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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 1909)
SEAT HE OF BOLIVAR 1 MU. EDWARD W. PICK 2 A tii/, a Chicago newspaper 2 writer. during the late Castroie 4 disturbances, was assigned to 4 ‘‘tind out why.' bv his paper. 4 So he visited President Castro, 4 taking several months' trip to "cover" his 4 story. Castro feted Mr. Pickard as ho would 4 a personal friend and thus the author of the 4 accompanying feature learned ever charar 4 teristie of tliis strange ruler. He saw the 4 Rigid, the bad, the reasonable and unreason* 4 aide policies of Ciistro. He saw Castro at 4 home and in his capacity as president. He 4 is tne omy American writer who ever turned « the spotlight full tipna Castro.—Editor's Note. .PRIANQ CASTRO, constitution al president and self-style j "re storer” of Venezuela, hated though not despised by most of the governments of Europe, re garded as an embarrasslng nui sance by the United States and looked at askance by his South American neighbors, is in Eu rope, supposedly for the sole purpose of receiving reatment for a malady which has given him much suffering. Would he ever return to Venezuela ? That query was rut to gov ernment officials at Washington upon the day Castro left, but because of the fact that the United States had no diplomatic representation in Castro's land no reply was forthcoming. And this in the face of the movement throughout the iiitle republic to put the “re storer” back in office in 1911 when his present term expires. Uneasiness on the part of American friends of Cas'ro was mothered by the recollection of the flight ol President Gozman Blanco, who was alleged to have carried with him to Europe many millions of Venezuelan gold. Prior to Blanco's flight he had twice visited Europe while serving as president. Jo the general public, misled by the gibes and cartoons of the press, President Castro is a greedy obstreperous tyrant. Y'et Castro is not wholly bad. even measured by Anglo-Saxon standards, and his is one of the most inter esting of present day personalities. Of hum ble origin, he has made himself master of his country; uneducated in his youth, he has boon for years an earnest, plodding student: bluffed" by mighty nations, he has called the bluff and usually “made good;” plotted against lty dissatisfied politicians of his own land, he has speedily put down every revolt. That he is a despot is true, but Venezuela needs des potic rule almost, as much as did Mexico when Porfirio Diaz became the virtual dictator of that country, ('astro knows, as every student >f Venezuelan affairs knows, that his country '•an prosper only when there is reasonable assurance of lasting peace; and a strcmg hand is necessary to keep down the schemers whose oft-recurring conspiracies threaten to cast the country into the throes of civil war. (The exploitation of the natural resources of Venezuela, as wcli as the conduct of many of its industries, is made by law the subject ot concessions granted by the federal govern ment. Right the.re comes the severest criti cism of Gen. Castro, based on his administra tion of internal affairs. His salary as presi dent iB not nearly adequate to his expenses, and his peculiar brand of patriotism and honesty will not permit him to steal from the revenues of the republic. Therefore he engages ex tensively in business through friends who nomi nally act for themselves. In this way he is a jiartner In various large business houses, which, presumably through his favor in the matter of customs duties and other taxes, .are able to undersell their competitors. When some in dustry seems especially profitable a concession for Its monopoly is granted by congress to a friend of Castro, for a trifling remuneration. This friend thereupon sells the concession to foreign capitalists and the price is divided. One friend of the president not long ago sold In Europe concessions for a monopoly of the manufacture of cigarettes, which is highly re munerative; for a national bank, which will start with the profits and prestige resulting from handling all public funds, and for the building and conducting of public and bonded warehouses. Another associate of the chief executive is a partner in a large drug house that offers its ^4 CAP mi -CARACAS return trip they are over taken by other agents of the concession-holders, who purchase the condemned animals for paltry sums. These soon find their way to the meat stalls in the city. These are but instances that mark a state of affairs which is stifling general trade aad industry. It would seem that complaint of Castro's internal policy is well founded. Yet Castro undoubtedly loves his country end seeks its welfare. Fie is laying many plans for its better ment, aad some of them will be carried out, though ham pered and delayed by his overmastering need of mon ey. He is proud