Evening star., 1901-09-21

the neid mas special grud8e against Cas-
ira The dictator shot the revolutionist'O
leader, Gen. Acosta Now, in that country,
where such leaders are as thick as tramps
along railroad. never before has one been
punished by death. But Castro said: III
ever my soldiers capture Acosta he shall
be shot" So last February, when the rev.
oiutionist was taken in his lair the die
tator sent an order for his captors to get
Acosta into Caracas before the Goth, that
he. Castro, might have the pleasure Of
supervising the execution. Failing this the
order was to shoot Acosta on the 10th
wherever he might be. When came the
18th the prisoner still 200 miles by
horse from the capital-and so Acosta one
OF the brightest intellects and bravest SOL
dlers In Venezuela, was made to kneel In
the middle of the road with his back to
the firing squad, and thus was carried out
another sentence pronounced by Castros
thumb
To appreciate the Importance of the date
OF this occurrence it is necessary 10 state
that February 20 was the day on which
Castro called his congress together chang
ed the constitution to suit his own pur-
poses and declared himself no longer die
tator, but constitutional president. The
constitution forbids capital punishment. As
dictator Castro might shoot Acostas by
the score and his legal right to do so would
only be matter of dispute. But once he
became the chief executive under the con-
stitution such an act would be illegal be-
yond question, and Castro. immune as die
tator, would be subject to consequences as
president.
Castros own soldiers love him not HE
took away our thin uniforms" they say,
land dressed us up in cloth uniforms and
caps, like French soldiers. Besides he
seldom pays us. So he is glad when we de-
sert, simply putting new men in our
places" The officers of Castros army,
however. make no complaint. For every
time the dictator uses the military the
instrument for making a golden haul the
officers get the drippings. To illustrate:
Last fall the soldiers reported that three
gold within their homes. The dictator
dered that each of these men be taxed
100000 for the support of the govern
ment." The merchants refused to pay.
Castro turned them over to certain army
officers, who. having made them prisoners,
kept them tied to stakes facing the sun
all day and facing an electric light as
fiercely bright as the sun all night. Half
blinded and almost crazed by their suf-
ferings, they at last yielded and paid the
"tax."
Kaiser Took n Hand.
Another case was not quite SO profitable.
either to Castro his military staff. A
German merchant arrived In Caracas and
proceeded to collect bills payable to the
amount of $4,000 in cash. Castro not only
forbade the German to take the money out
Of the country. but demanded that 1T be
paid over for government support" The
man was arrested and tortured until he
understood that 1t was his money or his
life and so led the soldiers to the place
where the treasure was hidden. A few
weeks later one of the kaiser's cruisers put
in at La Guayra, the captain hurried over
to Caracas and demanded not only the Sl2,-
600, but the punishment OF the officers who
had maltreated a German subject Castro,
livid of face, hquidated on the spot. and
the guilty members Of his staff are still in
Maracaibo prison.
Castro has not q single friend among
the foreign representatives In Caracas.
49, ,l,orc Of hn nj fc
on behalf of countrymen who have inter-
ests in Venezuela, watch Castro with sus-
picious untrusting eyes. For the dictator
has more than once openly asserted that,
If he could he would annul all concessions
Of land granted to foreigners by his prede-
cessors, and sell the same over again to
others He actually did annul concessions
enjoyed by the various Orinoco river conn
pa anies-all American concerns But he has
not yet succeeded in selling these over
again.
The Asphalt War.
For the sum Of $4,000, however, he
granted a concession Of a part OF an
American asphalt company's mines in the
state Of Bermudez. But the mines thus
disposed of belong to the asphalt company,
both by right OF concession OF many
years standing md by purchase in fee
simple Hence Castro had sold property
which an American corporation owned out
right This, in a nutshell, was the cause
of the asphalt war. In the first days OF
this industrial fight the then United States
minister, Mr.. Loomis, in formal confer
ence with Castro, suggested that Venezu-
clans should protect American interests In
their country in order to encourage the In
vestment Of American capital in the de-
velopment of Venezuelan Industries. Mr..
Loomis concluded with the statement that
Castro's attitude toward the asphalt COM
pany was opposed to the policy just out
lined, and was calculated to antagonize
Yankee capital To which Castro, In his
reply gave this token of International
courtesy:
"Well, Mr. Loomis. those American as
phalt people are getting very excited.
Take them to saloon and give them some
ice cream to cool them Off.
Even the course Of justice Is perverted
as Castro wills. The dictator recently In
formed the attorney general that his legal
ought to be in favor of the concessionaire's
enemies. The attorney general. however,
handed down an opinion in favor OF the
concessonaire. The upshot of the matter
was that the attorney general was COM
PEELED to resign. and a lawyer who agreed
to think with Castro's mind was appointed
in his place.
A Judges Extra Duties.
The law Of Venezuela commands the
Judge of the supreme court In each federal
district to inspect prisons, ascertain through
the prisoners themselves how their cases
arc progressing, hear their complaints and
provide remedies. The judge Of the Car
acas district has very recently not only
complied with this law but has made pub
lie the result Of his investigations. He
mentions facts proving that under Castro's
government justice does not run in the
path of law, that there are individuals in
the prisons who were committed by Cas-
tros agents instead Of by the courts; that
a number of newspaper men In the prisons
have been waiting for months. and are still
waiting for trial, and that the most shock
Ing abuses are practiced within the prison
walls. Following up the publication of
these revelations the Judge advised the
lower judges to proceed at once with the
delayed cases and to order the release OK
all prisoners unlawfully deprived Of theiR
liberty. His orders will not be carried out,
for Castro has just thrown him into prison
to share the fate of those whom he tried
To helm gibson WILIET.