Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-16

flying the stars and stripes, with Consul
General Osborne on board and the other
flying the English Jack" with Consul
Maxse at the tiller. A few yards to their
rear l embarked in an armed cutter un-
der command of Lieut.. Parker with %
blue jackets each with his rifle and forty
rounds of ammunition. l stood on the
poop of the little cutter and in the bow
was a quick firing machine gun.
Before landing we observed that the
street side of the court house was sur
rounded by German officials n subjects.
The marines were left on the pier while
the two consuls and myself advanced
about a hundred yards to the court
house, the British and Americans
backing us up. We walked straight to
the German lines and pushing the gates
aside, l stepped on the eranda supported
by the two consuls and Lieut.. Parker.
THE German officials wished to discuss
the situation but we Indignantly refused
and l demanded the keys of the court
house from President Raffel, ~denounclns
him as a traitor to the treaty and a usurp-
er. He refused to surrender them and l
thereon called upon the bystanders 10
assist me to make a forcible entry.
There was a general response, but the
man who reached the veranda first was
an American carpenter named Wills ana
then a British boat builder named
Mackie. Willis and Mackie secured a
sledge hammer and soon the doors fen IN.
Lusty cheers were given for the chief
justice and the supreme court and the
flag was then hoisted by a Brltlsher VINO
climbed to the top of the pole.
The marines had in the meantime been
marched up and formed in line inside
the court enclosure and as the flag Went
up they gave it a salute. The United
States and British cOnsuls both made Wig
orous speeches and 1 expressed my lndlg-
nation at the insult which had been heap
ed upon the court and myself INT at the
gross insults which had ben shown the
American and British flags, thanked the
people for their loyalty and lowered the
flag with my own hands and pledged my
life even in it's defense.
"The WealthieSt and most prominent
German merchant, F. A. Groesmuhl, at
ter threatening the United States cOnsul
general with dire calamitles, went to the
supreme court building and smashed all
! it's windows. Upon hearing this l went
ashore. He had been arrested by an
American half caste policeman named
Scanlon. The man was brought before
me and admitted that he committed the
offense through contempt of court and
being in contempt during his trial, l nneu
him 500 and sentenced him to one hundred
days imprisonment. The same afternoon
Won Bulow, the German lawyer who had
represented the Mataafa people in the
trial, gathered a crowd Of natives and
made an assault on the Jail brandishine
an axe and threatening to break into the
Jail. Clerk Denve appeared on the scene
and disarmed him. night at hall
past ten o'clock President Raffel, who has
charge of the municipal police, went tc
the Jail and released Groesmuhl and tool
him to the German consulate. l am nov
demanding his return to the jail and un'
less my demand is complied with by to-
morrow, 1 will issue writs for his arres
and to the president to SHOW
cause why he should not be punished.
THE farce cannot be continued mucl
; longer. Either America or England mus
? annex these islands AS an American ex
pansionist, l would naturally. like to Sc
the stars and stripes run up over thos
islands, but l am not certain that 1t Woul'
be best. The English outnumbered u
here ten to one and their wit
: the islands, is vastly greater than ours
& l believe the majority of the American
$ would be just as content with British an
e nexation as American. No.. ~
| ''Our Page Page rights should in an
= case be insisted upon and any arrange
2 ments that America and Englan
might arrive at there is no question tina
England would fully guarantee all w
wish. The likelihood is that contrary t
Il her traditions and practice elsewhere
England would prefer that our govern
e ment take over the islands, e.