File No. 419.11D29/72.
Minister Price to
the Secretary of State.
[Extract.]
No. 286.]
American Legation,
Panama,
September 26, 1914.
Sir: I have the honor to enclose the
summary of a part of a conversation held with President Porras on
Thursday at which the Secretary of the Legation and I were
present.
The summary is sufficiently full for me not to repeat or amplify it
in this despatch, but I desire to call the attention of the
Department to the fact that it makes it quite evident that President
Porras himself expects an affirmance by the Supreme Court of the
Criminal Judge’s remarkable opinion, and that there may be expected
little chance of any prosecution even being ordered begun in these
cases.
I am following the instructions lately given by the Department in
this matter.
I have [etc.]
[Inclosure—Extract.]
Summary of a conversation with President
Porras.
The President of his own accord made reference to these cases in
the conversation, stating that he had been much interested in
settling same to the satisfaction of our Government and that he
had just in the last few days written the Secretary of
Government and Justice in this matter. At this juncture he had
the file in this affair brought in and showed us a copy of his
letter, bearing date of Sept. 22, to the said Secretary. In this
letter the President had instructed the Secretary of Government
and Justice to write the Panaman Minister, Morales, at
Washington to confer with the Department of State and to attempt
to obtain the smallest amounts that the Department would be
satisfied with for payment to the families of the men killed and
injured in settling and closing this incident. He stated in the
letter that the Secretary should do this in view of the possible
upholding by the Supreme Court of the decision of the lower
court, after the Supreme Court had completed its inquiry which
they had recently decided to hold themselves.
I took occasion at this point to state to him that I was amazed
at the decision of the Criminal Judge, and was in addition much
disappointed over the decision recently handed down by the
Supreme Court in this matter. I stated to him that I very much
feared that the recent decision of the Supreme Court indicated
simply another long delay contributing to a wearing-out process,
and asked his opinion as to when a conclusion of their inquiry
might be expected. He replied that it ought to be within a month
and that he thought it would be. I expressed my appreciation for
all that he had done and assured him of the gratification of our
Government for all that he might do to press this matter and
conclude it in a way satisfactory to our Government, including
the prosecution of those involved.
