File No. 14040/10.
Chargé Wilson to the Secretary of State.
Buenos Aires, August 13, 1908.
Sir: Referring to your telegram of to-day’s date,1 inquiring as to the status of the Damiano extradition case, I have the honor to report that Mr. Cavone, the President’s agent, arrived in Buenos Aires on July 27, and that the formal extradition papers which he brought with him were forwarded by the legation to the ministry of foreign affairs on the same date, and that in the note transmitting these documents I asked that the case might be pushed through with as little delay as possible, as the agent was already in Buenos Aires and was anxious to start back promptly.
On August 3 a note was received from the ministry for foreign affairs, informing me that on that date the extradition papers had been forwarded to the federal judge of the criminal and correctional court of this city for such legal action as he should see fit to take.
Up to the present date the judge has not taken the case under consideration, although I have several times referred to the matter at the ministry of foreign affairs, who have replied that once the case was in the hands of the courts the ministry could do nothing further, although a copy of my note in which I requested that the case might be hastened had been sent to the judge.
Damiano, who was at first inclined to waive extradition, has now been persuaded to fight it, and his attorney has said that in case the extradition is granted by the federal court he will try to have the case appealed to the supreme court.
In case such appeal is allowed, as it very likely will be, there is naturally likely to be considerable delay.
Under these conditions, and as the granting of extradition here is a long process, I respectfully suggest that in future cases the papers should be sent by mail within the two months required by treaty, and that the agent should only be sent out after the extradition has been granted and the prisoner is ready to be delivered to him. That such proceeding would result in a saving of time and expense is shown not only by this Damiano extradition case but also by the Moses Ferris case, in which the agent arrived here on September 28, 1907, and was not able to leave until January 24, 1908.
I have, etc.,
- Not printed.↩