Evening star., 1901-08-09
NO APPREHENSION FELT
AFFAIRS ON THE ISTHMUS NOT RE-
GARDED AS SERIOUS.
The Wisconsin Has Been Ordered to
San Francisco to Be In
Readiness to Sail.

Readiness to Sail.
Neither the State nor the Navy Depart
| ment was able to throw any light upon the
press dispatch from Willemstad stating
| that the Venezuelan government announced
that new Colombian invasion occurred
! yesterday near Colon. 1t was pointed out,
however, that Colon was far removed from
the Venezuelan border, and under these
circumstances it is probable that the word
invasion" is used in the sense Of an up
| rising. and does not refer to an invasion OF
the Venezuelan border, as that would be
physically impossible near Colon.
Another explanation suggested was that
the Colon mentioned was not that on the
Isthmus but some obscure place along the
Venezuelan frontier. The maps fail to dis
close such place, however, or any name
akin to 1t.
Situation Not Regarded ms Serious.
No further official reports have come re-
garding the situation on the Isthmus. and
the officials appear content to rest for the
present with what has already been done
in preparing to protect American inter-
ests.
They do not regard the situation as seri-
Gus, but desire to be ready If it should be-
come so.
An order has been sent to Captain Geo.
c. Reiter of the battle ship Wisconsin, at
Anacartes near the Puget sound naval sta
ton. to proceed to San Francisco. from
which point the battle ship will be dis
patched to Panama, in case the State De-
partment requests the presence of war
ship On the Pacific side Of the isthmus.
This action was taken after Acting Sec
retary Hackett had received from the state
Department a communication from Mr.. ;.
Edward Simmons of New York. president
of the Panama Railway Company, setting
forth the seriousness Of the situation on
the iSthmuS, and suggesting that WarShipS
be sent both to the Atlantic and the Pacific
side. The acting secretary of state replied
to Mr.. Simmons that the gunboat Machlas
had been ordered to Colon on the Atlantic
SIDE but 1t was the view Of officials that
there was no present necessity for sending
down a ship on the Pacific side. Neverthe-
less it was deemed advisable to have one
arise. Therefore the Wisconsin was ordered
to San Francisco, and there await further
orders
AS San Francisco is over 1900 miles from
Panama. the battle ship will probably be
ordered to proceed further down the coast,
probably to San Diego, Cal, and there
await developments on the isthmus.
The selection of a battle ship for this
prospective duty apparently gives grav-
ity to the situation which in reality it does
not possess Unfortunately, most of the
smaller ships are in Asiatic waters, and the
department was obliged to choose between
unserviceabe old wooden ships and the
fine new battle ships on the Pacific sta
ton.
The Wisconsin is one of the finest ships
of the new navy, and If she should be
sent this will be practically her first active
duty as she has been in commission only
a short time ago. She has displacement OF
1000 tons, is heavily armored and has a
main battery of four 13-inch breech-toad-
ing rifles and fourteen 6-inch rapid-fire
guns, which, with her secondary battery,
makes her one of the most formidable
~ L., o10,,k
officers and men, including about rs ma
rineS-
The Machias Sails.
The Navy Department has received a tel
egram from Lieut. Commander Nathan Sar-
gent, commanding the gunboat Machias,
announcing the departure of that vessel
from Boston yesterday for Hampton Roads.
Pending advices from Commander Sargent.
the department is unable to announce
whether that officer will take the Machias
all the way down to the isthmus, or be
succeeded by some other officer at Hampton
Roads, as forecasted in the press dispatch
eS from Boston.
No International Correspondence.
AS far as known neither of the govern
ments involved has as yet addressed the
United States government concerning the
troubles on the isthmus. nor has there
been any occasion for this government to
to the difficulty.
If traffic on the isthmus should be
stopped it would probably bring about an
inquiry by the United States government
of the government of Colombia, as to the
ability of the latter to cope with the situa-
ton, for the primary duty Is on Colombia
and only when she fails will the United
States step in.
When similar trouble arose in 1885. the
United States did not act until the COlOm-
bian government requested action, making
it plain that the trouble had gone beyond
the power Of their authorities.
No News at Colombian Legation.
There was no news at the Colombian le-
CATION to confirm the press report of a new
Colombian invasion, Mr.. Herran. the first
secretary of legation. who Is now in charge
during DR.. Silvas absence. looked askance
at the dispatch from WillemStad, pointing
out the impossibility of Colombian inva-
sion Of Venezuelan territory near Colon.
away over on the ISthmus of Panama, and
said he knew of no Colon in either Ven
eZuela or Colombia.
feared, he said, was near the borderland in
the vicinity of Meta river, south Of the
Lake of Maracaibo.
The Colombian minister of war is Gen.
eral Gonzales Valencia who has good
record as a fighter, and has rendered dis
tinguished services during the guerrilla
warfare of year past, and Mr.. Herran
thought it very possible that he had been
called upon to lead the army of Colombia.
Mr.. Herran expects to hear from the Co.
lombian consul general at New York In a
short time, and also hopes for some news
to shed dlight on the situation on the 18TH
mus from the incoming Colombian mail