Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 7, 1909
File No. 15778/55–57.
Minister Squires to the Secretary of State.
Panama, March 8, 1909.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith copy of foreign office note No. 54/11, February 5, 1909, with translation, transmitting to the legation a report on the investigation made by the Panama Government, under the direction of Mr. Valdez, Secretary of Government, into the charges made against the national police of the city of Panama.
I have, etc.,
The Secretary for Foreign Affairs to Minister Squiers.
Panama, February 5, 1909.
Mr. Minister: The Government of Panama, desirous of fixing the responsibility of the parties involved in the lamentable incident of the 28th of September past, and more especially of determining the conduct of the national police during the affair, ordered the initiation of summary proceedings, with a view to ascertaining the facts of the occurrence and inflicting on the police who had violated the law the penalty imposed for such infraction.
To this end the secretary of government and justice ordered, without loss of time, an extended investigation of the facts, the result of which your excellency may see from the documents transmitted herewith. The Government has pursued its investigation with all due diligence, and with the greatest care, not omitting the slightest detail, and taking into consideration the depositions of all persons who took part in any way in the affair, so that I can well assure your excellency that we have obtained full knowledge of what occurred and affects the charges made against the police force. Of this your excellency will also without doubt be convinced when you have read the contents of the documents, which I have the honor to remit to you, consisting of 102 pages, originals, together with an authenticated copy of a note sent to this office by his excellency the secretary of government and justice.
I repeat to your excellency, etc.,
The Secretary of Government and Justice to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
Sir: The investigation undertaken under my orders by the senor governor of this Province, to ascertain the conduct of the police during the affray which took place in this city on the 28th of September of the past year between private citizens and sailors from the American ship of war Buffalo in order to ascertain the truth of the charges made against the aforesaid police by the Government of the United States, being concluded, I deem it proper to transmit the testimony taken in the case in order that you may be informed of the details, and may have in your possession all the necessary data when the discussion of the matter is reopened with the minister plenipotentiary of the United States. In obedience to my positive instructions the investigation has been carried out in the most scrupulous spirit of impartiality with the most decided purpose to learn the whole truth regarding the charges made against the members of the police force who took any part in the unfortunate incidents of the night of the 28th of September last.
In addition to the depositions of Messrs. Francisco de la Ossa, ex-municipal alcalde; Eduardo Perez, ex-commandante of police; Emelio Linares, officer of the guard on the night of the 28th of September: Dr. Santos J. (and) Aguilera, Señor Raul Revello, respectively doctor and assistant doctor of the force; the ex-vigilante, Indalecio Franco; and the policemen, Paulino Macías, Faustino Alvarado, Abelardo Bustos, Aníbal Rodríguez, and David Jaén, there were taken the depositions of Messrs. Jose Maria, Eliseo and Ezequiel Secane, of Spanish nationality; of Beatriz Melbourne, Hida Nelson, and Carmen Poveda, Jamaicans; Luisa Banderrama, and Julio Diaz A., Colombians; Beatriz Castillo, Elida Escobar, and Christina Vasquez, Pnamns; Sdie Goldskein and Rossie Sternberg, Germans;Fanny Lazar, Roumanian, and LuisPerriere William Husted, Banat Parksky, and Joe Goodman, North Americans; all these latter witnesses absolutely impartial, who have no interest in favoring the police of Panama. From all these numerous depositions it is clearly shown that the accusations made by the two or three sailors of the Buffalo against the Panama police, against whom is made the grave charge of having beaten and dragged the wounded sailors Rand and Cieslik on the night of the 28th of September, are positively erroneous and unjust, as also are the charges that they prevented a companion of Rand from washing the wound and calling a doctor by telephone.
[Page 484]The fact is clearly demonstrated that Dr. Aguilero, police surgeon, was called to attend to the wounded as soon as these were brought into the jail dispensary; that he proceded immediately to attend to the wounded, and that before his arrival there had already arrived the assistant surgeon Señor Revello, who treated them without delay.
It is proper to state to the American minister that it is a custom, established by legal mandate in this Republic, to always carry directly to the police station those injured in affrays or by street accidents, so that the official doctor may make the first examination, and may give suggestions which may be useful in the investigation of the facts, and for that reason they proceeded in this manner with Rand and Cieslik.
Notwithstanding the deposition of Mr. Claude E. Guyant, employee of the American consulate, who testified that at the moment in which he saw some of the sailors of the Buffalo they appeared to be sober, it is reasonable to suppose that at the time of the affray the greater part of them were under the influence of liquor, and this explains why, in giving their testimony the next day to the commander of the Buffalo, they did not remember the facts of the occurrence which took place on land, and charged the Panama police with an attitude absolutely contrary to that which, in reality, it had assumed in this unfortunate emergency.
I see no objection to the American minister personally examining into the proceedings in this matter, and I entertain the confidence that after such examination he will admit the truth of the conclusions which I have herein expressed respecting the failure of proof of the charges made against the police force of Panama, upon which charges was based the claim of an indemnity by the United States now pending in the office of your excellency.