VOLUME LXXXV-NO. 134.
WAR WITH GERMANY MAY GROW
FROM THE SAMPAN TROUBLE
There Would Have Been No Bloodshed if Consul Rose
Had Not Ur^ed the Mataafans to Defy the
Americans and British.
A view of the western side of Apia Harbor from the German Consulate on the left to Mulinuu Cemetery on the
extreme right, with the village of Vailoa, near which the battle took place, across the water, in the distance.
Near the water's edge on the left is the tall chimney of the German Trading Company's plant in the suburb of
Savala, whence a road leads around the shallow inner bay through the company's plantations to Vailoa. On the
mountain beyond the chimney is the French Mission.
Half way between the German Consulate and Mulinuu Point is the King's house. The American arid British
Consulates are in Matuatu suburb, about half a mile to the east, not shown in the picture.
VERY WEARY OF
GERMAN TACTICS.
SAYS MR. HULL
WASHINGTON, April
12.— The Call's exclu
sive cablegram from
Auckland concerning the latest
fight in Samoa was the only in
formation at hand at the War
Department early this morning,
and was. eagerly discussed. It
was confirmed some hours later
by a cablegram from Admiral
Kautz.
The possibility of very grave
consequences resulting from the
collision at Apia lies in the com
plicated circumstances surround
ing the case. If the ambuscade
in which the American and Brit
ish officers and sailors were killed
was actually led or instigated by
a German, as indicated in the
news dispatches, it would still be
a simple matter for Germany to
disavow the act and punish the
offender. The trouble is, how
ever, that this ambuscade does
not stand by itself. The instiga
tion in hostilities in Samoa is
charged to the German Consul,
and this latest bloodshed in
which the responsibility of a Ger
man is indicated is but a develop
ment in hostilities growing out
of the dispute in which German
The San Francisco Call.
THE SCENE OF ACTION AT SAMOA.
officials assume N an attitude ad
verse to the British and Ameri
cans.
The situation .is still further
complicated by the statements
quoted in the Associated Press
dispatches from Berlin as official
from a representative of the
German Foreign Office. The
tone of these utterances is so de
fiant and so far in conflict with
the attitude assumed by the Ger
man Embassador at Washington
that even before news of the col
lision at Apia was received the
situation was looked upon as par
taking of a more serious aspect
than had been before anticipated.
The course of the German Em
bassy at Washington in com
munication with the State De
partment since the first outbreak
of the trouble in Samoa has ap
peared conciliatory, and the
agreement on the commission
was looked upon as assuring a
peaceful settlement. This Gov
ernment has had reason to be
lieve that Germany had no pur
pose to sustain the German Con
sul, and that his proclamation
exciting the natives to resistance
would be repudiated. Therefore
SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1899.
THE CALL BEATS THE WORLD.
On the morning of January 18 The Call, by special cablegram from
Auckland, first gave to the world the story of the beginning of the
present trouble in Samoa.
Mataafa. taking up arms in rebellion against a decision of Chief
Justice Chambers declaring Malietoa Tanu King, had overturned the
Berlin treaty, defied the powers and set up a government of his own.
Yesterday morning The Call once more beat the newspaper
world in printing the news that American and English blood had been
shed in Samoa, that the savages under Mataafa had ambushed a
party of bluejackets near Apia.
A news service such as this, reaching more than half around the
world, needs little comment. The Call never has spared and never
will spare expense to £ive its readers not only all the news all the
time, but the best of the news ahead of its contemporaries. Steal
ing and garbling The Call's specials will not aid the beaten ones.
Extras issued in spasmodic jerks after the event do not cover a news
beating. The Call's copyrighted cablegram from Samoa was in every
copy of The Call printed yesterday. To-day The Gall has carried it to
the remotest corners of the State. »
The achievement is the most splendid ever placed to the credit of
a newspaper in San Francisco. In passing it may be observed that
The Call will continue to cover the Samoan field and all news fields
as no other newspaper in San Francisco can.
the apparently sudden veering
about of the Berlin Foreign Of
fice causes great surprise. The
statement attributed to an offi
cial of the Berlin Foreign Of
fice, published this: morning,
that Great Britain and the
United States must make an un
mistakable disavowal of the ac
tion of their naval commanders,
together with the alleged official
statement by the Berlin Foreign
Office the day before sustaining
Consul Rose and charging vio
lation of the treaty by American
and British officers, places the
matter in an entirely different as
pect from that anticipated by
reason of the attitude of the Ger
man Embassy here, and a suspi
cion of' double "dealing " has been
aroused in some quarters.
'* The State f Department can
Conllnutd on Third Pug:
THE GERMAN CONSUL
URGED MATAAFA TO
KEEP ON FIGHTING
AUCKLAND, N. Z., April
— 9 a. m. : — Further ad
vices from Apia, Samoa,
say that on the arrival of the
British cruiser Tauranga at
Apia the British and American
Consuls issued a proclamation to
give Mataafa a last chance, and
that the French priests also used
their influence, but all efforts
failed, and the rebels continued
their depredations. Property
was destroyed . and bridges and
roads were barricaded.
On March 29 the enemy was
sighted at Maguigi and machine
guns and a seven-pounder were
used. The- friendlies, Malietoa's
men, also attacked the enemy
during the latter's retreat and
several rebels were killed or
wounded.
' The friendlies carried one
head through Apia, which made
Captain Stuart so furious that he
went to the King and threatened
to shoot any man found taking
heads. The King then issued a
proclamation, forbidding the
practice.
The German Consul wrote to
1 •
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
■
Admiral Kautz, asking if two
great Christian nations approved
of this inhuman , and barbarous
practice against .the laws of
Christianity and the decree of
the Supreme Court.
The admiral replied, agreeing
with the Consul as to the inhu
manity of the practice, and
pointed out that had "the Ger
man Consul upheld the decree o!
the Supreme Court in January
there would have been no blood
shed; that the custom was an old
Samoan one, but first made
known to the world ten years
ago, .when the heads of honest
German sailors were cut off by
the barbarous Chief Mataafa,
whom the representative of the
great Christian nation, Germany,
is now supporting."
Expeditions in armed cutters
belonging to the Tauranga and
Porpoise are doing considerable
execution, against Mataafa's
strongholds along the coast.
The British forces are being as
sisted by ioo Samoans. About
forty-six of Mataafa's boats and
several villages have been de
stroyed. In the meantime flying
columns are being sent daily