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Show T . A Cardinal and Panama Situation. There was received in Baltimore last week a translation of the correspondence lhat passed be- tween Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Kestrepo,of Bogota, Colombia. South America, regarding the United States minister, his family and" secretary at the Colombian capital. As has been stated in the dispatches, his eminence extended his g6od offices to insure the safety of the American minister and those under his care, public feeling in Bogota hav- . ing been greatly aroused by the attitude of the United States toward the Panama revolutionists. The translation was received in personal correspou-. deuce from Frederick L. Boekwood of AIninewho has married and settled in Bogota. From the correspondence cor-respondence it. appears that the cablegram signed Cardinal Gibbons to Archbishop Herrera liestrepo reads : . ... "I recommend verv stronclv to your protection A'. X., X. X. and X. X" : - The letter of this cablegram refer, Jeepi'ding, to Mr. Roekwood. to the United States consul. In reply. Archbishop Bestrepo said, under date' of Xov. 24, 1003: "l have the honor of receiving the cablegram which your excellency has seen fit to send me, date, of 21st ihst.. recommending to me. very strongly the care of X. X. and his son and X. X. 'Our national feelings have been very deeply wounded -by the treatment they have received by reason of force because we are weak. You will -understand it is ' impossible to his' to remain in-' different, to what has happened in Panama, under the. protection of the American flag, without re- gard to our rights. We are unable to resist so powerful pow-erful a nation, but employ the right to protest strongly against 'the injustice of which we are now the victims. ''In whatever manner' it may be, I rest assured in the nobleness and greatness of the hearts of my countrymen to assure you that, they know 'how-to comply, no matter what may happen. wih their du-ties du-ties as Christians to the American ciiizens resident in Colombia. And 1 will not hesitate, when needed, to do all I can personally for the three Americans you have seen fit to recommend to my protection. protec-tion. "I take this occasion to renew to your excellency the expression of my sentiments of . profound respect, re-spect, and sign myself the humble servant of vour excellency. " BERXARDO, "Archbishop of Bogota." Accompanying this translation is a . letter of Mr. Rockwood, in which he says: "As a native born American, who has served his country for'over ten years and uow living here. I protest against the Panama affair, which is unjust un-just to this country and to the people of the United States, from this point of view changing from the French to the American Panama scandal through brutal and unwarranted methods which have never been equalled by the most high-handed proceedings of any Spanish-American republic. It lias belittled us in. the estimation of a friendly nation whose, title of birthright is as clear as our own, and whose sentiments and trade were tending strongly towards us. creating a distrust of our country, its people and institutions, driving their trade into the hands of our European competitors, lowering -the high grade of respect and sympathy which we have attained. at-tained. "These people, who are as highly educated as our own. and much freer from the mixture of colored col-ored blood and undesirable European immigration, are accused of being an inferior race, with mercenary mer-cenary motives relative to ihe Panama canal, which I iind by living among them is not a fact. "They have their own reasons 'and'-a -"birthright to the soil, in which violation of treaties by force, does not cover the mistake made by using the United Unit-ed States government in filibustering and unjust methods to gain a political point, but laying us liable to heavy damages that could be - collected lefore the court at The Hague and lowering the high plane k of thought and sentiment which has made us a nation." . A |
