Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 December 1902 — CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE. [ARTICLE]

CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE.

Effort* by Venezuela to Avoid Paying ™ Her Debts. The troubles between England rnd Germany on the one side and Venezuela on the other arose ever the latter’s failure to liquidate certain debts which it owes to the former. Some of the claims held by England against Venezuela are those of harbor and railway improvement companies, which complained to 'their government <.f defaults o£ interest' guaranteed by Venezuela. There are other claims for damages to railways and other property of British Citizens during periods of revolution and also claims based on interference with British trading vessels and on the imprisonment and ill treatment of British subjects. The claims of Germany are of a similar nature, the principal one being that of a German railroad, built at a cost of $10,000,060, on which Venezuela guaranteed 7 per cent Interest, a figure reduced in 1895 to 5 per cent, and on which Venezuela has defaulted for several years.

For a considerable time England and Germany have been pressing those claims to the consideration of the Venezuelan government—which in that country happens to be at the present time Gen. Castro, President and dictator—but Castro paid little attention to them. Instead of meeting the demands, which are perfectly valid in international law. fairly and squarely and trying to agree upon a basis of settlement, President Castro dodged them and in effect told the representatives of England and Germany that he would not pay and that they could not collect. He fancied that in this attitude he would Be sustained by the Monroe doctrine proclaimed by the United States, evidently oblivious of the fact that this doctrine as applied to the southern republic does not extend to assisting any one of them in repudiating honest debts-voluntarily contracted. Just what this doctrine stands for was recently set forth by President Roosevelt “The Monroe doctrine has nothing to do with the commercial relations of any American power, save that in truth it allows each of them’ to form such as it desires. In other words, it is really a guarantee the commercial independence of the Americas.-—W.e do not ask under this doctrine for any exclusive commercial dealings with any -other American State. We do not guarantee any State against punishment if it misconducts itself, provided that punishment does not take the form of the acquisition of territory by any non-Ameri-can power.”

Evidently both England and Germany accepted this definition of the famous doctrine and that they might net take any steps offensive to the United States government they acquainted President Roosevelt from the beginning with their purposes and plainly stated to him the limit of the action they proposed to take. The failure of President Castro to meet the demands of England and Germany or even to reply to their representations, naturally led to the issuing by the latter of an ultimatum, which was delivered at the capital, Caracas. The British minister, W. H. D. Haggard, and the German charge d’affaires, Von Pilgrim-Baltazzi, left Caracas and boarded warships of their respective countries in the harbor of La Guayra, thus severing diplomatic relations with Venezuela. United States Minister Bowen took over the charge of English and German interests. No reply having been received to the ultimatum, the combined English and German fleet seized the Venezuelan war vessels at La Guayra, destroying some of them and converting the others to their own uses. Another Venezuelan vessel was seized by a British cruiser at Port of Spain, Trinidad, an English Island, opposite the mouth of the Orinoco river. The seizures were made so that the vessels might not interfere with the plan of taking possession of Venezuelan custom houses and blockading the Venezlelan coast, with of preventing smuggling and laying embargo on all imports until the claims held by England and Germany are satisfied. A couple of days later two other Venezuelan vessels were seized in the Gulf of Para by-a British cruiser and taken to Port of Spain. Naturally the action the European powers created a crisis in Caracas.