Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1897-08-27
WARSHIPS NAY BE Sent
To Enforce a Claim OF Fifty Thousand
Dollars Against Peru.

To Enforce Claim OF Fifty Thousand
Dollars Against Peru.
Relations between this government
and Peru are badly strained. and it /,
within the range of po>sibilities-in-
deed, of probaOilIties-tha il may be-
come necessary for the United States to
make demonstration against tins
South American republic. If similar
conditions existed Spain and the United
States To those that now exist between
this country and Peru we would be IN
the full enjoyment of a well developed
war scare The trouble grows out oi
an attempt OF the United States to col
lect a claim against Peru on behalf @
Victor ii. McCord. citizen of Pennsyl-
Yania. This i a claim for $4,000
and as it has been aired in the newSpa-
pers there l. no necessity of entering
lnto a detailed history Of the matter al
this time. Suffice it To say the present
administration has assumed the atti
tude of backing it and enforcing its col
lection. Secretary Sherman seyera
days ago sent an ultimatum to Peru
through the representative of Peruvian
government at Washington. No reply
has yet been received To this commune
cation, although sulli cient time ma,
elapsed to have heard from Lima. The
case is considered by the state depart
y, lnent as being one of peculiarly aggra-
waited injustice against a citizen of tn,
United States. and it is the purpose OF
the administration, as expressed by
Secretary Sherman both orally and in
official documents, to compel repara
ton.
The Peruvian government has never
offered anything but the himsiest eX.
ouses for the wrong committed against
McCord, and the justice of his claim.
which is now ten years old, has never
been seriously disputed. He was sim.
ply held up aud robbed of a large sum
of money by men who were then repre-
sentmg the revolutionary government.
which was successful and j. still il
power. The disposition Of the Peruyi.
ans is to tempOrize and delay, under
cover of pretended further negotiations
.hut inasmuch a this sort of thing has
been carried on for several years it l.
not likely that the administration viii
permit another postponement of a pay.
ment of the claim. Under almost SINH.
lar conditions England about two year,
ago seized the custom house at Corinto
and extracted from the republic of Me.
aragua large indemnity for a citizen
of Great Britain who had been subjected
to an injury bv the people of that coun
try. The only difference between the
two cases was that the claim of the
United States citizen was and is the
stronger OF the two. Peru is bankrupt
and that Is understood to be the real
reason why McCord was not paid his
$50, long ago. But IN case of in
ternational disputes of this sort the
poverty of the country against which
such a claim Is being pressed does not
exempt it from payment.
It's not an unusual thing for stronger
nations to employ force IN the collection
q claims which are being put of by
debtor countries on the plea of poverty
and it is the impression about the state
department that summary measures
may be resorted 10 in this instance.
There has been no threat of anything
of this sort, but the state department is
grinning and showing it, teeth in
most ominous manner. 1t is possible
that the representative of the Peruvian
govern ment will suggest arbitration or
some of the other numerous methods of
delay familiar in diplomatic intercourse
but there is a strong iudispositiou on
the part of our government not 10 agree
to anything that does not carry with it
prompt payment. The status of the
case has been fully explained to Score
tary Long. and if occasion should arise
the navy will not be found lenient i'm
spirit ana power. There Is no desire
on the part of the administration to at.
tempt to place the United States in
position of trying to bully a weaker
Nation, but there is a determination
which runs clear through the executive
branch to protect our citizens and to