File No. 419.11D29/122.
No. 788.]
American Legation,
Panama,
December 24, 1915.
[Inclosure.]
Chargé Spencer to the Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs.
No. 269.]
American Legation,
Panama,
December 24,
1915.
Excellency: With reference to the
decree of the Supreme Court of Panama which bears date of July
16 last, published in the register of the Supreme Court which
appeared on September 22 last, in which the opinion was handed
down that there is no sufficient evidence on which to institute
a prosecution growing out of the riot of July 4, 1912, I have
the honor to bring to your excellency’s attention the important
fact that the Department of State of my Government, having read
with care the decision of the Supreme Court, cannot refrain from
expressing its keen disappointment at the signal failure of the
Panaman authorities to fix responsibility upon any of the
individuals of the Panaman police who were engaged in acts of
criminal aggression upon citizens of the United States in the
disturbances of July 4, 1912, in which several American citizens
were killed and a number of others wounded.
The several disturbances of a similar character which have
occurred since the tragedy of July 4, confirm the Department’s
belief that the lack of vigor displayed by the Panaman
authorities to detect and punish those guilty in the first
disturbance would lend encouragement to repetitions; and the
Department gravely fears that the situation will not be improved
by the decisions of the Panaman judges.
If, as found by the Panaman judges, no guilt can be traced to any
of the police engaged in the outbreak of July 4, and if, as is
said by the Supreme Court in the decision under notice, “since
the unfortunate event of July 4 which was investigated in these
proceedings, other similar ones have occurred in the cities of
Panama and Colon, and now as then it has been impossible for the
Panaman and American authorities to come to an agreement as to
the underlying causes thereof”, the wisdom of the stipulation in
the Canal Treaty, by which the United States Government may take
over the policing of these cities, is vindicated, resort to
which treaty right the Government of the United States now finds
it necessary to consider, to avoid further repetitions of these
unfortunate occurrences.
I take [etc.]