of Cara cas and is anxious to see it modernized. The president makes peri odical tours through the various states of the federa tion and orders numerous public improvements. The capital and other cities of the country are garrisoned by the army which, under his administration. has grown front a ragged lot of peons in alpargatas and motley garments, into a well drilled, well armed and well clothed body of fight ers who are devoted to their leader. Peace is what the busi ness men of the country must have, and they believe it is better to pay tribute to Castro end prosper meas urably under his firm rule than to run the risk of hav ing in the. president's chair a man so weak that revolu tions would bo almost con PRESumir castm's PALACE: uituoub. i .iougn cnircn and state arc still united in \ enezuola, their relations were se verely strained several years ago and probably never again v ill be quite cordial. At the in stigation of President Castro a national di vorce law was framed and introduced in con gress. instantly the archbishop and all the lesser powers of the church were up in arms and a bitter campaign against the proposed law was begun. Castro was determined, as usual, and soon brought the church to terms by having drafted a bill to expel the religious orders. A truce was effected and the divorce law was passed; and it is only fair to say that up to the present time there has not been <i single instance of its abuse. “Castro wants a divorce law so that he can get rid of his wife." said the detractors of the president, for it is a notorious fact that the dove of domestic peace is not among the scores of birds that Senora Castro feeds and fondles at Miraflores, the presidential palace. But no step ever has been taken toward a legal separation of Gen. and Mrs. Castro. They appear in public together whenever occasion offers, and She is always proud, serene and self-possessed. Gen. Castro is a vain man, confident of his own powers, seemingly believing himself a child of destiny. Probably he does not fully trust anyone but himself, and he seldom takes the public Into his complete confidence. He sits in his apartments in the Yellow house— the administrative building—looks down on the statue of Bolivar, which is the center of the city's life, and easily convinces himself that his services to Venezuela are second only to those of the great Liberator. He believes Venezuela is to become the leading nation of South America, and he bitterly resents what he considers the affronts which other nations attempt to put upon it. It is the method in which he expresses this resentment that causes so much trouble, for his disregard of diplomatic usages is most obnoxious to other governments. In private life Gen. Castro does not present an admirable figure, but his faults are such as are often found in strong characters. His periods of relaxation are as strenuous in their way as are his periods of work, and his recent severe attacks of illness probably are due largely to overindulgence in pleasures. When he appears in public he is always dignified— untfl he begins to dance, when he becomes ri diculous. At his home he retains many of the habits of his soldier days. His chamber at Miraflores contains a $10,000 bed, but he sleeps , on an iron cot in a corridor. His marble bath cj&tted with everything the most fastidious ■ -A *iesiro- but he turns on a tap in a small Bnd stands under the cold stream. .I I, Gen. Castro, if he does not soon die or become a hopeless invalid, is a force to be reckoned with. And how to deal with him is a difficult question. England got the best of him for a time by a block;:de and bombardment. The I'nited States sent him several ul timatums which he refused to consider. France made a great bluster when he seized the prop erly of the French Cable Com pany, and did nothing. Holland was almost ready to blockade the ports of Venezuela, but Holland admitted her minister to Caracas deserved to be ousted, and knows, as does everyone, that Caracas has long been the headquarters of s ui u g g i e r s whose busi ness it was to evade the cus toms laws of V e n e z u e ! a. Therefore Hol land hesitated to act. To put it briefly. In international maners '.astu- « ally does the right thing in the wrong way. Venezuela’s history is checkered from its beginning. The coast of Venezuela was first sighted by Columbus during his voyage of 1498, and a year later Ojeda and Vespucius examined it more carefully, giving to it the name of “Little Venice” on ac count of some Indian villages which they observed built upon piles or stakes in Lake Maracaibo. In 1527 Juan Ampues, who was sent from Santo Domingo to set tle some differences between the Indians and a small Spanish colony. founded the city of Coro, which remained the seat of government until 15G7, when it was transferred to Caracas. About the time of the establishment