Show A STRENUOUS SITUATION Dictator Onlio will probably so Into history ct the man who ruined Venezuela Vene-zuela It seems from the lepiescnta ton made by I he British Foreign of fire that ho not only Ignored the claims of ISrltlvh subjects but refused to ro ply to official I representations made on the 1 subject I When it was too late to arrange for ainlcnblc settlement and after the ritA nnd the Germans had joined In assembling their warships tl7 yelre the customhouse then Castro submitted n proposition that might have brcn made the basis of ncgoila lions If it had been made a month Kooner His course In the whole matter gives the allied collection agency a fair opportunity to claim that they cannot trust his scod faith They therefore send a peremptory demand for settlement settle-ment and give Castro three days to comply In return he mouths about honor and says that he will let things take their course he will do no mon Tills means an Indefinite occu atlon of the Venezuelan customhouses custom-houses and may mean some transfers of territory In purt settlement j of amounts claimed to be due It Is therefore there-fore a matter of a good deal of 1m ortance to this country how things may turn It would be Just like Cas tlO to make transfers of territory both lo Great Britain and to Germany and IC this were done It would be the most severe test the Monroe doctrine could be pul lo For if this country ob jecled to the transfer the natural rc plj of the allied collodion agency would be Well will you pay the claims If no then I Bv what Hcrhi do ynti assume to say that an Independent nation like Venezuela shall not Fetlh icrobllgalloiiB in any way open to her The right would not be easy to show while tlnKreeuli of our action would be If persisted Jn that we backed Venezuela Vene-zuela in refusing to Day her debts Its It-s a nicklish situation and ono that nay easily become most grave for the United States |