Indianapolis Times, Volume 44, Number 283, Indianapolis, Marion County, 6 April 1933 — Page 4

PAGE 4

'BLACK CONDOR' STARRED IN ACT AT ELLIS ISLE Venezuelan Dictator Gave Immigration Officials Vexing Problem. Thi fifth of six article* or. E'.lls Island bv A. J. Llebllr.r deals with many of the famous characters who spent time there BY A. J. LIEBLING Times Special Writer Assistant commissioner BYRON H. UHL has served the government on Ellis Island since the immigration station moved there from Castle Garden, which is now the Aquarium, in 1892. Before j that immigration inspection was in the hand of the state authorities. When the federal government : took over the function the state J refused to yield the disused fortress ; which for half a century had served as incoming Europe s first point oi contact with America. Byron Uhl ; went to the island as a clerk and i remained there, as is the fashion of j civil service employes, through the j regimes of twelve commissioners, un- , til today he is the senior nonappointive officer at the station. An outwardly dour Indiana Amer- j lean, he is, in particular, a con- ; noLsseur of personalities. If you j ask him what he thinks of Prince j Mike Romanoff he will snort and 1 answer, “Bah—a cheap little faker I” ; Cowards to Him Or of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman, “All their lives j they had been talking of revolution j but in their hearts they didn’t want j to go back and face it.” Then if you press him further and ask him, “Who was the most re- j markable person ever detained on the island?” he will answer, “Old General Castro, the Black Condor of the Andes.” Most interrogators hesitate at that point and then say vaguely, “Oh yes, that fellow from Venezuela.' This pains Assistant Commissioner Uhl, for he knows it would have j pained Cipriano the Bloodthirsty ; and Magnificent, whose boast it was that he was “the same height as Napoleon, to a fraction of an inch.'' | Castro Stole Millions Castro stole back millions from all ! the foreign concessionaires to whom his predecessors had sold Venezuelan resources. Newspapers stated when he left ! his dominions for a German spa (where he drank seven bottles of cognac a day, by way of hastening a cure) that he took with him $60,000.000 The state department alleged against him the assassination of a few thousand paltry political enemies. And after seven years of riotous rule, during which his ports were bombarded by foreign fleets, to his great amusement, he blithely departed for Europe, leaving Vice President Juan Vicente Gomez in charge. On the last day of 1912 the steamship La Touraine, of the French Line, brought to quarantine a passenger at first, listed as “L Ruiz," i but subsequently, in his own bold handwriting, as Gen. Cipriano Castro. Refuses to Answer ' In those days arrivals at the is- j land were inspected, zone by zone, j by specialists. The head, the chest, j each region of the body came in for a going-over. Hopefully the physicians inspected the general. He was in excellent health. Next Commissioner William Williams, after telephonic communication with the state department in I Washington, said that the Porcu- j pine-Hornet would be excluded as an alien criminal because he had murdered General Antonio Paredes. He refused to answer questions. The island authorities interpreted this as an admission of guilt. Conviction or admission of a crime involving moral turpitude debar an alien from the country. George Gordon Battle, H. Snowden Marshall and Harold Content secured a writ of habeas corpus. A judge denied it. The Black Condor appealed to the secretary of labor. The secretary appointed a board of three inspectors to hear the appellant. They denied the appeal, j There was anotoher writ. Judge j Ward ruled that silence was not | an admission. Followed by cheering crowds General Castro visited Mayor Gaynor. Departure Was Mistake Judge Ward, ruled that silence was not an admission. Followed by; cheering crowds General Castro j visited Mayor Gaynor. Castro’s first mistake was to leave | Venezuela. His second was to deposit the remainder of his booty, 510,000,000 in gold, in German banks. When he next visited New York harbor, in 1916. he had no money for batteries of lawyers. The imperial ! government forcibly had borrowed his gold Mr. Uhl was acting commissioner In charge of the island. Castro, protesting that all this had been settled, was taken from his ship, “What it mean?” he demanded. “What you want?” About ‘Moral Turpitude* •'Did you order the execution of General Paredes?” demanded the persistent Mr. Uhl. “No,” howled the general. “No. Ten thousandth descendant of an anonymous eapabary, no.” “All right." replied the imperturbable Yankee, "that's all we can do about It.” And so the Black Condor was ad- i knitted. He died in Porto Rico in 1924. Next Loveliness on the island j Does * Your Mirror Reflect Rough, Pimply Skin? Then Tee Cutic urn and have a clear skin Anoint the affected parts with Cuticnra Ointment, Wash off I after a abort time with Cnticura Soap and hot water and continue bathing for several minutes. Pimples, rashes and all forms of skin troubles quickly yield to this treatment. • Soap 2Sc. Ointment 25 and 50c. Sample each frle. Address: “Cuticura,* . Dept. 5 TANARUS, Malden, Mass.

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: THE INDIANAPOLIS TDIES

APRIL 6, 1933