File No. 819.00/411.
The American Minister to the Secretary of State .
Panama , June 14, 1912 .
Sir: Referring to my despatch No. 141 of the 8th instant, I have the honor to report that the supervisory committee received on the 8th instant a reply from Señor Chiari, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to its note of the 5th instant inclosing complaints as to police interference and improper telegraph censorship.
On the 10th instant the committee addressed a note to Señor Chiari stating that it had come to its attention that the presidents of the registration boards of Macaracas and San Carlos were being held in prison. The committee expressed the belief “that, analogous to the provision of the Panaman law, which gives immunity from arrest in civil cases to voters during the voting period, like immunity should be given in criminal cases, except those of a grave nature, amounting to felony, to the election officials until after the elections are over.” The further correspondence upon this subject is contained in Señor Chiari’s reply of the 11th instant, the committee’s note of the same date, and a further note from Señor Chiari, also of the same date, as a result of which the presidents of the election boards in question were released and the immunities suggested” by the committee were granted by the Government.
On the 10th instant the committee was advised by the collector of customs of the Isthmian Canal Commission that 25 cases of rifles, 2 cases of scabbards, and 167 cases of cartridges had arrived in Colon by the S. S. Prinz Joachim, consigned to the Secretary of the Treasury of the Panaman Government. Colonel Greene and Judge Feuille, I myself being still unable to go out, immediately called upon Señor Chiari and informed him of the foregoing, adding that in view of the electoral situation the committee considered the use of these arms by the police most inadvisable and that unless the Panaman Government was willing to assure the committee that no use would be made of them until after the elections the committee would consider itself bound to inform its Government at once of the matter. Señor Chiari replied that if the Government was prevented from receiving these arms, which were generally known to have arrived, this would cause it a loss of prestige which would be [Page 1148] extremely dangerous under the present conditions. On the other hand, if the Government was allowed to receive these arms it was prepared to guarantee that they would not leave Panama City during the electoral period, and, further, that during this period the entire police of the Republic would be under the orders of the committee, conforming absolutely to its orders, both as to measures to be adopted during these days and as to the arms then to be carried. Señor Chiari then requested an opportunity to confer with President Arosemena.
On the following day the committee called upon President Arosemena, at his invitation, and he repeated Señor Chiari’s assurances, agreeing, at the committee’s request, to put these assurances in writing. The committee thereupon withdrew its objections, considering that the assurances given rendered this increase in the armament of the police entirely unimportant.
The committee has been taking steps to secure the necessary supervisors for the voting, about 200 of whom will be required, and will undoubtedly be able to secure this number of suitable men from the Tenth Regiment, the Marine Battalion, and the Isthmian Canal Commission. A number of these men who go to inaccessible districts will be obliged to leave on the 22d instant and can not return until after the election for presidential electors on July 14.
I have [etc.]