Arizona republican., 1908-07-14

He told them that the United States was treaty bound to all the nations of the world to keep the Isthmian transit open. and that the transit could not be kept open unless peace be maintained. This in turn, he told them, could not be had unless there were fair elections.
 The administration leaders replied that even if many Liberals had been denied the privilege of registration there was no remedy for it after the fact. They declared that the regis tration period had closed by law and that nothing could now be done to reopen the books. To this Governor Blackburn answered that if there was a bad law on the statute books of the republic it was either their fault or their misfortune. He told them plainly that the United States would insist on a fair election. and that it was certainly up to them to find some means of seeing that there was a fair election Negotiations were on for several weeks, and fi- nally President Amador yielded on a few immaterial points. Patience ceased to be q virtue with Governor Blackburn and he told the Conserva- tive leaders that there could be no monkey business in this matter. that the United States was only asking that a fair election be held and that there would be no recession from that demand.
 He said a dishonest election meant a revolution, and that a revolution meant the Reorganization of the ca nal force, and probably the destruc- tion of millions of dollars worth of American property, to say nothing of the delay in completing the canal. With the yellow fever raging in Colon and the bubonic plague run ming riot in Panama" he told them, "our force would crouch in the in terior and wait until the storm blew over But with shooting going on in Panama, with the opportunities for license and loot that would fol- low, there would be no keeping them out of it. The force would be com pletely disorganiZed, and irreparable harm would be done to the whole canal project"
 Governor Blackburn added that he could not speak with authority as to what would happen, but that he believed there would be several bat tIeships in the harbors of the isth- mus about that time, and that the marines stationed at Camp Elliot would be made ready to protect the American interests against any out break. Under these somewhat stren- uous representations the Panamanians agreed that the Americans could see hat no ducted. American agents were sent to the various voting places through out the isthmus to inspect conditions and to report to the Canal Zone government. Steps were taken by the Panamanian administration to in sure fair elections, so far as oppor- tunity to vote is concerned.
 There are other clements than that fin the free expression of the peo- ple's will. For instance, the pro vince of Colon had for it's governor Porfirio Melendez. He issued a state ment to the officials under him in which he said that every voter in the province should be afforded the opportunity to register his individ- ual will in the coming election, and that while he favored the election of Obaldia, the Liberal candidate, he wanted a fair election. As soon as the administration got hold of this statement, off went the official head of Governor Melendez. President Amador sent for Melendez first, and told him that he must sacrifice all personal considerations and that he must support Arias. When Melen- deg refused to recant, Amador told him he would give him a three months vacation. This Melendez also turned down. It was then that his office was taken from him and given to a supporter of Arias. The same thing happened to the governors of the provinces of Chiriqui and Co., cle.