Romero Negotiates Arbitration of Two Disputed Compensation Claims
2 March 1897
According to arbitrator Vicente G. Quesada, Charles Oberlander, a deputy sheriff from San Diego, entered Mexico in 1892 carrying a warrant and a pistol while seeking evidence for an American criminal case. Mexican officials arrested him; later allegations concerned his treatment and whether his recapture had occurred on American territory. [4]
Mexico and the United States disagreed over compensation claimed by Charles Oberlander and Barbara M. Messenger after an arrest near the border. Mexican minister Matías Romero proposed submitting the dispute to an Argentine diplomat. His foreign minister preferred Vicente G. Quesada, Argentina's representative in Madrid, because both governments knew him. [1] [2] [4]
Romero wanted the protocol signed before the American administration changed. Romero had not yet received confirmation of Argentina's permission for Quesada to serve, so he proposed starting the filing deadline only after both governments received the arbitrator's formal acceptance. He and Secretary of State Richard Olney signed on 2 March 1897. The agreement confined the arbitration to the existing record, with further evidence allowed only when the arbitrator needed a point clarified. [2]
Translation then complicated the timetable. Quesada required the American submission in Spanish and would not begin work until August. Secretary of State John Sherman told Romero that his department might not finish a reliable translation by the original deadline. The governments extended the date for filing to 1 August. [3] [4]
Quesada rejected both claims on 19 November. His award treated the Mexican court proceedings as valid and held that the claimants had not pursued the remedies available to them before seeking diplomatic compensation. The ruling ended the arbitration without requiring Mexico to pay either claimant. [4]
Related Diplomats
Sources
- Romero to Olney on the choice of an Argentine arbitrator
FRUS 1897, document 363; entire translated note of 26 December 1896
- Romero to Olney and the signed Oberlander and Messenger arbitration protocol
FRUS 1897, document 372; note of 27 February and protocol of 2 March, printed pp. 378-379, articles I-VI and signature clause
- Sherman requests more time to prepare the American case in Spanish
FRUS 1897, document 375; entire note of 31 March 1897
- Agreement extending the filing deadline and Quesada's final award
FRUS 1897, document 379; Sherman note of 19 April and entire award, including printed pp. 383-388, especially concluding decision and date
Related Reading
Cite This Article
Romero Negotiates Arbitration of Two Disputed Compensation Claims. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record 2b78dd8b17c423d305cf. https://chanceries.org/research/history/romero-oberlander-messenger-arbitration-1897/