Attention is invited to Mr. Jenkins’ statement on page three of the
enclosed copy of his letter to the effect that final decision of his
case may be delayed indefinitely pending a second reference to the
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Federal Supreme Court for a
decision as to whether the State Criminal Judge has jurisdiction over
the case. In this connection reference is made to my despatch No. 2147
[2836], of the second instant, concerning the
refusal of the Mexican Government to issue an exequatur to Mr.
Jenkins.
[Enclosure]
The Consular Agent at Puebla (Jenkins) to the Chargé in Mexico (Summerlin)
Puebla, February 1,
1920.
Dear Sir: I have the honor to reply to
yours of the 31st ult., asking for my definite views as regards
reimbursement for financial loss suffered on account of my recent
abduction from this city by Mexican Rebels, and beg to advise you,
that it is my desire to be reimbursed financially not only for the
sum of Three Hundred Thousand Pesos Mexican gold that I have paid
for my ransom, and for the loss of money taken from my safe on the
night of Oct. 19th. 1919, when I was abducted, but for all expenses
incurred on account of this incident, and in addition to that, a
fair and equitable recompensation for all damages arising from this
matter, for the persecution of the local authorities to which I have
been subjected, for my imprisonment, my loss of time from my work,
and in short, for any and all damages that I have received from the
matter. This is my attitude as regards the matter in a general
way.
I am aware of the fact that indemnization for damages suffered on
account of imprisonment, etc. etc. will probably be a matter for a
claim against the Mexican Government, to be settled together with
other claims against it, and I am willing to leave that in abeyance
until such time as is convenient to take it up, but I do not
consider that the ransom that I was compelled to pay should be
subject to such delay, nor does it appear to me to be unreasonable
that I be reimbursed for actual financial loss incurred, that is to
say, the loss of money in cash from my safe, and actual expenses
paid out in cash on account of the matter.
It is possible that the Department will consider that my loss on
account of the robbery should also be considered as a claim against
the Government (Mexican) to be settled with other claims, as well as
expenses incurred, and if such is the attitude of the Department, I
would be willing to accept that position, and file my claim against
the Mexican Government for this loss and expense.
But as regards the ransom paid of the equivalent of One Hundred and
Fifty Thousand dollars U. S. Cy., I beg to say that I do not
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believe this should be
subjected to any delay as regards my reimbursement, but should be
returned to me immediately, as I have lost this money only and
exclusively on account of the fact that I happened to be the
Representative of the U.S. Government in this city, and not as an
American citizen resident in Mexico. I could even go further and
say, in view of information that has recently come to light, that my
own abduction was a second thought on the part of the Rebels, and
that I was taken in place of another official whose abduction would
have caused a tremendous sensation, and whose ransom, I have no
doubt, would have been paid immediately.
I believe that you will agree with me therefore, that my own
connection with this incident is due exclusively to my
representation of the United States Government, and therefore my
financial loss is of course due to the same thing. And this being
the case, I believe that I am only asking something entirely
reasonable, when I ask that the United States Government reimburse
me for this loss and not have me make an ordinary claim against the
Mexican Government for this particular part of my loss, which will
be settled at some indefinite date. As a matter of fact, it seems
reasonable that I be reimbursed immediately for all financial loss
suffered, including the robbery and expenses, but in any case, the
ransom paid seems beyond question.
If I did not have the assurance that the Embassy, as well as my
Government, are perfectly convinced of my complete innocence of any
complication in this affair, as the local authorities have tried to
insinuate, I would not ask this reimbursement for the present, but
as this case is likely to be drawn out indefinitely, and as I have
made certain obligations to enable me to pay off the ransom without
more delay, I feel that I should be given assistance in liquidating
these obligations, and not be forced to make sacrifices in selling
property at half its value to secure this money.
It is well to call attention to the fact that the local authorities
have never formed any direct accusation against me for complication
in the abduction, as their only charge, which they have tried to
prove, has been false declarations. It is understood of course that
if I am guilty of declaring falsely, they would immediately find me
guilty of other charges, but the point that I wish to make was, that
up to the present, the only evidence presented has been with the
purpose of proving my false declarations.
The case is now being held up on account of the local judge refusing
to turn it over to the Federal Judge, and will be sent to the
Supreme Court of the Nation for decision as to which judge is
competent, and may be delayed for many months, or indefinitely. And
seeing this delay inevitable, has induced me to ask for
reimbursement without further delay.
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As I have told you personally, I have received several letters from
my Representative in Congress, Hon. E. L. Davis of Tennessee, with
regard to the matter of this reimbursement, and he has advised me
that in an interview with the Secretary of State, Mr. Lansing told
him that he was not sure that the State Department would be able to
directly effect any reimbursement, as there might not be any funds
available for such a purpose, but if it was necessary, that a
special act of Congress could be enacted, and that he (Mr. Lansing)
would be glad to assist in the framing of such an act. I feel
therefore that there is a good disposition on the part of the
Department to assist me in this matter, and will await their ideas
on the subject with much interest.
I am [etc.]
