The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-04-11
HIGH HANDED METHODS
COLOMBIAN sErzuREs or PROP.
 EHTY OF AMERICANS.
The Declaration That All Foreigners i should Be Deemed Public Enemies Regarded as 0eing
 dratuitously Offensive.

Washington. April 1o.-rhe diplomatic exchanges between the United vtates Le- gation at Bcgota and the State Depart ment in Washington. which will appear in the forthcoming volume of foreign relations of the United States. discloses that numerous complaints were made by American citizens during the revolution in Colombia of the action of military au- thorities of that Government in exap- propriating their mules and other prop erty.
 MT. Beauprie. ths American Charge at Bosota. in the absence of Minister Hart, writing to the State Department con- corning tho rights of citizens of the United States as to the exappropriation of property. cited a case that came un- der his personal observation. An Ameri- can citisen who had dined with him found, upon going to look after two anil mals he had purchased. that the saddles and brides had been taken by a Govern ment official who had left receipt fixing the value of the articles taken at 1000 pesos, while it was estimated that the American citizen would be obliged to pay 5000 to duplicate his lost articles.
 Speaking of this case, Mir. Beauprie said: There are a dozen stores in Bo- kota selling the saddles. and hundreds of saddles for saie." and then asked: whence the urgent. immediate and pressing emergency that would justify the forcible appropriation if the sad dies, etc., from the AmericanT'
 Continuing. he says:
 srsarf q trYy -Yirdar fha~ avafer of arhf. trarily fixing the value of such property. 1t is much cheaper to set it this way and the day of payment Is indefinitely post poned, but cannot believe it consistent with the guaranties of public treaty or the laws of nations. It is altogether probable that in the majority of cases the regulations for appropriation are no nor valid nor just than these in the case just cited. Necessarily with the financial distress of the Government. 1t Is almost impossible to collect claims, large or small, and the Government has announced to many, and to one American ct least. whom know and who has had a large amount of property seized. that no payments would be made until the close of the war;
 Assistant Secretary Hill. in a communi- cation to the United States Legation at Bogota. said. among other thingss
 The declaration of tho Minister of War that all foreigners should be deemed public enemies. cannot but be regarded as gratuitousiy offensive. and this Govern ment must remonstrate such characteri- zation of it's citisens availing themselves of their conventional rights of visit and sojourn in Colombia. It should have been made the occasion of instant and vigorous protest"
 The attitude of this Government to- ward the seizure by Colombia of property of Americans for military purposes is shown by the following instruction sent by Dr. Hill. as Acting Secretary of State to the American Legation at Bo- gota
 You will notify the Colombian Gov ernment that this Government will hold 1t responsible for any proven cases of seizure of Americans property for mili- tary purposes without due compensa- ton
 Among the other subjects of the diplo- matic exchanges between Washington and Bogota contained in this volume are the seizure of vessels and alleged dis crimination against American enterprises in Colombia. the re-opening of United States schools at Baranquilla. Medillon and Bosota, closed by the Colombian au- thorities. and the question of neutrality of aliens.