818.00/748
The Consul at Guatemala (Lawton), Temporarily at San José, to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received July 9.]
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of my arrival in Costa Rica and of my observations of the general conditions in this city.
Confidential. I arrived in Punta Arenas on the morning of June 21, 1919. I endeavored to conceal as much as possible, my connection with the Department, because Consular Agent Saxe informed me that the Tinoco officials had instructions to extend all manner of courtesies to me and on this same account, I came to this capital in the afternoon and night of the same day I arrived, by gasoline car (railroad) in order to arrive late at night and avoid any embarrassment from possible attentions of officials of the de facto government.
Up to the time of my arrival, Mr. Chase had not left the consulate after the incidents of the shooting in front of the consulate of June 12th. but took his meals and slept in the consulate. I persuaded him to resume his usual custom of going to the hotel for his meals and to his rooms at night. He is however, apprehensive of being attacked by agents of either political party and never appears on the street unaccompanied.
I have had numerous calls from persons who usually represent themselves as neutral, politically, but who usually show unmistakable signs of being Tinoco adherents. These invariably come to my room at the Hotel, while pronounced revolutionary sympathizers invariably call to see me at the consulate. One official of the Tinoco [Page 839] government also called on me at the hotel and informed me that he came by instructions of “President” Tinoco to offer me any service I might desire and to express regret that the plans for my reception at the port and journey to this city had miscarried. (It seems that a commission which was sent by special train to receive the “new American Consul” who was expected on a small ship which arrived at Punta Arenas some five days before I arrived, received instead a British representative of the English firm of C. & E. Morton & Co. and brought him to this city, gave him a buffet lunch, took him to the best hotel and finally to see Tinoco and not until he presented his card there, as a salesman for pickles and Lee & Perrins sauces, was the mistake of identity discovered.)
In all cases I have endeavored to listen to these callers as courteously as possible and to say as little as possible without expressions in favor of or opposed to any person or party.
I think it may be of interest to the Department for me to present the following statement of the incident of June 12th which is correct as nearly as I can learn from the various accounts I have heard. The school teachers had protested against certain governmental orders and together with a group of students had held a manifestation in one of the parks. Then they came to this consulate, ostensibly as an expression of admiration of American ideals but really in a political sense and spirit. After a considerable time during which there were “vivas” for the United States as also for the revolution, Mr. Chase spoke to them from the balcony, thanking them for their expressions of admiration for our country and urging calmness and that better days were coming. About that time, the police began to disperse the crowd by striking at the teachers and children with the leather thongs on their clubs. At that, every one who could, crowded into the consulate. Two school boys, each of about 15 years of age, began firing on the police from the consulate balcony which is on the second floor of the building, the lower floor being occupied as a store. They had revolvers and fired several shots each. One of the boys is Jorge Calzado, a Porto Rican and the other is ———— Zelaya, a Costa Rican. Then the police fired, presumably in the air, as no one was struck with bullets, except a man who was shot in the foot and evidently this shot came from the balcony. During all this time Mr. Chase stood exposed on the balcony, though every one else fled. Soon the police reserves came up and the crowd fled and the police retired but left a guard at each end of the block. The balance of the day, quite a number of refugees remained in the consulate but left before night, although the two boys named took refuge then and are still in hiding in the building but on the ground floor under the consulate and in rooms over which the consulate has no control.
[Page 840]The Tinoco officials have repeatedly stated that refugees are given asylum in the consulate, and on this being emphatically denied, have admitted that the persons to whom they refer are in the rooms of one Mr. Harrison, who is the ground floor tenant, and this is true. I have complained to Mr. Harrison that he is jeopardizing American interests and complicating matters for the consulate, by allowing them asylum there. The government has intercepted letters of persons who wrote that they were safely in the “American Consulate” and were really unknown to the consulate in any way. Under the circumstances it is difficult to persuade any one that this consulate is not a party to their asylum. Mr. Harrison has promised me to send them away. As many as fifteen people, alleged political offenders, have been living there.
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I have [etc.]