The Washington times., 1901-10-27
VICTORY FOR INSURGENTS
The Colombian Rebels Gaining a
Series of Successes.
The Liberals Now Practically In
Possession of the Entire RRcihc
Coast-Strong Claims Made in n

ana TO the success OF tfle cause Oh lne lSlD-
erals. The revolutionist generals have de-
feated the Government troops in the prov
ince of Bolivar and In the Casanara ter
ritory. and are said to he practically mas
ters of the entire Pacific coast. General
Vargas Santos, the venerable chief of the
Liberal party. has just issued proclama-
tion complimenting the revolutionist ar
mics on their successes, and urging all
Liberals to make ready for the striking of
the final blow. The proclamation. which
reached this city yesterday from Curacao
from which point General Vargas Santos
| directs the campaign. says in part:
The present bright outlook of the CO.
| lombian Liberal revolution is the result of
| persevering efforts made in order to carry
on just war generously encouraged and
supported. All signs clearly Indicate the
| approaching final-success of the Liberal
| arms, upheld today simultaneously in
| every quarter of the Colombian territory
from the Carchi River to the Tachira
| line and from the Meta River to the west
ern isthmian boundaries.
"The serious mistakes Tand misdeeds
committed by the Conservative faction
that assaulted the public power by. means
| of a military coup on J;ily 81 of last
| year have greatly contribBteds-te%ard
! bringing about the preselt favorable state
of affairs. The aggressiveness of the Con-
| servative Governmeat-so expansive in its
| domircering tendencies-has provoked
complications with neIghboring countries.
and these, as of right, and in their own
protection and defense, since they have
| been actually attacked or threatened,
have come cut to assist the Colombian
| Liberal party in the struggle. Such as
! sistance can in no wise,ruiii the atriotic
feelings of the Colombians and can in no
way or manner modify the programme of
political and economical reforms demand
ed by the vast majority of tho nation
''As the war of independence from
| Spain was a war which brought togeth-
er the countries Of similar convictions,
so now in like manner they unite anew
! to help the Liberals of Colombia in their
| fight, that they may attain their object,
| the extirpation and destruction of the
regime Of old-time colonial misrule in
the person of itssrepre sentative and sue
| cessor. the fanatic and arbitrary gov
| ernment of the Conservatives of Colon-
| bia''
This is the first official admission by
the Liberals that they have enlisted the
sympathies and secured tbs actual as
sistance of Venezuela and Ecuador, and
explains the turn which affairs have
1 taken in Colombia, Continuing the gen
eralissimo says:
In confederation of the similarity
already pointed out-between the war We
are now waging and the war of inde-
| pendence FIONA Spain comes the decree
of war without quarter issued by Mr..
Marroquin ard his Ministers. with re-
| gard to that decree we must state here
| that we accept the challenge sorrowfully
]
! the matter We deplore the adoption of
| such barbarous proceedings and are de-
| cided not to retaliate. except against such
military or civil officials have already,
or in future may. put to death any Lib
! eral- prisoners. ---------
i THE ruin attendant upon government
| by the Conservatives is today evident
| ana complete; to become aware of that
| fact there is no need Of visiting the coun-
7 try; it win be sufflcient-to know that all
coined gold and silver fed abroad or out
of the circulation sixteen years ago, in the
{ presence Of the flood of paper currency
/ issued by the Conservatives. Free stipu-
lation was forbidden by law, and the peo-
pie are forced 10 accept the national bank
notes at the incredible rate of exchange
Of 1900 per cent. The country's wealth
is in the hands of a few corrupt and
| litical schemes.
The Liberal party. having. as It has,
| the deep and perfect sentiment Of its
| duties and the conscience of it's power
| has constantly and relentlsssly contend
ed against the decentralization, misrnle and
| depreiations which have been the dis
tinctiye features of this parenthesis in our
| life of freedom and civilization, opened by
an Infamous treason and now finally
closed by another. That odious and harm
| ful system has.hesn vigorously opposed by
the Liberal party by means of the press
| and of the tribune: from foreign countries
| permanently. and at home during the
1 rare moments when the Liberals have
been allowed TO express their IDEAS there
Three times We have resQrted.to arms
as the only means left TO us of reyindicat-
| ing our rights aDdsthe- bsnor OF the nation
| Unfortunately, the modern war weapons
| are powerful element Of Oppression
| when monOpOliZed-as in the present case
by men withouts principles or scruples
! who dispose at will OF all the resources of
| the country just when their adversaries
| have been ruined and Impoverished by
| confiscations and persecution. The unac-
countabie armed Intervention of the
| United States in the isthmus and In
| Cartagena against us in 1885 was decisive
| Today we are confident that the high Of
| ficials of that great nation and the prac-
,
pie will not allow their judgment to be
| m!sled into assisting-the only South Amer
| lean Government that during the late war
between Cuba and Spain manifested itself
against the humanitarian principles advo-
Gated by the American people
We are designated as rebels and rev.
| olutionists. Against whom are we re-
| bellious? All signs of legality have to-
| day disappeared from the Conservative
| regime, and If legitimateness there Is, it
can only be rightly claimed by those who
,sv,af fY-rFH Hg-E
tors who have appropriated the public
| positions. Public opinion favors our
cause, az is demonstrated by the fact
that we have been waglng without him
| drauce for two years constant and san
] culinary war against a Government com
manding the most numerous and best
| drilled regular army that has ever exist
| ed in any of the South American Repub-
| lies.
with all the active eiements brought
to bear upon our adversaries. victory
| Will be ours shortly. provided public Opin-
| ion continues to favor our cause as here
| tofOre. The moral influence exerted by
the honorary prccedents of the Liberal
| party on the dishonest conscience OF our
| contestants will-by virtue Of an inexor-
| able moral law-overcome their corrup-
| ton, and will make comparatively easy
| the task of re-establishing sound prac-
| tees of government. true electoral vote,
| honest administration Of public funds
| and interests. as during the glorious
| times when therc@Pxisted in our country
| honorable and frugal governments, re
| spectful of all law and of every legiti-
| mate right.
J we can even predict that the success
Of the revolution will save the country
| from the cancer Of paper currency by
| means OF fair and acceptable credit com
| 5inatiors that ensure the redemption Of
| hat deprecated currency by coined sill
yer of high tipcncss."
| hortation to the troops not TO resort to
| extreme retaliation, and to be magnani-