The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-01-23
FROM THE NATIONS CAPITAL.
From Oar O,0n Correspondent.

WASHINGTON, d. c., Jan. 81. 1000
Compelled thereto by the agents of
the Asphalt Trust the United States
government has sent war ships to
venezuela with the avowed object of
Interfering by force ce a-:.;s 20 prevent
the disarmament by tho Venezuelan
government of the employees of the
Trust who are resisting the decree of
the courts Of the republic, in favor of o
weaker rival. which is also an Ameri-
S:s:s corporation. hut winch has not the
ear OF tho administration. It is some
what difficult to e.certain the exact
sltuation Ill the aanhalt reginns. This
much, however, is known. Years ago
the Asphalt Trust obtained @ conces-
sion in the State Of Bermudez. Later.
in 1883, it acquired an additional con-
cession, which contained asphalt de-
posits. A few years after this, Vene-
sae.aH company acquired o tract ad-
joining that Of the Trust, and promptly
transferred it's rightseto an American
company. Disputes soon arose as TO
the boundary between the two, the
TFust claiming that it was the mean
dering line of foot path through. the
dense woode, while the new company
asserted that the line should have b. sn
straight. IL SO run it would threw
Lake Venezuela, which is very yalns-
bic, into the grant Of the new company
and out of that of the older one. The
case was arbitTated and decided against
the Trust, and President Castro order
od tee property to be turned over to
the smaller and weaker corporation.
AT once the trust declared that the
arbitratOrs had been hribed and refused
to surrender the land in question. Oh
viously, the United States has no right
TO interfere. 1t is the right as we'll as
the duty of the Venezuelan Govern
ment to maintain order in its territory
and execute the law. A quarrel be.
tween rival American business associa-
fions in Venezuela over concessions of
territory concerns the Venezuelan
Government exclusively. If the case
were reversed and rival syndicates
composed of Yenezuelans and holdinr
mining concessions in the Unitau
States were to fall QUO and resort to
force to settle their disputes, our gov
ernment would not tolerate intcrfer-
ence by Venezuela in behalf of either
of the claimants, but would compel the
rivals to submit their claims to the
courts.
Tho new method of combination by
which the railways are lodging the
antitrust act and the act forbiddine
pooling are pointed out in the recent
report of the Interstate Commerce
Commission. The Commission has no
official knowledge of the extent of re-
cent railway combinations, but it has
informed itself as we'll as possible from
unofficial sources. Disregarding mere
rumors, but taking account of we'll
authenticated statements, there were
absorbed IN various ways between
July !, 1899, and November /, 1900, 25.-
Sll miles ofrailrOad. There are in the
whole United States something less
than 200. .o01 miles Of rsilEoad; go that
more than, one-eighth of this entire
mileage Yves, within the above period,
brought, in one way and another, un-
der the control of other lines. when
it is considered what has actually been
done, what is undoubtedly in contem-
plation, the entire feasibility of these
schemes, the very great advantage
which would result to the owners Of
the properties involved, and the fact
that step once taken in that direction
ID seldom retraced, it becomes evident
TINT in the immediate future the main
transportation lines of this conntrv
VIII be thrown into groups, controlling
their own territory, and not subject,
with respect Sc most OF tiloir traffic, to
serious competition. If his.continucs,
ie will soon lie within the power of two
or three men, or at most O small
group of mon, to say what tax shall be
imposed upon the vast traffic moving
between the East and West. The re-
suit is already manifest in the tremend-
ous increase in freight rates during the
past year.
1t now seems that the cause of Sena-
tor Hanna's confidence in the passage
OF the subsidy bill lies in his intention
to tack it as a rider or 70 the River and
Harbor bill. This sort of thing is ad-
rnittediy vicious and is absolutely for
hidden by the rules of the House. The
Senate, however, can do what it
pleases, and if it should adopt the plan
mentioned, the House would have to
consider its action. Meanwhile, des-
perate efforts are being made by Sena-
tor Hanna to create a sentiment
throughout the country favorable to
the bill. In this city press bureau
has been organized for the purpose of
supplying newspaper correspondents
with information bearing on it's pro-
gress. Another has been mailing by
the ton literature faynrine IL. and n