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Show PR FEVER SPREADING IM CENTRAL AMERICA I l. V A A A A A A A - A a a. UNCLE SAM TO I TAKE ACTION IF BLOOD FLOWS Panama and Costa Rica At One Another's Throats Over Land Seizure OTHER NATIONS SEEM ABOUT TO BE MIXED UP State Department Hopes to Get Scrapping Countries in Mood for Mediation PANAMA. Feb. 26. tBy the Asso- H elated Press.; Hostilities between H j Panama and Costa Rica showed possl-bUltles possl-bUltles this evening of developing Into a conflict involving all of Central America and Colombia. Leading Co-'lomblans Co-'lomblans residing in Panama have sent I a wireless message to Bogota asking 'the Colombian government to furnlsV them with arms for the, purpose of I enlisting against Costa Kica. They also ask the Colombian gov-lernment gov-lernment what action it is willing to ! take officially to protect Panama I against Costa Rica, which is a member !of the nw union of Central American 6tates. Other members are Guatemala, i Salvador and Honduras. PRI slot UTS DEI IU.1 A presidential decree Issusd tonight (declares that th country har boon In- VSded and recites tho necessity of e.x-felling e.x-felling the invaders. It suspends In- dividual rtghUj. calls upon all Pana-Imanlans Pana-Imanlans between IS to 40 to register for military service snd convokes the assembly for a special ten-day sessloi begjnntng March 1. -run i i i nsorsiiip. An order was issued by E. Morales. J secretary of the treasury and the lntc- H rlqr. abolishing the constitutional pro-visions pro-visions regarding freedom of the press and establishing a btrlct censorship. H While nothing has been learned re- H gardlng the status of hostilities In the coto district where Costa Rican sol- H Idlers occupied territory held hy Pan- H ama It was learned authentically to-day to-day that hurriedly gathered uncrgan-lzed uncrgan-lzed forces were being sent from Pan-arna Pan-arna toward Hocas del Toro. Lack of arms and munitions to equip government forces being organized still is proving a difficulty. The belief Is strongly held In official circles thai the United States government Is In duty bound to furnish the Pananm forces with arms, since the country ; disarmed after completion of the Puna-I Puna-I ma canal treaty. The dual nature of the obligations of both republics under the treaty is ad-vanced ad-vanced as an additional argument especially In view of the belief that H Costa Rica Is counting upon the sup- H port of the recently formed union of H Central American republics. H The Panainun government Is urging H on canal zone authorities and the H United States legation here tho advlsa- H billty of recommending that the Unt- H tod States war department Issuo the H necessary war materials. H U WHIM. TON WORRIED. WASHINGTON, Fob. 25. Faced with the seriousness of tho situation H .officials of the state department began H 'tonight to consider steps to take In lease It Should be necessary to attempt to avert wah between Panama and Costa Rica. Official confirmation that PresUIsnt Forms of Panama had signed a declar- H atlon ot war was lacking and from H . t Kica no Information had been received. H j Just what measures will be adopted will not be determined It was said, un-til un-til all the facts are officially communl. cateu. It was admitted, however, that H despite the predicament presented In the laying out of any course on the eve of a change of administrations some decisive action might be necessary If -fighting started. sti:r WARNING PERHAPS. The obv lous remedy offered of laud-lug laud-lug American troops to avert a clash was dismissed by those who believed both governments could be induced to listen to friendly counsel, and if not, to a stern warning. Information received continued to-night to-night to be essentially the same as that J contained In press dispatches. The re-quest re-quest of the Panama government for aid in recovering guns surrendered many yeara .it;., to the United Stab i H authorities cannot be complied with. it was said, because lorg ago KhS) were disposed of and the money re-turned re-turned to Panama. The L'nited States. It was also said, was not eager to as-islst as-islst In arming th0 Panamanians since to do so would enable them to bring about the situation the department 1 anxious to avert. |