of Coro, Charles V., whose Eu ropean wars had obliged him to borow ex tensively, agreed with the Augsburg bankfiig and merchant firm of the Welsers to grant them the entire province of Venezuela, in re turn for advances of money. In 1528 Ambrose Alfinger sailed for the colony, with a force of 400 adventurers, representing the new rul ers. Disappointed in the expectation of finding mines of gold to be exploited, he and has suc cessor, George Spira. who brought over an other body of retainers in 1533, raided the interior regions for produce, enslaving the na tives, and demoralizing the whole country, so that in 1545 Charles V. rescinded the grant. The country was now Intrusted to a governor sent from Spain. The rest of the sixteenth century was marked by exploring expeditions, the founding of settlements and cities, and wars with the natives. Early In the seven teenth century the Biscayan merchant organi zation, Companla Guipuzcoana, secured the right to control the Venezuelan trade, on con dition that It put an end to the Illicit trade with Curacao and chance foreign ships. For 50 years this worked fairly well, but eventu ally the Compania found it more profitable to enter into arrangements of mutual advantage with the Curacao merchants. This soon led to great popular opposition, threatening civil war in 1748, but the Companla maintained its hold until 1778. The nominal government was In the hands of a captain-general, subordinate to the royal audiencia at Santo Domingo, for most of the time down to 1786, when an inde pendent audiencia was established at Cara cas. The history of the war for independence against Spain in Venezuela is to a great ex tent the record of th'e careers of Miranda and Bolivar. After the failure of the expedition of 180G, Miranda went to London, where Bolivar found him and took him back to Venezuela, to become the military leader of the patriots. A popular uprising gave the revolutionists com mand of the capital, and on April 19, 1S1G. the local council at Cara cas deposed the royal governor and selected a junta or council to rule during the regency in Spain. The next year Bolivar led a popular dem onstration which culminated in a formal manifesto or declaration of independence and the proclamation ct' a republican constitutional gov ernment. Meanwhile, Dim Domingo Monteverde took command of the royalist forces and gradually gained the upper hand over the patriots. The fortress of Puerto Cabello was betrayed to him. and Bolivar was ISlUil 'Hit' ^ ARCH of FENEMmN 1 COGJHJ OF THE-' (C/QPUmiL forced to retire to La Guaira. Mi randa, unable to maintain an ar my in the field, concluded a peace. July 29. 1812, and joined Bolivar, by whom he was ar rested and hand ed over to the Spanish com mander. Bolivar took refuge in Cartagena, raised an army, and in August. 1813, re entered (^jacas in triumph. In 18 15 he was forced to retire to Jamaica, but in January, 1817, he returned, establisncd a government at Angostura, a position which he succeeded in making secure by December, 1819, when the congress at Angostura elected him presi dent of Colombia, representing a new republic embracing Venezuela and New Granada. On June 24, 1821, the decisive victory of Bolivar and Paez, at Carabobo over the royalist army practically ended the Spanish domination in this part of South America. In 1S29 Venezue la, under the influence of Paez. seceded from Colombia and constituted itself an independent republic. The subsequent history of the coun try was uneventful until 184C, when an era of insurrection and civil wars began between the conservative and liberal factions, which lasted, with scarcely a break, down to 1870. In 1854 a law for the abolition of slavery was enacted. Realizing the hopelessness of con tending with Great Britain in arms, the Vene zuelan government decided to resort to public opinion. An agent was sent to the United States, who spread abroad pamphlets and statements, and interviewed newspaper men and politicians, and in December, 1894, Presi dent Cleveland recognized the widespread pub lic interest in the dispute by an allusion to it in his annual message to congress. A year later, the British government having notified the United States that it had nothing to ar bitrate with Venezuela, a special message, sharp in its tone with regard to Great Britain, was sent by Cleveland to congress, leading that body to appropriate funds (<100,000) for a commission to investigate “the true divisional line between Venezuela and British Guiana." In November, 1896, before the commission had reported, Great Britain yielded to the demand of the United States for arbitration. Eventu ally, in February, 1897, an agreement was reached and a treaty of arbitration duly signed. The arbitration tribunal made its award on Oc tober 3, 1899. SIWALLBOY ROIJ-JNATOR. His Cold-Blooded Persistency Too Much for Statesman. -William