The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-12
URiBE-URlBE TALKS.
uasMuch 10 Say Concerning France,
merica and Isthmian Canal.

uasWuch TO Say Concerning France,
Lmerica and Isthmian Canal.
correspondence of Associated Press)
M,racaibo, Venezuela, Oct. 31.-A
correspondent of the Associated Press
has Just had an interview with Gen.
1-rile-Uribe He found the general
strongly encamped in the Cordillera
Mountains. on the frontier line between
the Venezuelan state of Tachira and
the Colombian province of Santander.
His headquarters were at a hamlet
called Luisiana, half a days ride from
san Cristobal, the capital of Tachira.
His command, numbering several
thousand Colombian Liberals, was
holding the extreme left of the Vene-
klelan line of defense, covering the
Approaches of San Cristobal and En-
centrados railroad from the direction
of Cucuta. Gen. Chalbant Cordonne
held the center with Gen. Modesto Cas-
fro at the extreme right.
on the Colombian side Gen. Valen-
cha, former minister, Juan Berti and
Rangel Garbiras, the Venezuelan rebel.
are in command. Altogether, some TO-
! 900 soldiers stand face to face on the
frontier. Skirmishes and raids across
the frontier are of daily, or rather of
nightly occurrence.
Gen. Uribe-Ur readily consented to
an interview. Speaking fiuently in
French. he said:
'As President Castro has but recent
ly declared. this is not an international
war between Venezuela and Colombia,
but struggle between the Liberal and
Conservative parties OF both countries.
Here in Venezuela we all serve I'M
der the yellow standard of the Liberal
party, as do our friends in Ecuador,
in Guatemala, in Nicaragua and in the
Liberal strongholds of the Colombian
Guajira. We helped repel the recent
attack on San Cristobal on the part of
the Colombian and Venezuelan Con-
servatives under Garibicas and now we
have undertaken to help guard the
Venezuelan frontier against foreign at
lacks. Ny force is simply a part of
the Venezuelan line of defense and,
as its commander, I stand under. the
orders of Generalissimo Cipriano Cas-
tro, just like the other Liberal generals
on this side of the frontier. If l were
to engage in separate operations I
should run the risk of interfering with
the dispositions of our fellow liberals in
the field and would probably lose Gen.
Castro's support, especially if l COM
promised his cause. We are not as vet
strong enough to do without the help
of our allies outside the confines of
Colombia.
There are some open promises and
engagements to which I stand commit
ted, together with all my beloved
countrymen in the fight First of all,
we have engaged ourselves in case of
success, to do all in our power TO
change the money standard of Colom-
b1a from its present debased paper cur
rency to standard of silver and gold.
We shall not repudiate any national
debt, but as soon as it can be effected
the wretched paper bills which are
now, being turned out in Bogota by
the bushel shall be withdrawn from cir
culation. Next we shall try to effect
a definite settlement of the isthmus
canal question and of the pending in
ternational negotiations. We shall
stand by all our. national treati as
for instance. the treaty with the
United States of 1886 guaranteeing
the neutrality of the isthums
canal railroad; but we shall
put definite stop to the present I'M
derhand dickering for our most val
liable concessions to European coun-
tries. Colombia concessions to France
in regard to the isthmus, by the terms
of the last treaty, expire in 1904
French capitalists have obtained an
Illegal extension of these concessions
our Congress, when it last met, in
1898, refused to ratify these conces-
sions! l. myself, as the only Liberal
representative in Congress, voted
against such ratification. In defiance
of the Colombian constitution, Presi-
dent San Clemente, after the dissolu-
ton of the Congress. arbitrarily grant
ed the concessions to France Now
the French company is trying to sell
these same concessions to American
capitalists for $40 900, 000 How much
better it would be to put this sum of
money into the construction of the
canal.
'sWe have had enough of Panama.
frauds. We do not want the French
to NEEDLE further with the canal We
know, as all the world knows, that the
Americans can finish the canal in half
the time and for half the money We
want Americans to undertake the com
pletion of the canal, and we willingly
accept the protection of the great North
American republic at the isthmus, as
we have already done in regard tothe
trans-isthmus railroad. Even at the
present juncture we have no objection
TO the landing of American troops at
the isthmus. Come what may be-
tween us and our conservative enemies,
we know that the Americans will con-
tent themselves with protecting the
railroad / have implicit trust that
they will hold the balance true"