The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-12-12

full cognlZance of their president, to en-
ter into a town, rob the stores and pri
vate houses, violate the women, murder
every man who eares even to protest
against these infamies. set fire to the
town, and then go marching on with
the Venezuelan flag at their head.
n No one dares breathe a word in Cara
cas- against Castro. The hotels. restau-
rants, every street corner, every place
OF public report are full of spies, and FOR
the slightest word men were hurried off
to jail without trial or sentence aad
kept in prison just as long Castro
his friends think fit. Actually there are
hundreds and hundreds of men in the
jails of Venezuela today who have been
prisoners for one and two years without
ever having been brought before any
court of Justice or accused of any Of
Tense. Some of the prisons are damp
and horribly unwholesome. and the
wretcheS immured in them die little by
little every day with their iron manacles
eating into their flesh. And the English
government knows this and the Ameri-
can government uDholds it.
THE COMMONEST OF RUFFIANS.
OF Castro personally one can only
speak as of a common ruffian. The enor-
nous revenues exaoted from Venezue-
Ian merchants through the custom
houses are turned into gold. and a large
portion goes directly into Castro's pos
session and is by him sent awav to his
private account on the continent. So it
has happened that Castro, who arrived
in Caracas a few years back without
money to pay for his bed and board. is
now worth at least $5,0O0.000 Those few
words explain most of the revolutions
which now occur in South and Central
America The vagabond of today may
become the millionaire of tomorrow. no
matter who suffers. To account Cor the
deficit in the revenue of the nation, a
fictitious balance sheet is issued debit
ing public works, roads, bridges, etc,
with hundreds of thousands of dollars.
but these public works are myth, and
the supposed expenditure upon them is
merely cloak to cover the robbery of
public moneys.
The. state of affairs in Venezuela today
only has Castro spread like a gangrene
over Venezuela. but he has been to a very
large extent the cause of the present civil
war in the adjoining republic of Colombia.
Castro's men, Castro's money and Cas-
tro's gunboats helped largely TO carry on
the revolution against the Colombian gov
eminent, and a Venezuelan gunboat. the
Bolivar. actually bombarded Savanilla.
Colombian port without any declaration
was in Caracas when Castro, president
of the republic of Venezuela, gave audi
general Tribe, the acknowledged leader Of
the revolution against the Colombian gov
nations were friendly The Venezuelan
press naturally kept silent over the Incl
dent
UNCLE SAM IS BLAMED.
Behind and actually supporting all this
| violence. corruption and abuse. we find
| the silent power of the United States. The
| Venezuelans themselves. even when COM
hitting their infauies. say: TT does not
matter: the United States will not allow
anyone to interfere with u.s.. They are
quite right. So the game goes I'm in South
America, and Great Britain cringes before
| the situation while the United States mold
out a threatening fist and talk of the
Monroe doctrine to all foreign powers
Commerce is paralyzed. foreigners
abused. maltIeated and often murdered.
whole towns delivered up to the horrors,
of FIRE sword, rape. and jails crow led
with innocent persons. men snatched Up
in the streets by press gangs. Justice at
a standstill. the superior courts giving
their decisions according TO the orders
| OF an official tppointed by Castro. Muir
dereIs are walking unmolested through
the streets because they ere Castro's
| friends: criminals are set free without
even being brought to the bar of Justice;
| the chief justice was sent to jail en-
| Castros personal order for darirg to call
! attention certain abuses connected with
prisons and all because the United States
say that the powers must not interfere
with the (alleged) republics of South
| America.
1 rule in Venezuela
! roo<5f4xv loses ;fc terror vo11sxJo