The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-08-02

| so. lar.
But the President seems to reassure
lyon, and his followers lean back,
while the. SeGretary-if that is his
4 official title-takes. another sheet Of
paper, with the state heading, and
starts off again writing at breakneck
{speed.
Everything" declares the Presi-
dent sis going on well. We have
come to Paris to organize, and TO- yes,
prepare loan,. an 'Emprunt d'Etat
You don't know Counani? Will you
please hand the gentleman a Livre
4 -Rouge? There. my friend, you will
find our official Communications to the
powers. l. have nothing more to add
Ito them-at present.
My future plans? I am in Paris
i-orgapizing, preparing a loan. an En-
/ prunt d,Etat We shall go in two YES
sells of war and continue our govern
ment. When, do not know. L am in
! Paris: organizing. preparing a loan.
If you have any financiers among your
Friends
4 There is clearly nothing to be learn
ed here; you go. away, shall. / add
with relief? With your ponderous
red book under your arm, and you
! carry it to a quiet cafe to digest
! This red book eNo. p if you please)
purports TO be "a memorandum adj
l.dressed to the powers on the subject
Of the official recognition of the Free
State of Counani. il is dated january,
1904. and is issued from the Govern
ment printing works at. Counani.
There is d preface by the president. as
in duty. bound: and short historical
sketch, written in the persuasive style
rand native eloQuence. of a travelling
hawker. 1t starts off with the .inevit-
able appeal 10 the Gar and the Hague
tribunal; the necessary protest against
Brazils and an ingratiatihg argument
+ to. France.
Next we. are treated to a geograph-
Y ical description of the country, which.
among other good purposes, pads up
/ eleven imposing pages; and. two pages
following form, in tabloid form, the
gem Of the entire collection. Here
We learn. with a good deal of
head scratching, that. the Counani
constitution provides for a Chief
OF Government, with very ex-
tended powers; who is assisted by "A
State Council of ten members and
Chancellor, WHO'S the Second Head of
the administration. The Houses of
| Representatives consist of an Upper
Chamber and Grand Council.
Public security is assured by d per-
manent force of police and gendarmes,
and the republic. is represented abroad
/ by a body Of diplomatic and COM
/ mercial agents: in every land"
We are then given the constitution
IN series of snnexes, with the decree
! of Uayana Assn on. Adolph when he
is at 'home) proclaiming it in force.
Everything is thought of, even to the
flag, which is red with a white star in
I the middle. The old motto of Jus
/ tice and Liberty is. retained, while a
! supplementary trademark is now add
ed, ;Je maintiendrai par la Raison ou
par Ia Force" which sounds dreadful
a good many people are said to be
Of Counani nationality whether they
like. it or not; and every one has to be
a soldier in varying degrees of inten-
-sity, from 5 to g years of age.
1t is now time to recoIlect that, in
spite Of all this, the republic of Brazil
was still keeping its end up and its le-
cation in Paris was still in fairly good
working order. at the old sign. You go
there, just to make sure before allow
ing yourself to laugh all you want.
You have the luck to fall in with a
most courteous secretary, who tells you
briefly this:
Between Brazil proper and French
Guiana there lies a territory known as
Counani, after the principal town there.
The frontiers here had never been def
nitely dominated, but as the country
was comparatively bare and savage
and of little commercial value the
question was left in allegiance and the
district became known as the contest
ed territory" and for a long while, in
deed, was the happy hiding ground OF
the convicts escaping from the penal
settlement of French Guiana.
In 1885. however, gold was discovered
and rush took place, bringing the
country into prominence 1t was under
these circumstances that. the French
and Brazilian governments signed q
protocol TO refer the question Of from
tier to the arbitration OF Switzerland
A decision rendered at Berne in De-
cember. 1900, gave the country to Bra
I'll, anu immediately the Government OF
Rio de Janeiro annexed it to the dis
trict Of Para and put its administration
into due force. Since that time law
and order have been definitely estab-
lished there, and the country enjoys
participation in the constitution of the
republic of Brazil
AS for the person who styles him
self President Of the free state of Cou.
mani Qt is still the Brazilian legation
secretary who is speaking), he is sim
ply an adventurer. He certainly has
Z been TO the place. coming from no one
knows where, and but for his timely
7 withdrawal would have been arrested
: not for anything so grandiloquent a.
high treason or the like, but on a police
; court charge of theft.
He escaped to Paris. where he ha.
got together a band of men like him.
self, gems sans aveu,' of no allowable
J. profession, and he is now simply try
: ing to get money from tho foolist, =,