Evening star., 1915-11-28

Panama police authorities This is the
| way it used to be before the coming
of Brig. Gen. Clarence r. Edwards. Y.
S. A, commanding the Panama canal
| troops. Previously the soldiers had
been frequently badly manhandled by
| the native police because OF their III
feeling toward the soldiers and the the
very natural prejudice of all Latin
American peoples against foreigners
| especially Americans.
| Under the old order there were fire.
Guent riots between Panama ponce
men, civilians and the American SOL
| diers These quite naturally occurred IN
the unsavory sections of the two ciues
when soldiers and civilians We're me
worse for liquor and passions conse-
quently heated.
| As rule the disturbances were the
result of very slight misunderstanding :
| ings, the soldier not being sufficiently
| familiar with Spanish to make himSell
| understood. and the native civilian not
| understanding or pretending not TO
understand English. The result was a
| fist fight, the soldier being invariably
unarmed. in the course OF which the
civilian or Panama policeman drew his
| revolver and began shooting.
/ The shooting once begun it required
only short time for the entire police
detail of the restricted district to ap-
pear upon the scene. armed with high
power Mauser rifles and revolvers,
when the shooting became indiscriml-
nate. in which the unarmed American
soldier usually got the worst of it. The
records show that in the four or five
serious riots that have occurred in the
last several years not one Panama po-
liceman or civilian has been either
killed or wounded, while there have
many more wounded, some of whom
later died
In the midst of the rioting a large
detail of police usually was sent to the
scene from headquarters. All We're
armed with rifles and hundred
rounds of ammunition. They hurried
to the disturbed area and every soldier
who had not made his escape was ar
rested and dra gged off to the Panama
Jail Usually the arrests We're accom-.
panied by rather brutal treatment, the
men were showed into ill-smelling.
badly ventilated and insanitary cells
already overcrowded with negro pris-
onerS.
1t was this state of affairs that in
duced Gen. Edwards to bring about
reform in police methods in dealing
with soldier prisoners. The result was
not accomplished all at once. 1t re-
auired several months of active nego-
tidtlonS. because the Panama duIhOfl-
ties feared that to accede TO Gen. Ed
wards wishes would be in measure
to ALLEVIATE portion of their police
power and with it their sovereignty.
They are jealous of the fact that under
treaty provision the police power may
be taken from them by the United
States almost a Will
A solution of the difficulty, since the
American authorities did not wish to go
to the length of exercising treaty
rights, was to obtain the consent of
Panama to the patrolling of the city by
military patrol with powers to ar
rest and deal with soldier offenders
only. This finally was granted and now
the Panaman police do not arrest any
soldier, but appeal to the nearest mem
Der of the military patrol to perform
this office. He is then taken to the
guardhouse on Military Heights in the
Canal Zone and dealt with according
to military usage.
Panamas police authorities resisted
this to the last, as they called it an
invasion of their territory by the Amer
lean military officials. The persistence
of Gen. Edwards and his staff, however,
was not to be put aside and the Presi-
dent of Panama finally yielded grace
fully. Now 1t is proposed to go one step
farther in preventing future shooting
bees in the restricted district with