The sun., 1903-12-13
HOW TO BEAT A REVOLUTION.
AN OBJECT LESSON IN THE d.
PLOlMACY or COLOMBIA.
Tale Of the Rebel Agent VINO Fell Among
Confidence Men In the Great City and
Found That 1t Was Easy to Spend $780,
OlDO on Nothing and lie $1,000 In Debt

Revolutions in Colombia have been
won or lost In all sorts OF ways, but In one
case at least, the result was due to the tricks
and wiles of the Government agent here
in New York. When an insurrection broke
out In the United States of Colombia III
1855 that Government was secretly repre-
sented here by man who seems to have
understood the alphabet OF duplicity from
the first letter to the last. Without bemg
the accredited representative Of Colombia
and without any assistance from the
United States Government he competeiy
outwitted the insurgent agent and pre-
vented the much needed arms and am
munition from reaching the rebels. In.
Iable lawsuits followed. III one OF
which Elihu Root, now Secretary OF war,
appeared, but meanwhile the rebels mao
been whipped and no amount OF iawsu'lS
could help them.
The excuse for the revolution was tna,
DR.. Nunez, Pre- sident Of Colombia wah'eo
to remain in office after his term had legaIy
expired. He declared hiInHeH Dictator
and the Liberals rose In rebellion. COL
BENJAMIN A. Oaitan, an officer In the army
they formed and u nephew o. ts OonA'
nlander, was sent to the United STATES W
spend about .OOO in arms and cartridges.
When Gaitan landed In New lork no
was met by number OF his countTynieh'
all of whom declared their sympathles
to be with the Liberals. In this volunteer
reception committee was Colombian mer-
chant and banker with offices In Beaver
street. He is still in the United States ana
occasionally does business there. For the
purposes OF this story he can be calico
Jones, which is not his name.
He told me, said Gaitan, in an affidavlt
now fled in the dusty basement OF the
County Court, that he would send dyna-
mite to the noble insurgents If it would 40
them any good. and he warned me that II
I placed my funds with any OF the firms
with which ! had intended to do business
they would betray me to the Colombian
Government. He said I had better en-
ploy him. Itrusted him implicitly because
he was the son OF the leader Of the Liberal
party and his uncle who is my fat her-in-
law, was chief Of ct aff Of the Liberal army.
Gaitan's implicit trust" proved his own
and the revolutions undoing. AZ the rec
ords show, he almost Immediately placed
his entire fund Of $eO, 900 with Jones, and
from that moment trouble began.
One thing that Gaitan wanted to do was
to Git out a steamer with arms and ammu-
milton and about two hundred adventurers
for sort Of flibustering expedition to
Colombia. He commissioned Jones to buy
the st Gamer and the merchant soon re-
ported that he had q great bargain. The
steamship Alden, then lying at Kingston
Jamaica, could be purchased for $4,000,
and was aaid to answer all speciticat ions.
Jones told his client that the boat was
worth at least $780, 900. PERHAPS more, and
it ought to be grabbed quick because delay
would be dangerous. So Gaitan signed
an order OF purchase. When the steamer
finally arrived here, after months OF delay,
It proved to be fishing boat Of 8s tons
and worth not more than 5000. Tho
principal specification had been that the
st Gamer should have passenger capacity
Of 200, but the Arden could carry ten per-
Sons only. The final straw proved to be
that Gaitan had to pay $500 month for
nearly two years for the cost OF keeping
The boat.
Long before Gatan discovered how he
had been duped in the purchase OF the
steamer he was annoyed and perplexed
BY the delays and obstacles thrown In his
way. Day after day he went to the office
Of the merchant only to find that the rifles
which were every day more urgently needed
by the rebels had not been purchased.
The excuse generally given was that Jones
was waiting for the latest advices from
Colombia as to the progress OF the revo-
luton. These advices never came. Gaitan
said afterward that he had arranged to
send and receive all his mail through Jones
and he believed that much Of 1t had been
with
Meanwhile President Nunez Of Colombia
had been driving the rebels from State to
State. Finally, because Of their lack OF
arms and ammunition, they surrendered.
Gaitan's uncle, the Commander of the
Liberal forces, was thrown into prison
and died there, and Gaitan himself was
outlawed.
Then his counsellor appeared in his true
light as an agent of the Colombian Govern
ment. Gaitan Immediately demanded an
accounting Of the funds and received one
that was eminently unsatisfactory to him,
as it showed him to be 4lo,l4l
In debt to Jones. He threatened to take
the dispute into court, but was persuaded
not to do 30 by Jones, who told him that
II he would sign the account as 1t stood
and turn over to him all title in the Alden
and In what few arms had been purchased
he would, with the aid Of Climaoo Calderon,
then Colombian Consul here, secure him a
pardon for his political offences and in
addition give him 81 900 In cash and draft
Tor 5000. :.
AT that time" said Gaitan, Il was dis
heartened at the loss Of the revolution
and the death and imprisonment of 30
many of my friends and was most anxious
70 return to my home and family l ac-
cordngly accepted the proposition and
wrote letter approving the balance against
me and leaving in the hands Of the other
parties as payment the steamship and other
articles"
Caitan received his 81 900 and started for
Colombia. Jones promised to forward
him the political pardon and the draft to
New Orleans. When Gaitan arrived there
he found waiting for him not the draft and
the pardon, but this letter:
EsTEEMKD FRIEND: The agreement Be
agreed upon Is not approved at Bogota.
\ - III.