| Show ITS COURTS AFARCE Venezuela Jurists Must Give Judgment as Bidden I I I PRESIDENT REIGNS SUPREME He Can and Does Change the Judiciary Judi-ciary in a Night and Imprisons Them if Decisions Are Contrary to His Wish This the Reason why the New York and Bermudese Asphalt As-phalt Company Declines to Submit Matters to the Courts for Adjudication Adjudi-cation Correspondence of the Associated Press Port of Spain Island oC Trinidad Tuesday Feb 5A correspondent of the Associated Press has Just returned from a ten days stay In Caracas Venezuela Ven-ezuela where ho went to Investigate The Venezuelan situation The outlook as one sees It at the Venezuelan capl Jtnl Is not good There is a feeling of apprehension In the ah The Castro Government becomes more unpopular and hostility to it Is talked rather freely free-ly h and the substantial and solvent pfioplo 61 comhiunlty condemnthc Governments attitude toward the Nev York and Bermudese Asphalt company The New York and Bermudesc company com-pany the correspondent Is informed isO quietly gathering a strong force of well armed and well drilled men at the pitch lake These men are under command com-mand of Maj Rafferty formerly of the Seventyllrst New York regiment a brave and efficient ofllcer They will resist all encroachment whether made by Government or revolutionary troops The United States gunboat Scor pica has been ordered to the pitch lake with orders not to allow the company com-pany to be dispossessed prior to the conclusion of the judicial Investigation oC the case now being made In Washington Wash-ington CASTRO RUNSTHE COURTS The Venezuelan Government is endeavoring en-deavoring In every pqsslble way to persuade the New York and Bermudeso company to resort to the tribunals The refusal of the company to adopt that course is based upon the knowledge know-ledge that In Venezuela the President or Dictator changes the Judges in a night and imprisons them If they do not give Judgments they are bidden to give The correspondent talked with five diplomats In Caracas They all asserted as-serted that the United States Government Gov-ernment acted with great prudence and a degree of forbearance that had almost ceased to be a virtue They spoke highly of the skill and tact with which Minister Loomis had mot a delicate and difficult situation The diplomatic side of this business is most important and interesting The United States after receiving all of the legal record and facts In the controversy between the Venezuelan Government and the Asphalt company decided to make thorough invcstlgar tlon and sent for a complete set of the laws oC Venezuela some sixteen volumes vol-umes VENEZUELA DISCOURTEOUS Pending the outcome of this Investigation Investi-gation they asked the Venezuelan Government as a matter of courtesy between friendly nations to kindly suspend sus-pend the operation of the decree din posessing the fTew York and Bermudeso company until Investigation could be made This the Venezuelan Govern jnent declined to do The request was repeated and again refused It was tfien made a third time In an emphatic manner by Minister Loomis In fact it was put as a sort of vigorous demand the third time but the result was the same Then a protest was made and that was Ignored by the Castro Government Gov-ernment though it had ample power to meet any and all of these demands if it saw nt GUILTY OF MANY OFFENSES The trouble over the asphalt Is only one of a large number of Incidents in which the Venezuelan Government has recently been guilty of grave offeneo to the Government of the United States Three months agotho consular agent of the United States at Barcelona Was thrust Into prison without cause The United States Government demanded an apology but has not yet received It A your earlier the same Consul was arrest and threatened with torture 1C ho did not pay a largo sum of money to local military olllclals GERMANS OBTAIN SATISFACTION A few months ago a German merchant mer-chant Barcelona was tortured by olllclals there for the purpose of ex torting money from him Tho Gorman Government sent a cruiser nt onri and I got satisfaction and kept thd vessel four months In Venezuelan waters The Italians have had menofwar Venezuelan waters most of the time for a year Last year the American Consul at La Guuyra was attacked and his life threatened The United States Government Gov-ernment r has never had satisfactory reparation for that |
