File No. 419.11H23/32.
Minister Price to the Secretary of State.
Panama, March 2, 1914.
Sir: Referring to the case of William T. Harrington and answering the Department’s instruction No. 4 of October 20, 1913, directing this Legation to request [etc.] I have the honor to report that on account of my lack of familiarity with the Spanish language I referred this matter to Mr. Wicker, Secretary of the Legation, for attention. Not having found the time before going on his annual leave of absence to procure the information which said instruction directed, I had Mr. Clausel, Clerk of the Legation, make a copy in full of the Spanish evidence in the case which the Panaman Government had collected and further to look up the witnesses themselves as far as possible and obtain information as far as possible as to their credibility and particularly as to the two American witnesses, Charles de Reuter and George Cornick.
The permission to read the file in the case possessed by the Panaman Government and to copy this testimony was given only after a delayed response to my request for same, and the copying was required to be done at the Foreign Office.
The full list of witnesses, whose evidence had been taken by the Panaman authorities, is as follows: Luis Hernandez R., Charles de Reuter, Carlos Vetonti, José J. Navas, George R. Cornick, Benigno Andrion, Marcelino Portela, Irene Edwards, José Baltam C., Juan Pacheco, Alejandro Henriquez, Samuel Flores, Graciano Galastica and Clemente Gomez. Copies of their testimony in Spanish are herewith enclosed.
De Reuter claims that the testimony given by him in this matter and in the files of the Panaman Government in this case, is correct and declares that he is willing to swear to it again at any time. The expressions of opinion as to his credibility vary.
George Cornick left the employ of the Isthmian Canal Commission in November 1910, and information received is that he had a good record with the Commission and bore a good reputation.
Luis Hernandez was a lieutenant of police at Porto Bello and the official who used the club and otherwise ill-treated Harrington; he was reported to have been a very inefficient officer and was discharged [Page 1247] from the exercise of his duties by order of the Governor of Colon on account of this and other acts; but in dismissing him the Panaman officials claim that the punishment which he inflicted upon Harrington could not in any way have occasioned Harrington’s death.
Marcelino Portela is proprietor of the same canteen from which Harrington was charged with having stolen the bottle of ginger-ale and he claims that his testimony now in the files referred to above is correct and says he is willing to verify same again if desired.
Mr. Clausel in the course of his investigation of these witnesses went to Colon and reports that as to the remainder of the witnesses whose testimony the Panaman authorities collected he has been unable to learn their present whereabouts or to find any one who could give an expression as to their reliability.
In further compliance with the directions contained in the Department’s instruction, I have made an abstract in English of the testimony of each of the witnesses named hereinbefore, giving the substance of their testimony in full, and I transmit same herewith.10
I have [etc.]
- Not printed.↩