The times., 1897-12-27
JOHNSON DISSATISFIED.
He Talks Poiredly of the Boring
Sea Award


Representative Johnson of North Da
kota, is very ni1ch dissatisfied with the
amount OF he Echring Sea award. lie
thinks, as nia n4 rothers do, that the SUN
is muck greatet tfan it should he. and
be does not hesitate to 50 so. His criti-
cism of former Secretary John w. Foster
is one that is not caIcnIated to please that
statesman very much, and lie denuunces
the national humiliation as the result Of
stupid diplomacy. In discussing he az
fair, Mr.. johnson said:
Mr.. Foster wrote to his Government
in August, 500, that 1857 1868 Of the
claims Were FOR prospective earnings
That would leave only $s1 81 s of claims
Tor actual damages. We are gravely
told i'll he dispatches this morning that,
in view Of the small amount, S46i, 900,
or the actual award these, prospective
damages evidently are scaled down 10 an
insignificant amount or rejected '.ntiraIy.'
That is impossible, for $Si, 81 8 could not
have grown to $464, 900 in four years.
Mr.. Hit told the House in 1895 that
So, 900 is about what is due and !
think lie held letter In his hand at the
time lfcm Mr.. Foster supporting that
opinion. Gen Henderson, or Iowa, GER
tainly referred To Mr.. Foster at the time
as authority that SS1 ,s18 WIS the maxi
mum claim FOL ctuai damages. The total
value Of one of the seized ships, The Say
ward, was only $1,000, while the total
claim for da images 10 that ship was Sis
957.12.
Five of the ships, viz, Thornton,
SaywaId, Grace, Anna Peck and Dolphin,
belonged to Joseph Boscowitz, an American
citizen. He first sold half interest in the
fleet 10 an Englishman of the name of
Warren ana took a mortgage back for the
entire purchase price. Then he e'foreclosed
the mortgage and got an English blacksmith
of the name of Thomas II Cooper 10 buy III
the whole fleet for 81 and mortgage it back
to BosccwitZ for S25 coo. Cooper sweais
that he never paid even the 81 and did Not
know how many ships he bought a the fore
closure sale. Yet S225 ,0ou OF tie claims in
question are in favor of this Tn omas H
Cooper. / do not wonder that John w
Foster is called in to break the news OF this
genti" Ia Congress. He is not sllrpTitcd Al
the result. OF course not. We are now in
for ter or twelve times as much as he lel
us To believe we owed when we had
chance to settle without any commission,
but iii the meantime his son-in-law, Attor-
ney Bensini, who would ohcerfuIly 20 tJ
Washington a any time f you or the ger
sons having charge of the Governments
interests should think it fcsita ble to cen
fer with hinI,FtM Foster to6restam, Aug.
II, 1880, las earned q nice attorneyfee
as one OF our counsel before the commission.
The astounding part Of this arbitration
is that those who represented our Gov ern-
ment sun rendered Dur case, point for point
withou' so much as once calling iE tie um-
pire provided FOR in TIE treaty. Mr.. Foster
partly e> plains this when he says: 'Presi-
dent Cleveland having officially declared
t hat S425 ,00Uwas a iGstandequita blesuu.
in settlement, and therefore having appoint
ed as the American commissioner 70 Judi
cate the claiI3s asclose personal a nd Eoli;i
cal friend, 1T could hardly be expected that
the latter would strenuously contend for
an awaIdo less amount ="