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.