Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1905-05-26
ScME PAPERS MISSING
Mr.. Bowen Sent Them With Charges
Against Mr.. LCODiS.
BOTH OFFICIALS MAY BE DROPPED.
Sufficient Progress Has cen Made In the Inves'
LEGATION Of the Charges Against Mr.. LOOMS
Forwarded From Caracas By Minister Bow
en- to Convince the Administration That Its
Course Is Quite Clear on Two Points. ~

Washington, D. c., (Special) Her,
bert w. Bowen, Aemrican Minister &c.
| Venezuela, who transmitted TO the State
Department reports that affected the OF
fetal integrity of Francis B. LOOMS, AS
sistant Secretary of State, informed SEC
rotary Taft that two important papers
which he had sent TO the State Depart
ment in connection with these charges
were missing from the mass of reports,
dispatches and documents returned TO
him for the purpose of rendering COM
prehensive brief of his position. This
caused a commotion in the State Depart
ment and in Secretary Taft's Office.
Mr. Bowen explained that he had sent
the charges. which were current in Car
acas, to Mr.. Hay, accompanied by vari-
Gus documents vital to the matter lie
said that among these papers, which he
received back from Secretary TAFT nc
failed to find a letter written by PEST
dent Castro, of Venezuela, to Mr. Loom
is, then Minister to Venezuela, or all as
signment made to Mr.. LOOMS by a. L.
Jaurett, then editor of the Venezuela
Herald, since expelled from Venezuela
by President Castro and ~ whose be-
half the State Department is now press
ing a claim of $4,000 against the South
American Republic. What kind of an
assignment Mr.. Jaurett made to Mr..
LOOMS cannot be learned.
Secretary Taft Immediately sent to the
State Department an inquiry about the
matter. But the State Department OF
fcials could not find the papers. Mr..
Taft learned from various sources that
the communication from Mr.. Bowen,
presumably containing the documents now
missing had long laid upon the desk OF
Secretary Hay. Early in March Mr.
LOOMS was about to make trip to Cal
ifornia. Secretary Hay handed to him
the entire correspondence and, Secretary
Taft is informed, directed Mr.. LOOMS
to take therefrom such papers as be-
longed to him. MIR. LOOMS did So
Among the papers which he took, Sec
rotary Taft is informed, was a certlti,
cate of stock which Mr. Bowen says mad
no relation to the present case. There
were also other papers, presumably LETT
at the American Legation in Caracas
when Mr.. LOOMS left.
Mr.. LOOMS promptly told MIR. Tafi
that he was perfectly willing that Minis
ter Bowen should replace the missing
documents with dulicates if he had them
Mr.. Bowen said that he had and he
handed them to Secretary Taft later.
Sufficient progress has been made in
the investigation of the charges against
Assistant Secretary Loomis forwarded
from Caracas by Minister Bowen to con-
vince the Administration that its course
is quite clear on these two points:
That Mr.. Bowen must be requested
to leave the diplomatic service because
of his pdiscretion in bandying the
charges about VIXEN his statements, ii
made at all, should be made only to his
official superiors.
That Mr. LOOMS should not remain
in the office of Assistant Secretary OF
State 1t is the view of the Admins
tration that he should be promoted to
an Ambassadorship if further inveSti-
CATION of the charges proves them I'M
founded, or that he should be requested
to resign from the service if they should
be substantiated