The times., 1898-02-01
NJ CORDS PERUVIAN CLAIM
The Senate Wants the C0rre-
SpOndenee in the Case.
1T IS OF LONG STANDING
The American Citizen Who Suffered
Iudirnities in tie south American
Country During Its Civil War Not
Indemnified Because of the State
Departments Inaction.

a resolution introduced in the Senate
| yesterday by Mr.. Cullom provides for
| the payment of long standing claim
for $4,000 on the part of an Ameri-
can citizen against the government of
Peru. An illustration is given of the
difficulty an American citizen has in
securing redress for an injury sustain
! ed in another country.
Mr.. Cullom's resolution calls upon the
State Department to submit to the Sen
ate all the correspondence since March
last, relative TO the arrest and inn
prisonment at Arequipa, Peru, of
Victor II. McCord. OF Pennsylvania, in
June. 1885.
Efforts were made during the Cleve-
land Administration TO secure redress
for the injury sustained by Mr.. Nc
Cord, who, at the time the indignities
were heaped upon him, was consular
agent of the United States, but ali
failed
These efforts have been redoubled by
the friends OF Mr.. McCord since Mr..
Mckinley came into power, but they
| have been unable to secure any salts
faction, and have been compelled TO
again appeal To Congress in order to
Z
/ has done in the matter There has been
dereliction somewhere. and it does seem
that il this Government would proper
! ly push the case the government Of
Peru would do justice by Mr.. McCord." !"
More than year ago Mr. Olney no
titled the Government s representative
in Peru that there was no occa-
sion or excuse for further delay.
and he was instructed To say
/. s.-.s..
eign affairs that this Government was
unable TO perceive any further cause
for delay in the ease. Nothing came of
it
The McCord claim is the result of an
incident Of the civil war in that coun-
try. McCord was the superintendent
/ of 4 railway connecting two cities, one
! of which was held by the recognized
/ government and the other by the reyo-
lutionists. An engineer ran away with
an engine ana train upon which troops
1 were To have been moved, and McCord
was arrested and thrown into prison.
! accused unjustly Of being responsible
for the act He was told that if use
! should be made Of the runaway engine
he would be shot In fact, he was
shortly afterwards placed before a file
/ of soldiers and asked whether he wish
ell TO say anything. He replied that
nothing to say. He was thereupon
( taken back TO prison. The next day
| he was informed that he must imme-
/ diately pay a large fine for the escape
/ of the engine or take the consequence
| Again he d. MED responsibility or culpa-
! bility for the escape of the engine, and
/ demanded trial which was refused
4 hinl Mr.. McCord was submitted to
/ great indienities, and treated with un-
! due severity. but after being confined
! for two or three days some OF his
/ friends paid his fine and he was set at
! liberty.
Mr.. McCords treatment was in vio-
lation of treaty rights, and he sub
mitted a claim through the State De-
partment under date Of June %, 1855,
for pecuniary redress.
In 1886 Mr. Olney stated that this
Government could not refrain from ex-
pressing its astonishment that an ef-
fort should be made by the Peruvian
Government to justify or excuse the
great wrong done Mr.. McCord by al
leging that it was to enforce the col
lection of a fine imposed not upon him,
but upon a company by whom he was
then employed. Even had this fine been
legally imposed on the company, Mr..
Olney hel dthat Mr.. McCord could
not, with any show of justice or pro-
prlety, nave peeil iiIipTiSoHtu anu SUI
jected to unusual hardships and threat
ened with death for the company's
failure to pay it. He held that Peru's
liability TO indemnify Mr.. McCord
was too well established by the facts
and too well settled upon principles
of international law to admit of fur
ther controversy or discussion. The
only open question was the amount of
indemnity and the time and mode of
payment
Peru subsequently admitted the le-
gality of the claim, and promised TO
make restitution, but as Yet has not
done so. and now Congress will try to
push it along.