il
J. ,hree Streets which are named, that informa
l ton was received at the intendencia at 0;l5 ant
II that the police arrived on the scene at $50
h full half hour after the assault began. A
that time, he says, a mob of 1900 men haC
collected, and that for several squares Their
., was the appearance of a real battlefield"
\ Forced to Flee for Their Lives.
l. The scene at this point is very graphical,
le set before us by the Gillian testimony, Tn
- American sailors, who, after so long an exam
/, inatiou, have not been found guilty Of IN
10 breach Of the peace, so far as the Chilian au
y thorities are able TO discover, unarmed an
10 defenseless, are fleeing for their lives pursue
In by overwhelming numbers, and fighting onl
!. to aid their own escape from death or to sue
"a cor some mate whose life is In greater peri
re Eighteen Of them are brutally stabbed an
=, beaten, while one Chilian seems, from III
ii report, to have suffered some injury; but ho'
a serious or with what character Of weapon, {
a. whether by missile thrown by our men {
1 by some Of his fellow rioters, Is nOtesCertaine'
a. The pretense that our men we're fightin
a. with stones, clubs and bright arms" is,
view of these facts, incredible. 1t is furth'
refutcd by tho fact that our prisoners, whe
-. searched, were absolutely without arms, onl
~, ", seven penknives being found in the possessiu
y of the men arrested while there were receive
y by our men more that thirty stab wound
~ every one Of which was inflicted in the bacl
anu Utmost every confused WOunu was III u
d, back or back Of the head. The evidence OF Il
H. ships officer Of the day is that even the iacl
- knives Of the men were taken from them b
% fore leaving the ship.
~ As TO the brutal nature of the treatment r
N ceived by our men, the following extract fro
' the account given OF the affair by La Patri
IL newspaper, of Valparaiso, Of Oct, II, cann
,, be regarded too friendly:
Ia Treated with Incredible Brutality,
IL "The Yankees, as soon as their pursuers ga'
or chase, went by way Of the Gale del Arsen
an toward the city car station. In the presenl
de of an ordinary number Of citizens, amor
re whom were some Sailors the North American
IT. took seats in the street car to escape from Il
is stones which the Chilians threw at them.
he was believed for an instant that the Nor
&c Americans had saved themselves from popul
50. fury but such was not the case.
at Scarcely had the car begun 10 move when
let crowd gathered around and stopped its pro
res ress. Under these circumstances, and wit
out any cessation Of the bowling and throwil
Of stones at the North Americans, the condu
re tor entered the car, and, seeing the risk Of q
In situation TO tho vehicle, ordered them to g
an out. At the instant the sailors left the car,
Of the midst OF hail Of stones, the said condu
nv tor received a stone blow on the head. One
"a the Yankee sailors managed to escape In {
"a. direction OF the Plaza Wheeright, but I
" other was felled to the ground by stoI
H Managing to raise himself from the groul
ed rection from the station. In front Of the hou
ne Of Senor Mazzini he was again wounded, IA
ing then senscless and brea thless,"
lly Our sailors Did No Wrong.
to- No amount OF evasion or subterfuge Is al
en- TO cloud our clear version OF this brutal woi
M IL should be noticed In this connection that {
he American sailors arrested, after an eNamir
in tion were, during the four days following I
up arrest, every one discharged, no charge Of a
20 breach Of the peace or other criminal condJ
70 having been sustained against single one
rm them.
The Judge Of crimes, Foster, IN a note TO I
ms intendeute under date Of Oct. 22-hefore I
en- dispatch from this government OF the folio
or ing day, which aroused the authorities Of Oh
M TO better sense Of the gravity Of the atfai
says, Having presided temporarily over d
ION court In regard 20 the seamen Of the Unit
hts States cruiser Baltimore, who have been tri
bed on account OF the deplorable conduct viii
.les took place etc. The noticeable point here
Ter that our sailors had been tried before the
ap- Of October and that the trial resulted in tn
4 OF acquittal and return 20 their vessel.
ese 1t is quite remarkable aud quite character
Wn tic Of the management Of this affair by
nd Gillian police authorities that we should n
and be advised that Seaman Davidson, Of the h
IN. timore, has been included in the indictme
his onense being, SO far as / have been able
rec ascertain, that he attempted 10 defend a sh
srns mate against an assailant who was str
line ing at him with knife. The perfect vindi
rps. tiOn OF our men is furnished by this rep,
test one only Is found 10 have been guilty Of Cr
,igp inal fault and that for au act clearly Just
nj h. / able.
the The Part the Chilian Police Played
yilh As to the part taken by the police In the
red fair the case made by Chill Is also far fr
and satisfactory. The point where Riggin
ire killed Is only three minutes walk from the
pro- lice station and not more than twice that
heir tance from the Iutendencia- and yet, accord
by to their Official report, a full half hour clap
ime after the assault begau before the police "