The age-herald., 1900-02-15
MACRUM MAKES
 HIS STATEMENT Left Pretoria in Interest of His
 Government THOUGHT HIMSELF YET CONSUL All His E~ Opened by British I Censor. WcE-c : gUL JOINED THE BoERs The Ex Consul Says Conditions in Pre- toria Were Such That He Thought the Department Should be Correctly Informed

Washington, February H.-The following signed statement was given out tonight by Charles E. Macrum, former United States consul to Pretoria:
 .srhe situation in Pretoria was such that first, as an official I could not remain there while my government at home was apparently in the dark as to the exact con- dtions in South Africa; second, a man and a citizen of the United States, could not remain in Pretoria, sacrificing my own self-respect and that of the people of Pre- toria while the government at home con- tinued to leave me in the position of a British consul and not an American con- su
 .'I want to say right here that there was mot one single request made of me through the department of state looking to the care of British interests in Pretoria which l dids' not fulfill and report upon according. to my orders On the other hand, American
 interests in South Africa were in that con- dition which demanded that the depart
 ment of state should be cognizant of them.
 I issued the statement recommending to. the state department that Americans must remain neutral. dn the face of this Ameri- cans were continually going to the front and taking up arms in the cause of the Boers. I could not help but know that
 many of these Were citizens of the United
 States. I also knew that many of them
 in their utter despair at the apparent at-
 tftude of our own government were taking the oath of allegiance to the Transyaal re-- public. When affairs had reached that state my vice consul. MT. Ameriag, closed up his business, took the oath of allegi- aEce to the republic and went to the front as a burgher, thought the time had come when should make report of these con- ditions.
 Mail Stopped at Capetown
 'It was over four weeks from the time the war opened before I received a single
 mail dispatch from my government or personal letter. The mail for the Trans vaal had all been stopped at Capetown by order of the high commissioner. When this mail was finally forwarded to me after
 Colonel Stowe, the consul-general at Cape
 town had secured its release, had the hu-
 initiation as the representative of the American government of sitting in my office in Pretoria and looking upon envelopes bearing the official seal of the American
 government opened and officially sealed
 with a sticker notifying me that the con-
 tents had been read by the censor at
 Durban
 I looked up the law, but failed to find
 anywhere that one military power can use its own discretion as to forwarding the off, cial dispatches of neutral government to- it's representatives in @ besieged coun- | try.
 "The mail service from Delagoa Bay to | Europe continually interrupted by the | action of British men-of-war at that port. l The service was over two weeks longer than | by the west coast and there were contin- | ua1 rumors that that port would be closed | and communication with the outside world l entirely cut off. l was privately informed l by the Belgian and German consus at Pre- | toria that their official cables in code to l the governments had been refused by the- l censor.
 l Cablegram Refused l I filed one cable in the interest of an1 l American in Pretoria which was refused ab- | solutely by the censor in Durban This ca- | ble I sent to the fancee of a MT. Nelson | an American business man in Pretoria. | She was on her way to South Africa from | Buffalo when the war broke out. Accord l ing to a letter which MT. Nelson received 1 just before the war commenced she l buying her rousseau in Europe. The cable | requested her to come by the East Coast. | When informed MT. Nelson that the cable l had not been sent, his brother took the l oath of allegiance to the republic and went | to the front. But these are simply minor details
 The misrepresentation which had been go- ing on before tine war and after it opened were of such serious nature and would require such detailed explanation, that on Nhe 9th of November, filed a cable to the
 department in code, stating that I wished
 a leave of absence in order to visit the states. 1 set forth in this cable that my
 vice consul had enlisted in the Boer army;
 that MT. Atterbury, an American whom had known favorable for more than year,
 would take charge of the office until my re- turn In reply to this dispatch, which was
 followed without any delay, received from
 the department a reply, advising me that
 my presence at Pretoria was important to
 public interest. On the 18th l telegraphed again, acknowledging tine receipt of the
 cable, and advising the department that the situation was not critical; that MT. Alter
 bury was competent; that my presence In America was important. No reply was re- ceived and wired again on the 11th. stat ing that no reply had been received, ana again urged favorable reply Could Receive No Rert' No reply was received to taas. On the 14th of November I again wired the department.
 stating that could not leave without per- (Continued on Second Page1