The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-01-23
FROM THE NATIONS CAPITAL.
From Our O,0a Correspondent.
wAsnlnGroa. D. G., Jan. 81. icon.

WASHINGTON. d. c., Jan. 81. 1000
Compelled thereto by the agents Of
the Asphalt Trust, the United States
Government has sent xar ehins To
vanaznele viii: -...: .lo ..:oo avuw-d oniect or
interfering by force of arms to prevent
the disarmament by the Venezuelan
Government Of the employees of the
Trust, who are resisting The decree Of
the courts of the republic, in favor of g.
weaker rival. which lie also an Ameri-
ca.. corporations corporation. but wiaich mas not the
ear Of the administration. It is some-
what difficult to ascertain the exact
situation in the asphalt regions. This
much, however, is known. Years ago
the AsphG!E Trust obtained conces-
sion In the State Of BoFmudez. Later.
In 1883, it acquired an additional con-
cession, which contained asphalt de.
poslts. a few years afte1 this, o Vene-
zueian company acquired tract ad-
joining that of the Trust, and promptly
transferred it's rights to en American
company. Disputes soon arose as to
che boundary between the two. the
Trust claiming that it WIS the mean
dering line Of foot path through. the
dense woods, while the new company
asserted that'the line should have been
straight. IL 30 run it would throw
Lake Venezuela, which is very valua-
bic. into the grant of the new company
and out OF that Of the older one. The
case was arbitrated and decided against
the Trust, and President Castro order
cd the property to be turned over to
the smaller and weaker corporation.
AT once the trust declared that the
arbitratOrs had been bribed and refused
to surrender the land in question. OBJ
viously, the United States has no right
to Interfere. It is the right as we'll as
the duty of the Venezuelan Govern
ment to maintain order Ii its territory
and execute the law. A quarrel be.
tween rival American business associa-
tions in Venezuela over concessions of
territory concerns the Venezuelan
Government exclusively. If the case
were reversed and rival syndicates
composed of Venezuelans and holding
mining concessions in the United
States were to fall QUO and resort TO
force to eettle their disputes, our gov
ernment would not tolerate interfer-
ence by Venezuela in behalf of either
OF the claimants, but would compel the
rivals to submit their claims to the
courts.
The new method of combination by
which the railways are lodging the
antitrust act and the act forbidding
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 well 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.-
Sl1 miles ofrailroad. There are in the
whole United States something less
than 100000 miles of railroad; go that
more than One-eighth of this entire
mileage was, within the above period,
brought. in one way and another, un-
der the control of other lines: When
1t is considered what has actually been
done, what is undoubtedly in contem-
piation, the entire feasibility of these
schemes, the very great advantage
which would result to the owners of
the properties involved, and the fact
that q step once taken in that direction
is seldom retraced, it becomes evident
that in the immediate future the main
transportation lines of this country
viii De thrown into groups, controlling
their own territory, and not subject.
with respect t0 most OF thoir traffic, TO
serious competition. If thiscontinues,
1t will soon lie within the power cf two
OF three men. or at most small
group of men, 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.
AZ now seems thoG the cause of Sena-
tor Hanna's confidence in the passage
OF the subsidy bill lies in his intention
to tack 1t as o rider on to the River and
Has bill. This sort of thing is ad-
mittedly vicious and is absolutely for
hidden by the rules of the House. The
Senate, however can do what it
pieases, 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 o 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 its pro-
gress. Another has been mailing by
the tor litaratura favnr;no - anao