The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-12
CONSENTS TO
AN Interview
Gen. Tribe Uribe, the Leader of
Colombian Liberals Receives
a Correspondent Of the As
ISOLATED Press Warmly
EXPLAINS HIS POSITION
AND THAT OF HIS MEN


Isthmian Affairs and Hopes the
United States Will Build the
! Canal and Protect the Rail
way Across the ISthmuS
Correspondence of The Associated
Press.l
Maracaibo, Venezuela, Oct. 31.--A cor
just had an interview with Gen. Tribe
Tribe. He found the general strongly
encamped in the Cordillers Mountain,
on the frontier line between Venezuela,
state of Tachira, and the Colombian
province of Santander. His headquar-
ters were at a hamlet called Luisiana,
half a days ride from San Cristobal,
the capital of Tachira- His command,
| numbering several thousand Colombia
Liberals, was holding the extreme left
! or the Venezuelan line Of defense COW
| ering the approaches of San Cristobal
and the Encentrados Railroad from the
| direction of Cucuta.
On the Colombian side Gen. Valencia,
former minister, La Juan BERT and
Rangol Garibiras, the Venezuelan
| rebel, are in command Altogether
some 10000 soldiers stand face to face
on the frontier Skirmishes and raids
across the frontier are of daily, or,
rather, of nightly occurrence.
Gen. Tribe Tribe readily consented
to an interview. Speaking or the hos
| tility of the French, he said;
las President Castro has but recently
| declared, this is not an international
! hnft 81.
| but struggle between the Liberal and
| Conservative parties of both countries.
Here in Venezuela we live under the
| standard of the Liberal party as do
| our friends in Guatemala, Nicaragua
| Ecuador and the strongholds of La
guadjira We helped repel the recent
attack on San Cristobal on the part of
the Colombian and Venezuelan Con-
| serVatives under Garbirac, and now we
have undertaken to help guard the
| Venezuelan frontier against foreign at
tacks.
MY force is simply a part of the
Venezuelan line of defence, and, as it's
commander ] stand under the orders
lof Generalissimo Cipriano Castro, Just
like the other Liberal generals on this
side of the frontier. If were to en-
gage in separate operations / should
run the risk of interfering with the dis
positions of our fellow Liberals in the
field and would probably lose Cen
tCastro's support, especially If I compro-
missed his cause. We are not as yet
strong enough to do without the help
of our allies outside the confines of
Colombia
1T is absurd, on account of this to
call me a traitor to my country. | love
my country with all my heart as do all
the Colombian gentlemen of family and
leducation who have left the University
of Bogota to come under the Liberal
standard. The conservatives say that
| have promised to repay Gen. Castro
for his aid by concessions of Colombian
territory after our cause shall have
itriumphed. This Is a malicious lie.
Gen. Castro has done what he can for
us in the recognition of the fact that
when he overturned his conservative
enemy, Venezuela, he did so with the
laid of the Colombian Liberals. A
number of the men who are now serv-
Ing with me here, followed his standard
from Cucuta to Caracas.
When Gen. Castro explained his dis
positions to me at Caracas, not word
was said about future concessions on
the part of Colombia. Such a sug-
gestion would have been a mortal in
suit. # boundary disputes arise in the
future between Colombia and Ven
ezuela they will be settled in regular
form by boundary commissions, or by
arbitration as they have been in the
past There are, however, some open
promises and engagements to which I
stand committed, together with all my
beloved countrymen in the field. First
or all, we have engaged ourselves in
case of success to do all in our power
to change the money standard of Col
ombia from It's present debased cur
Irency to standard of silver and gold
No
debt, but so soon as 1t can be effected
the wretched paper bills which are now
being turned out in Bogota by the
bushel shall be withdrawn from circu-
Ilation.
Next we shall try to effect a definite
settlement of the canal question and
Of the pending International negotia-
lions: we snail stand by all our ma
| tlonal treaties, as, for instance the
treaty with the United States of 1876.
guaranteeing the neutrality of the
lsthmus Railroad; but, we shall nut a
definite stop to the present underhand
diekering for our most valuable con-
cessions to European countries. Co
lomoia so conceded to France in regard
to the canal by the terms Of the last
treaty expiring 1904 French canitaI-
lists have obtained an Illegal extension
of these concessions. Our congress
when it last met, in 1893, refused ia
ratify these concessions. ], myself as
the only Liberal representative I'm con
gress, voted against such ratification.
In defiance of the Colombian constitu-
ton, President San Clemente. after the
dissolution of the congress, arbitrarily
granted the concessions to France
Now the French company is irving Ia
sell these same concessions to Ameri-
can capitalists for $4,000, 900.
How much better 1t would be tn mt
this sum of money into the construc-
ton of the canal We 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 hall
the money. We want Americans tc
undertake the completion of the canal
and we willingly accept the protection
of the great North American republic
at the isthmUs, as we have aIrea DIV
done in regard to the trans-isthmus
railroad.
Even at the present juncture we
have no objection to the landing OF
American troops at the isthmus. Come
what may between us and our conserv-
alive enemies, we know that the
Americans will content themselves
with protecting the railroad I have
implicit trust that they will hold the
balance true. 1t is remembered In our