S. Cowherd, Democratic I nominee for governor 6f M,8«*'-ri 8f ■ . SSHSitrirs^ *i>r Geor^B^rahi^ Vcai, MlSaouri ^ “*^ftSornYcSt «•* making-a buggy • '' - ■ »^K --it—V . ■ • f J * ', seat. He invariably turned his eyes on the senator and took in every word of the speech, as if his very life de pended on it. “Finally the Jad’s continued con spicuous presence among his auditors annoyed the senator, and he kindly but firmly reminded the boy that it Was not necessary for him to attend every meeting. '• " ‘1 -make the same speech each timnrycut have heard it often enough to know it by rote, so just put in your time in the future looking after the team,’ he admonished his youthful driver. “Despite the senator’s objection, the boy was again in the front seat the next day and the following day. This enraged Vest and he thundered: “ ‘Why do you persist in always oc cupying that front seat; didn’t I tell you I make the Same speech even' day.? It’s as old and stale to you as it is to me. Why' insist on hearing it again and again?' " ‘I want to see what you're going to do when you fergit it,’ answered the boy. Vest capitulated.”—St. Louis Republic. New Triumph for America. America lias now triumphed over Egypt and India in holding what will soon be the largest irrigated tract of desert land in the world. This is what is known ns the Twin Falls country In the state of Idaho. The ultimate area under irrigation, when the entire Twin Falls project shall have been completed, will be 1,:150,000 acres.— Harper's Weekly. COFFIN COLLED DOWN THE STEPS HUSBAND FAINTED WHILE HELP ING CARRY WIFE’S BODY TO WAITING HEARSE. HORROR AT CHURCH ENTRANCE Affair Creates Considerable Excite ment—Grief-Stricken Man Shown Wrong Corpse When He Calls at Hospital. Cincinnati.—During the funeral of Mrs. Carl Domm at St. Xavier's church, on Sycamore street the other morning considerable excitement was created when her husband fainted in his pew while his brother, a priest, was reciting the mass for the dead. The priest continued with the mass, while several men carried the young man out and revived him. Later, while he was assisting In car rying his wife’s coffin to a. hearse, Domm fainted again at the head of the steps at the entrance of the church, and the coffin containing the corpse rolled to the sidewalk.1- The terrible affair so affected Mrs. Lizzie Patten, a friend of the dead woman, that she screamed and collapsed, but was soon restored to consciousness. Consider able difficulty was also experienced in reviving the grief-stricken young hus band. One hearse was all that made up the funeral cortege of the wom an, the two mourners—the husband and Mrs. Patten—with the priest, go ing to the cemetery in a street car. Mrs. Domm was heiress to a large estate in Germany, and with her hus band had conducted a long and hard fight to recover her share of her fa ther's estate. She was .12 years of age, and resided with Mrs. Patten. For some time her husband. Carl Domm, has been working in Chicago, earning the money accessary to carry on the fight for his wife's inheritance. Five weeks ago Mrs. Domm became ill, and, according to Mrs. Pat'en, went to a hospital. When she died there the other Sunday the physicians stated that the cause of her death was con sumption. Domm broke down and He Fell in a Faint and the Coffin Crashed to the Pavement. cried when he told of his visit to the hospital to see his wife. "I had been there Saturday while she was yet alive,” he said, "and she scouted the doctors' belief that she would die. Not dreaming that she had died Sunday, I went there on that day and asked for her. ’She's dead,’ said an attendant. I felt like I would fall over, but I pulled myself together and asked them to let me see her body. They hauled out a -stretcher, and I asked them not to remove the cover ing from the face until I could con trol myself. Worrying over her con dition had made me weak and sick, and I had not eaten anything since I left Chicago. “ ‘Now take it off.’ I said. Then they uncovered the body of a negro man, and it seemed that the' room whirled around me. As long as I live I will never forget that shock. Why in the name of heaven do they make such mistakes? "The attendant quickly covered the body again and stood there looking at me. I sat down and began to hope that perhaps they had erred in saying that my wife was dead. Finally the man exclaimed: ‘Oh, here she is.’ and this time it was my dead wife. There were only two pallbearers, my brother Henry and myself, and when I had to let go my end of the coffin there was nothing to hold it, and it fell crashing down the steps. It must have been ter rible. Of course I was unconscious and did not see it. My brother Henry had to go back to his work after help ing me convey the coffin to the hearse, and there was only the priest, Mrs. Patten and mjself went to the ceme tery.” Ownership. "He owns his own home, doesn’t he?" "Yes. he only owes $3,875 and inter est on it now."