Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1892-01-30

with the approval OF their commanding
case from y consul that his stay Is more
permanent that he holds the express invitation
Of the local government to Justify his long resi-
injury was the act OF q mob. 1, there had been
no participation by the police OF military In this
cruel er work and no neglect on tleir cir part to OK.
my opinion, when its extent and character are
considered, involving international rights Tho
Incidents OF tho affair arc briefly as follows
On the 10th OF October last Capt Schley,
commanding the United States steamer Balti.
more, gave shore leave TO one hundred and sew.
These men left the ship about 30 p. m. No incl.
dent OF violence occurred none OF our men were
arrested no complaint was lodged against them:
nor did any collision or outbreak occur until
about o'clock p. m. Capt Schley states that
he was himself on shore and about the streets OF
the city until $3.50 p m; that he met very many
OF his men who were upon leave; that
they were. sober and were conducting them
selves with propricty, saluting Chilean and
other officers as they met them. Other officers
Of the ship and Capt Jenkins, of the merchant
ship kcwecnaw, corroborated Capt Schley as
to the general sobriety. and good behavior Of
our mon. The sisters OF charity OF the hospital
TO which our wounded men were taken, when
inquired OF, stated that they were sober when
received. IL the situation had been otherwise
tiles would have made arrests, About 0 p m.
the assault began, and II Is remarkable that the
investigation by the judge OF crimes, though so
protracted. does not enable him TO give any
more satisfactory account OF its origin that Is
found in the statement that 1t began between
drunken sailors. Repeatedly in the correspond.
ence 1t is asserted that 1t was impossible to
learn the precise cause OF the riot. The minis.
ter OF foreign affairs, Malta, in his telegram TO
that the quarrel began between two sailors in
tavern and was continued In the street. persons
who were passing Joining In It,
The testimony OF Talbot, un apprentice who
was with Riggin. is that the outbreak In which
they were involved began by Chilean sailors
splitting in the face of Talbot, which was re.
.1 lx,, lD,,. tI,nt
Riggin and Talbot were ut the time unac.
companed by any others Of their shipmates.
These two men were Immediately beset by q
crowd OF Chilean citizen. AID sailors, through
which they broke thci. way to q street car and
entered IL for safety They were pursued,
driven from the car and Riggin was so seriously
beaten that he fell in the street apparently dead
There is nothing in the report OF the Chilean in.
vestigation made to US that seriously impeaches
this testimony ;,,h It appears from Chilean
that strongly implies meditation and prepar.
alton, II mob, sta ted by the police authorities at
one time to number 1000 and at another 1000,
was engaged in the assault upon our sailors who
arc represented as resisting with stones, clubs
and bright arms" The report OF the intendente
of October % states that the fight began at D p.
m in three streets, which are named; that infor.
nation was received at the intendencia ut B:l5.
and that the police arrived on the scene ut $3.50,
full half hour after the assault began. AT that
time he says that a mob OF 2,OOO men had col
lected and that for several squares there was
the appearance OF u real battlefield"
before us by the Chilean testimony. The
American sailors who, after so long an examina'
tion, have not been found guilty of any breach
OF peace, so far rs the Chilean authorities are
able to discover. unarmcd and defenceless, are
Deeng for their lives, pursued by overwhelming
numbers, and lighting only to aid their own es-
cape from death or to succor some mate whose
life Is in greater peril. Eighteen OF them are
brutally stabbed and beaten, while one Chilean
seems, from the report, TO have suffered some
injury: but how serious or with what character
of weapon or whether by n missile thrown by
our men or by some Of his fellow rioters, Is un-
aScertained
The pretense that our men were fighting "with
stones, clubs and bright arms Is, in view OF
these facts Incredible 1t Is further refuted by
the fact that our prisoners, when searched, were
absolutely without arms, only seven penknives
being found in the possession OF the men arrested,
while there were received by our men more than
thirty stab wounds, every one of which was in
hicted in the back. and almost every confused
wound was in the back or back of the head. The
evidence OF the ships officer OF the day Is that
even Nlc jaclllluiveS of the men were taken from
them before leaving the ship.
AS to the brutal nature OF the treatment re-
cercd by our men. the following extract from
the account given OF the affair by the La Patrja
newspaper OF Valparaiso OF October II can not
be regarded as too friendly: 1.-The Yankees, US
soon MS their pursuers gave chase: went by way
of the Gale del Arsenal towards the city car
station. In the presence OF an ordinary number
of citizens, among whom were some sailors, the
North Americans took seats In the street car TO
escape from the stones which the Chileans
threw at them. 1t was believed for an instant
that the North Americans had saved themselves
from popular fury, but such was not the case:
Slowly had the car begun to move when crowd
gathered around and stopped its progress. I'M
der these circumstances and without any
CESSATION OF the h9wling and throwing Ing
conductor entered the car and, seeing
the risk ef the situation TO the vehicle,
ordered them to get out At the instant the
sailors left the car, in the midst OF hail OF
stones, the said conductor received a stone blow
on the head One of the Yankee sailors man
Wheeright, but the other was felled to the
ground by stone, Managing to raise himself
from the ground where he lay he staggered in an
opposite direction from the station. la front OF
the house of Senor Mazzini he was again wound
ed, falling then senseless and breathless.
No amount OF evasion or subterfuge is able 70
cloud our clear vision OF this brutal work. 1t
should be noticed, in this connection. that the
American sailors arrested. for an examination,
were, during the four days following the arrest
every one dsSharSed no charge o. any breach
been sustained against single one OF them.
The judge OF crimes, Foster, in note TO the in
patch from this government Of the following
day. which aroused the authorities OF Chile 10
better sense OF the gravity OF the affair-says:
preS,su rd the enmen ovGr 'ns
the United States cruiser Baltimore, pho
hare been tri,d on account OF the deplorable
able point here Is that our sailors had been
tried before the I'D OF October, and that the
trial resulted In their acquittal and return to
their vessel. 1t Is quite remarkable and quite
charac teristic OF the management OF this affair
by the Chilean police authorities that We should
now be advised that Seaman Davidson OF the
Baltimore, has been included in the indictment,
his offense being, SO far rs have been able to
ascertain, that he attempted TO defend . ship
mate against an assailant who WAS striking at
him with u knife. The perfect vindication Of
our men is furnished by this report: one only Is
found to have been guilty OF criminal fault and
that for an act clearly justitiable.
AS to the part taken by the police in the af-
fair the case made by Chile is also far from
satisfactory. The point where Riggln was
killed is only three minutes walk from the police
station and not more than twice that distance
from the intendcncia; and yet, according to
their ofiicial report. full half hour elapsed af.
ter the assault began before the police were
upon the ground 1t has been stated that all but
two of our men have said that the police did
their duty. The evidence taken at Mare
Island shows that II such n statement was
procured from our men 1t WAS accomplished by
requiring them 10 sign "a writ In language
they did hot understand and by the representa-
ton that IL was IL mere declaration that they
mad taken no part in the disturbance Lieut.
McCrea, who acted rs interpreter, says In his
evidence that when our sailors were examined
before the court the subject OF the
conduct OF the police was so carefully avoided
that he reported the fact TO Capt Schley on his
return 10 the vessel The evidence OF the exist
ence OF aninoSity toward our sailors in the