The evening times., 1899-04-21
FRIDAY, APRIL 81. 1899.
The TnIc From SaEion.

rrb.. Srst thought. and perhaps the last,
osou, the lurid tale from Apia, is that the
same ro1nanccr has been eating hasheesn
and fancying things. The siSnihcance OIL
the situation as reported would be ap-
pallng. The captain of the German war
ship Fake a prisoner on board the bflt-
ish cruiser forpoise. and on one size oi 'is
Fake the American cruiser Phiiadeiihla
end en- the other side the aforesaid ior-
poise. both cleared for action. and all on
board the Fal,.e pris0neTs-it is tale 10
make the hair OF the pe2ce-loyer stand
erect. Il could hardly mean less than war.
The alleged cause of the reported situation
is the discovery of the German captain ara
men Ashore in the act OF issuing guns and
ammunition TO the rebel partisans oil Ma
ta5fa. II this were true the English ana
American governments could not refuse
20 sustain the action CT their respective
commanders: and Germany certainly would
rot submit TO il.
of course the State Department fe-e
,i.iciles the report. On its face it is re-
garaed as improbable if not impossib e,
brcarse il is rot TO be believed the cap
tain OF the Fake would allow himself 10
b. caught in an operation that would have
the fnost serious consequences; and be-
cause the arrest of the captain OF war
ship by another is absurd. This last,
however, is open to question. Indeed, 1t is
highly probable that if the German cap
tain had been detected in such an act he
would have been promptly arrest d,
r. I.a IL
from his ship. The State Department off,
cia!s and the German Embassy say that
there have been official advic5s from Sa-
Inoa since the time the alleged arrest
could have occurred. If that is true, it st
ties the matter-there can be- no tr:th in
the report. 1t happens. however, tha; the
latest official news from Apia was dated
the fourth OF April. 1t is assumed to be
Improbable that a steamer could bring
later information. In one report it is
stated that the arrest was made on that
same day--the fourth of ApIil. So i. is
not impossible that the steamer has
brought news hours later than the latest
from Admiral Kautz.
Whether any credence is to be placed in
bleuess Of the alleged facts. Up to last
night there was no certainty that official
advices later than this news had been re-
ceived. Until later information from Sa-
moa comes every man can think what he
will about it. 1t has been specifically
charged that arms and ammunition from
the Fake had been supplied TO the follow
,rs of Mataafa, so that it is not impossible
the officers of that ship should be arrested
in the act What the attitude of the Ger
man Consul has been is well known: the
american and English accounts of the first
rccting a charge of the rebels. There is
nothing in the report out of harmony with
The course of Herr Rose and DIR. Raifel
and the German planter who was arrested
for leading Mataafa's men. II is simply
question whether the German Consul
far and whethey. if they did, the British
and American officers would place the Ger
mans in arrest. Considering the intensity
of feeling known to exist, there is nothing
TO make the story improbable except the
serious consequences that must follow, and
the ease with which an exciting tale is
masniiied and distorted. The arrest of the
German planter might be exaggerated into
the arrest of the German captain. On the
whole, the chances are rather against the
truth of the news; and, anyway. 1t is al
ways safer to doubt such report until
!, ,bara Is proof of its accuracy