The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-07
WHENCHILE WRONGED US
JUST HOW WE PREPARED FOR WAR
TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME.
An Episode of the Harrison Adminis-
tration Reviewed by General
Tracy-wfsdom and Patience.

snow that FOR less dreadful INJURY than
the loss of the Maine and her men the Har-
rison administration came within an ace OF
declaring war against Chile.
BY the Chilean episode" is meant the at
tack upon American sailors by a mob Of
Chileans in the streets of Valparaiso on
Oct. 16, 1891. The party of Congress had
just overthrown the Balmacedan govern
ment The United States minister to Chile,
Patrick Egan, had been accused by the OPP
ponents of Balmaceda of aiding Balmaceda.
The feeling in Chile against Americans of
the United States was bitter. The United
States cruiser Baltimore lay in the harDor
of Valparaiso. She had incurred the anger
of the reyolutionists by helping the agents
of the American Gable Company to cut the
cable at Iquique.
This was the condition of affairs when
two boats crews from the Baltimore, on
shore leave, landed in Valparaiso on Oct.
10, 1871. In q saloon, in a rather diSreputa-
betW cen Chilean sailors and some of the
Baltmore's men. In the row one of the
ChlIeanS was knocked down. The Yankee
sailors were then assaulted with fists, clubs,
knives and reviewers. They sought to eS-
cape by boarding a street car. The car was
pursued by q mob, and the sailors were
dragged Trom the car. A riot followed.
More than one hundred armed men fell
upon the sailors after they were dragged
from the car. Charles w Riggn, boat
swans mate, was killed instantly Will
liam TTumbell, a coal HEAVIER, died from
Thlrty-sx others were more or less serl-
ously injured Commander Winfield S.
Schley, OF the Baltimore, who has recently
been made commodore, caused an inVes-
tlgatlon TO be made, and on Oct. 22 tele-
graphed the results to Gen. Benjamin +.
Tracy, then secretary of the navy.
All that the government did after receiv-
ing Commander Schleys report has never
been made public. General Tracy told the
General Tracy's story the persons and the
press that have been demanding from Pres
ldent Mckinley declaEation OF war agalnst
at the same time prepared for and averted
with honor. General Tracy said:
when Commander Schley'S report was
received at the Navy Department MIR.
Blaine, the secretary of state, was out OF
town. 1 presented the report to the Pres
ident, who, after going over 1t carefully,
~ent note to the Chilean minister of for
eign affairs, Malta. The note was very
carefully worded and extremely mild in its
tone In substance, it stated that the re-
port of the trouble had been received, and
that the President hoped that the serious
ness of the affair had been exaggerated. III,
however, the first -eport proved TO be a cor
rect statement OF the case. the PRESIDENT
expressed himself as confident that the
Chilean government would make whatever
reparation was necessary
Soon after this note was sent Mr. Blaine
returned to Washington and was made ac-
Quainted with the situation, No reply to
the Presidents note was received for a long
time. In the interval Mr. Blaine tried 10
arrive at some understanding with the
Chilean minister at Washington, Senior Pc
dro Montt In this he failed, and. at the
end of several weeks, the reply from the
Chilean government was received. 1t was
so insulting that it might almost have been
a cause for war in itself 1t sought to jus
tify the assault on our sailors and lodged
the issue in every way possible.
Then Congress met and the President
dwelt at length upon the incident in his
message While Congress was considering
presented a, note from his government stat
ing that Mr., Egan was persona non grata,
and that the Gillian government would be
pleased to have another minister sent The
note, coming on top of the first one and
neither accompanied by ali apology nor an
expression Of the desire to make any repa-
ration, President Harrison sent what was
practically an ultmatum to the Chilean
government. In that note the President
held that the assault on the Baltimores
men was unprovoked; that the Valparaiso
authorities had fiagrantly failed in their
duty to protect our sailors; that he could
not think Of recalling Mr.. Egan, and that he
should insist upon an naturalization of the
families of the sailors killed and of the sail
ors themselves who had been injured, to-
gether with an apology from the Chilean
This note dispatched our preparations
for an emergency began. These were car
ried on 50 quietly that it never has been
known just how far we went. The reason
that we We're able to keep what we were
doing from the public was that all the
preparations on the part of the government
were controlled by one person, who carried
on all his transactions with principals and
not with agents. In this way the govern
ment was saved a considerable amount in
commissions
las soon as the note was sent the chair
men of the committees on naval affairs of
the Senate and the House were invited to q
conference with the secretary of the navy.
Whatever that official did after that was
with the approval of those gentlemen The
first order issued was to make every avail
able ship in the navy. ready for immediate
service. Rear Admiral Brown was in COM
mand of the Pacific station, Rear Admiral
Gherardi of the North Atlantic station and
Rear Admiral Walker of the squadron of
evolution, as 1t was called.
Next, all the Welsh coal on the Pacific
slope was bought by the government, and
Huntington was chartered to carry it to
Montevideo. There 5000 tons of this
coal. Two cargoes were purchased in LoI-
don and two more cargoes In New York, all
to be delivered at Montevideo. Then the
American line, or what is the Amer
| lean line, steamer Ohio was chartered for
a repair ship. She was sent to Boston and
work was immeditely begun on her to put
her in shape for service.
These arrangements made, Captain Ma
han was invited to consult with the secre-
tary of the navy. Before the consultations
were over a plan OF action mad been COM
pleteiy mapped out According to this plan,
the first order to be issued was to concen-
trate the fleet point of concentration
was agreed on, and this was to be teIe-
graphed to the three fleet commanders with
the orders sent TO them to begin operations
Admiral Gherardi was to be in command of
the united fleets.
According to the plan laid out, after the
fleets had concentrated, they were to pro-
coed to Chile, drive the Chilean men-of-war
under the guns of the forts az Valparaiso,
and then attack the whole coast line of
Chile. The coal mines in the southern part
of the country were to be seized thus cut
ting off the coal supply for the war ships
of the enemy, and all other details were
looked after. Then came Chiles note Of
apology and her offer of $4,000 indemnity.
which was accepted. This was distributed
among the sailors who had been injured
and among the families of the dead.
Although the press was able TO get no
information as to what we were doing, one
New York paper published the statement
that it was rumored that all preparations
for war had been made at cost of 81 .009 00c
After this was published, Mr.. Herbert who
was chairman of the House committee on
naval affairs, called upon me one day and
said that he had heard that there was soing
appropriation OF s2,000,000 to pay for the war
preparations. He gaid he would like the
data necessary to meet any statements
made about the great expenditure of money
for an imagined war.
II told Mr.. Herbert that / would give him
all the assistance In my power. but that no
appropriation was needed to meet the ex-
pendtures made. He seemed to be greatly
surprised. and asked:
why, how are the bills to be paid?'
i answered that all the expense would
be met out of the regular appropriations
cost us little less than s75,0OO
This little story may serve TO show
how needless II is to get excited now. You
have seen how near we were to war with
Chile, and yet nothing came of IL. 1t was
averted solely through the wisdom and
great patipnca exarpfseH nv