NICARAGUAN DISPUTE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 57

NICARAGUAN DISPUTE.

SHOOTING OF TWO AMERICANS. WAS ZELAYA JUSTIFIED? A serious quarrel has arisen between Nicaragua and the United States over the shooting of two Americans by order of President Zed ay a. Leroy Cannon and Leonard Groce, the two men killed, were officers in the rebel army, which has now almost succeeded in throwing Zelaya from the throne.

The trouble (said the Wellington Post’s San Francisco correspondent, writing on November 30) will probably have reached some definite issue before this appears in print. Whatever the immediate result may be, the real outcome is a'most certain to be that the United States will be placed in virtual control of the southern republic; and the time will bo brought nearer when all the Central American States will be ruled, directly or indirectly, by Uncle Sam. When this comes about Central America will be a far happier and more peaceful country than it is now. But the present excuse for interfering in the affairs of the little nation seems a rather poor one. If the King of England were fighting a rebellion and all rebels were ordered to be put to death if captured, would the executioners make exceptions of, say, some Frenchmen who might join the rebel forces? And would France declare war if her subjects, caught in the rebel camp, were treated like the rest? The situation in Nicaragua seems to be an exact parallel to this. The execution of Cannon and Croce appears just not only to Zelaya’s supporters, but to many prominent American*?. Colonel F. D. Grant, of the United States Army, is quoted as saying at Chicago : “ Whether Americans or not, the Nicaraguan Government has the right to treat as belligerents all who act against it. If it is true that Cannon and Croce bore arms in support of the insurrectionists, then there can be no action against Nicaragua for their deaths/’ : _ That the two Americans took a,n active part in the revolution seems to be generally admitted. • According to Salvador Castrillo, who is representing the insurgent forces at Washington, the two were serving as volunteer colonels in the army of the revolutionary leader, Juan Estrada ; but they should not have been shot, says Castrillo, because they were not “ military personages ” —merely volunteers. The killing of these soldiers of fortune will he the excuse, if any is wanted, for the United States’ Government’s interference in Nicaraguan affairs. But privately there are hundreds of Americans besides Cannon and Groce who have been interested in the revolution. Some of them hate Zelaya sincerely for his .tyrannous rule ; but more of them hare purely mercenary motives. They have bought from the Nicaraguan Government “ concessions,” or the right to exploit certain industries. Frequently tine Yankee capitalist finds he has the had end of the bargain ; for Zelaya imposes taxes on him that swallow up most of his profits. Zelaya is always hard up, because he has always a rebel army or an army from one of the other “ tinpot ” States in the field against him. He pinches the capitalists to the utmost; at times he is not even content with taxing them; in addition, he will play one company off against another, selling a concession to one that practically nullifies the value of the other’s holdings—-just as a reallv “ crook ” jockey will sell out one briber to another. It is rumoured in San Francisco that it was just such a deal as this that caused the present crisis. Two fruit companies are in hot competition in Nicaragua—the United and the Nicaraguan. Zelaya, it is said, practically killed the United by granting exceptional concessions to its rival. The American capitalists interested in the United became enraged, and it was with support, the rumour goes, that Estrada came out into open revolution.

lt is admitted, too. that large quantities of arms and ammunition are being supplied to the revolutionaries from the United States. And it is expected that Estrada’s Government will receive immediate recognition at Washington if he succeeds in overthrowing Zelaya. Is it not natural that the ruler should denounce the whole revolution as a Yankee plot? In one of his proclamations he makes this appeal; “ Loyal Nicaraguans, assist in defeating the Gringe conspiracy.” (“ Grinae ” is an. epithet of contempt applied to American's in all the SpanishAmerican countries'.

Whatever the rights of the case may be, the fact remains that Secretary of State Knox has demanded an explanation from Zelaya, and orders have been issued to several vessels of the navy to be prepared to go to the Nicaraguan coast. One or two are already on the scene. Recent cable news is to the effect that the revolutionary forces have been successful in several engagements. In one battle, fought at Roma, the losses totalled 900, aiid the whole of the Zelayan army is said to have been captured. Senor Madriz has been proclaimed President of Nicaragua, and the deposed President, General Zelaya., after entreating support for bis successor, embarked on a Mexican gunboat for a, Mexican port. Nothing has been heard of the diplomatic difficulty for the last three weeks