Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1902-12-23
expected or had been led TO expect by
Germany and Great Britain.
Castro's Forts DESTROYED.

~
Germany and Great Britain.
Castro's Forts Destroyed.
For three-quarters of an hour Satur-
day evening the German cruiser Vinetu
and the British cruiser Charybdis united
In bombardment of Fort Solano and
the Castle Libertador, the chief harbor
defense of Puerto Cabello.
After reducing the forts to ruin, dis
mantling the shore batteries, wounding
two Venezuelan soldiers. and making a
prisoner of their commanding officer, the
allies took possession of the castle, and
then, leaving the dish,lntled fortified
tons. the war ships put back to La
Guayra.
This summary action by the command
ers of the British and German war ships
had its provocation in the seizure and
pillaging the previous Wednesday of a
British tramp steamship lying in the har-
Dor of Puerto Cabello by Venezuelan
rabblc, which subjected her captain and
crew to arrest and other indignities.
Forts Were Old Fashioned.
The entrance to the inside harbor at
Puerto Cabello is through narrow chan
mel not more than few hundred feet
wide. To the left of the channel as
one enters the harbor, situated on low
sand spit, is the fortress which was bonn
barded by the German and British cruis-
ers. 1t is an old-fashioned structure
which was rebuilt in the eighteenth cen.
fury. Its sides are comparatively low
aud would offer poor resistance to mod
ern shells The Venezuelan governmnt
lol m ,,,ndorn noppoV fharo
The custom house at Puerto Cabello
is situated on the right or mainland side
of the channel. II is q long. two-story
brick building and contains, besides ex-
ecutive Offices, large warehouses. Steam
ers discharging at Puerto Cabello tie up
Immediately in front of the custom
house The town itself is fiat and
stretches from the water front inland 10
the base of the hills, a distsAce Of two
or three miles.
The outside harhor at Puerto Cabello
is hardly more than a large bay, