THE CHILEAN-AMERICAN CONTROVERSY OF 1891-1892

240 Pages·08.816 MB·English

by  LINDSELL, HAROLD

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Xerox University Microfilms
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• G7 Lindsell, Harold, 1913-
1942 The Chilean-American controversy of
.L47 1891-1892... eNew York, 1942.
2p,l.,iv,231 typewritten leaves.
29cm.
Thesis (Ph.D. ) - Hew Yorl: university,
Graduate school, 1942.
Bibliography: p .221-231.
A84686
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Xerox University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED.
THE CHILEAN-AMERICAN CONTROVERSY OP
1891-1892.
by
Harold Lind3ell
April 1, 1942
A dissertation in the department of
History submitted to the faculty of
the Graduate School of Arts and Sci­
ence in p artial fulfillm ent of the
requirements for the degree of Doc­
tor of Philosophy.
Table of Contents
THE CHILEAN-AMERICAN CONTROVERSY
of 1891-1892
I. BACKGROUND OF THE CHILEAN-AMERICAN . . . 1
CONTROVERSY..........................................................................
The Setting in Recent History
Pan American Setting
Chilean Internal Situation
II. THE CASE OF THE "ITATA".............................................31
Insurgents Try to Get Arms
Seizure and Escape of the "Itata"
The Chase
Diplomacy and the Return of the "Itata"
The Case in Court
III. THE CABLE INCIDENT, THE QUINTEROS BAY
EPISODE, AND THE ASYLUM PROBLEM . . . 56
The case of the Cable
The Landing at Quinteros and the Insurgent
Success
Egan And the Opening of the U.S. Legation
U. S. Policy of the Asylum Question
Legal Considerations of Asylum
The Asylum and U.S.-Chilean Relations
IV. THE "BALTIMORE" AFFAIR.............................................84
The Setting and Attack
The Case of Patrick Shields
Chilean Investigation of the Attack
Diplomatic Involvements growing Out of
the Attack
The Coming Crisis
The Message of Harrison to Congress
The Culmination of the Affair
Patrick Egan—an Evaluation
V. THE PRESS AND PUBLIC OPINION . . . 157
Newspapers
"Itata" Case
East
Middle West
Par West
Middle Period--July-November 1891.
East
Middle West
Far West
The Climax and End
East
Middle West
Far West
General Periodicals
Religious Publications
Business and Trade Journals
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................... 221
i
INTRODUCTION
The controversy of Chile with the United States in
the years 1891-1892 has never been treated exhaustively
by any w riter, although there have been articles w ritten
about various phases of the subject. It is now the ob­
ject of this work to bring together in one monograph a ll
of the incidents that comprised the controversy and to
relate them to each other, integrating each section u n til
a complete picture is presented.
In the interest of clarity the background of the
relations between Chile and the United States has been
given as well as a short summary of contemporary politics
in Chile around which the controversy centered. The in­
cidents are then woven into the warp and woof as they de­
veloped, u n til finally they merge into a single strand
that is brought to a focus in 1892 by the action of the
President of the United States. The investigation has
made it clear that the issue not only was dependent upon
what actually happened between'the two countries but, in
a real sense, reflected an internal struggle and conflict
within the United States Itse lf.
The American scene that has bearing on the controv­
ersy has been handled with a ll of the material that is
available at present. The Harrison Papers which are in
ii
the Library of Congress are not open to the general public
un til Mr. Volwiler is finished his work on them. It leaves
open the possibility that there is existing m aterial that
may alter the conclusion which this paper draws on the
actions of Harrison in connection with the controversy. It
may be that nothing new w ill come to light for Mr. Volwiler
has published the correspondence between Blaine and Har­
rison and many of these letters and notes deal with the
Chilean Case.
The frequent repetition that war almost resulted from
the d ifficu lties and that the American people were consid­
erably stirred up led to additional research on the sub­
ject of the press and public opinion. This has never been
undertaken before and was conducted along the lines already
used by Mr. Pratt who studied the Spanish-American War and
the War of 1812. This study of the press and of periodical
literatu re has added to the field and brought to light the
certainty that the public was apathetic and uninterested
in Chile. It does reveal, however, one fact that i3 of
great importance today the influence of the press and the
potentialities of it for good or for evil. The unfortunate
results of the activ ities of several agencies in favor of
the Chilean insurgent cause have been uncovered and gener­
ally accepted opinions have been blasted. The unjust and
especially vituperate criticism s leveled against Secretary
T
iii
Blaine are analyzed and their falseness indicated in view
of the certainty that he never formulated the policies
nor was he active as Secretary of State during the crucial
times in t'he controversy.
On the other hand, gratuitous conclusions of pro-
administration adherents are also uncovered when they are
without foundation in fact. For example, the "Itata" case
has been shown to have been a mistake on the part of the
United States as well as the granting of asylum. The final
moments of the crisis involving the message to Congress is
the most difficult to interpret. Yet on the basis of the
facts which came to light and a consideration of various
factors in the problem, the w riter believes that he has ar­
rived at a sound conclusion. Equally difficult has been
the interpretation of the part played by Patrick Egan, and
while the conclusion of this paper has been much the same
as that arrived at by Mr. Hardy, it was brought about
largely by a consideration of the letters and cables which
he sent to the Department a ll during this period.
Professor Thomas C. Cochran of New York University
w illingly undertook the task of acting as sponsor and has
made valuable suggestions concerning the arrangement of
this paper. In addition he has raised questions and sug­
gested further fields of inquiry that have enriched the
iv
contents and have made the study more enjoyable. Natur­
ally he Is not responsible for what has been w ritten, but
thanks and appreciation are due him for his labors and
personal kindness.
1
BACKGROUND OP THE CHILEAN-
AMERICAN CONTROVERSY
The controversy In which the United States and Chile
were involved in 1891 was not an unexpected phenomena which
arose with cataclysmic suddenness, for it had a setting in
recent history in the relations between the two countries,
and in the newer Pan-American hopes that were to develop
rapidly after 1900. The setting was thus Chilean-American,
but the immediate background for the controversy was dis­
tin ctly Chilean, being wrapped around the internal revolu­
tionary onflict that raged in this period, against which
were superimposed a ll of the events comprising the contro­
versy. Indeed i t is safe to say that had the revolution
never occurred the chances are remote that there would have
been any more than the usual diplomatic d ifficu lties. But
the revolution came and with it were brought into play
circumstances and situations which inevitably led to the
c risis of 1892.
The setting in the recent history of the relations
between Chile and the United States foreshadowed a conflict
sometime. For fifty years there had been a succession of
disputes and disagreements that resulted In an attitude of
dislike on the part of Chile for the United States. Prom