—Detroit Free Press. »] - Defined. A good story-teller is a man who ,’an tell an old story much bettef than you’ve ever heard it related before.— Detroit Free Press. --— - *-* *-* «»«»•»»» -- ■ AGED FATHER JUMPS INTO RIVER TO SAV FIGHTS BRAVELY WITH THE 1C WATERS OF THE .HUDSON BUT SINKS WITH DAUGHTER. New York.—Unmindful of the ic cold of the Hudson, and his 78 > ear Capt. Henry Rice, skipper of a hi scow, leaped from her deck in a effort to save his daughter. Mrs !!••: Block, 31 years old, a widow. Bat! were drowned while Frank Hauscrnck er was vainly striving to aid them. Mrs. Block and Hauscrucker re tj iiave been married a few da> ugt and Capt. Rice was to depart ahoart his scow for some distant poiut. whirl would prevent his attendance at th« wedding. His daughter and Hans cracker promised to pay a farewel visit to the skipper, and Cap.'. li - V ___dk --, He Jumped Overboard to the Rescue waited at the pier head at West Ore Hundred and Thirty-second - ; ■ i > warn them against the dangers t ice coating on the scow s de< k they must cross to reach the calk the stern. He took his daughter's aim w!< . she and Hauscrucker arrived, are the latter to stay where he was moment. Capt. Rice help d M Block to the deck and led her tow i the cabin. She said she coti : cu : remainder of the distance in sa and started to run toward th* r: It was pitch dark, and sk-- ■ ■ ■' on tile ice, fell and slid over the protected side into the watt : 11 screams and the splash were iii-’a. followed by her father’s eff< - o te ller. He threw' off his coat ant1 • overboard, caught the young - : . : and bearing her up, swam nanin-o rapid tide toward the scow. Hauscrucker stood in the d unfamiliar surroundings, not k.; -v. in. bow to help. He cried out: e. ’ . shall I do?” and from the v;:i- : Can Rice told him to get a rope am! thrift its end overboard. Hauscruck* grope blindly for any sort of a : • and when he found one Cap;, i. ■ his daughter had been carri- -' i - t tide far out of reach of the sa w Cries for help from Hautcrucke were faintly answered from the ... - ness over the river, where father tn■ ( daughter were drowning, and a ■ brought delayed aid fr^^h tint the neighborhood. t^^Krut out along the shore and sought the missing couple, but found :io t of either. A Weehawken ferry a added its passengers to the excii witnesses of the efforts -at rescue BAG O' BUGS STIRS UP CAR. Fine Doings in Subway When 3 Satchel Was Opened New York.—Somebody's :i r of living butterflies, moths, l u^ ,t : insects came nearly causing a at on a south-bound subway train. An elderly man, who looked a college professor, and wh. a .1 - , eompanied by a pretty girl . f arose from a cross seat to ailgi t Columbia University station. A. couple went, a small, black bag wa discovered on the seat they bad <> copied. A young man made after t i t was assured by the girl that ir not her property. Before he- cl.: panion could be appealed t6, he hai left the train, which started off. The dozen other passengers in th train, most of whom were women came curious as to the consents o the bag, and it was opened. It w crammed full of flying insects. Given their freedom they fiile i every corner of the cat. Worn. ; shrieked and Jumped on the sea-, holding their dresses tightly an an them. The conductor had the passed-: - transferred to another car. and the ii sects had undisturbed possession o: the first one. Friendly Criticism. Scribbles—W£ %t do you think of n poem in the ^vent issue of Blank s ^ q reminds me of a i iate of b ± —Why, how's ch;.r’ <cus—It is a mysterious compo that defies investigation.—Chi Daily News. Beware. Wife (looking up from newspaper —This paper says that kissing uat gerous because o? germs. Now- | should like to know what one migv catch by kissing? Husband (wearily) — Husbands — Judge. * Our "Connie’s” Commendable Charity. A lady who was at the sale for the benefit of the homek for wives of pris oners, at Sunderland house, London, writes this of thu duchess of Marl borough’s interes' In the admirably helpful scheme w ich she started and supports herself:: "The duchess, whom -1 was most anxious to see, is far more charming than any portrait that has been made of hsr. She is graceful and beautiful, and as she came forward, when my name. was announced, and shook hands ass if we had been old l ^ ** friends, I cannot but think how pro ■ Americans should be of her an? the b,°i»wShTe iS n“,W doing- He«- mother at the’anl 7 B andfor<i> *’ho assist i,J at the sale, seems to be devoted to the duchess and approves of all her philan thropic undertakings for the jL- , f London, apd in regard to this sale i>* wk of prisoners’ wives, especially’ German Medical Studerts No fewer than 8.2S2 medical sl, dents attend lectures at the uai-.en [ sities of Germany this winter.