Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1896-01-09

cite and learned Of the heroic strug-
gle OF Washington, scarcely an echo
of which had reached the Spanish
Spain and the CALLING disgracevof suf-
fering the despotlsm of third-rate
power. Is, ,s,t
Simon Bolivar was u years old. He
had vast plantations of sugar, coffee
and cocoa and thousands OF. slaves,
He was cultivated, handsome. elo-
quent, stately in demeanor, ambitious
but licentious, cruel and crafty. His
wife dying, he gave himself up to all
these passions with indomitable. ener-
KY and pride. He seemed TO have d
contempt for wealth He freed his
slaves, declaring that no man deserved
freedom who held Others In bondage.
At the age OF 20 his estates were con-
flscated and price was on his head,
and he was in exile. : .t.t '
In the interval Venezuelas enjoyed
eight months Of freedom under his
rule. At the height OF the festivities
the awful earthquake Of 1871 demol-
ished the city, killing 10000 people.
Amid the topping walls and shrieks
of the dying the prior Of the Domini-
cans preached ip the open squares,
calling 1t just judgment and turning
the people to repentance. Yet in 1918
Bolivar freed Caracas again, was made
dictator, and again defeated. The
third time he fitted out an expedition
and came down the OfinoCo, between
junges OF dark moss groWn forests,
glittcring with green parrots and scar
let macaws. Red monkeys. venomous
snakes and man-cating allgators in
tested the dreadful solitude, but he
was lured on by the lovely line OF
the San Sebastian Mountains, above
the high plateau OF his native city,
the plain OF the palms and the wide
blue sea, weltering In sun and subter-
ranean heat.
When he made his stand he was cut
to pieces, and fled to the Eldorado
mines with half dozen followers. In
SIX months he had gathered an army
again OF unkcmpt, Harmed undis-
ciplned sons OF the tropics, aud
marched them in the dead of winter
across the precipitous passes Of the
Andes. Swamps and reptiles, falling
powders, noisome forests, snow, ice,r
chasms, precipices, glaciers, hunger,
nakedncss dauntod them not. A tenth
Of that wild haggard band, leaving
their bl0.uy tracks in the virgin snow
of the Andes, stood before New Gren-
ada and won the day.
He founded Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia,
the United States OF Colombia, and
Venezuela. Chill declared herself free
and Argentina, the doer Of all these
deeds, the Washington of South
America, declared he would yet free
Cuba: He died in exile, when only
AZ years of age, the victim Of "A politi-
cal party
lie refused dictatorship. Today
lie relgns supreme as the greatest hero
of all the countries freed by his sword,
and his system OF government remains
In force. 1t was In 1880 That the .ive
republics finally took shape. Nenez'i-
ella has u constitution nidtleled"after
that Of the United Stateaf, bnt with
moro local Independence, Fhe,country
Is governed by q federal council of
nineteen members, who elapt n pres-
dent for two years from Nheir own
number. He has, however, no veto
power. There are two legislative
branches, the senate with twenty -four
members and the representatives with
nfty-two members. ~
The Roman Catholic Is the state re-
llgion, but all soct%aro tolerated; edu-
cation Ia compulsory and there are
two universities and over thirty col
leges, eleven Of these being for girls
The revenues of The country amo mt
to S9,000Q00 u year, and thh public
debt Is only $25,o0o000 Mt per cent,
The country has an area 81 nearly
100000 square miles and population
of 300 900 Vast tracts of forest land
and mines are undcyolopcd, nearly
two-thirds of the entire country, Fully
NTH of the people are engaged in
agriculture, and the varieties of eli
mate permit the widest range of crops
from coffee, sugar, cocoa aitd tropical
fruits to wheat and pasture crops. The
minerals are the richest in the world.
Only last year $4,000, 900 in gold, silver
copper aud quicksilver We're taken out
md 1900 miles OF railroad are pro
jeeted into the heart of the luruari
region that Is almost untouched.
These mines arc the objective point
ot,Rreat Britain, For ftty years now
England has crept onsby stolen march
cs froni'hhe EseQulbo TO the Morocco
To Aberdben's boundary. to the Schom-
burg line, concCdi1g this. denying
that, repudinting the other, declartur
territory in dispute" and then in.
vading 1t, establishing n status que
and disrcgarding IT. creeping on
,ooooooooooooooooooooooooos
lQ 9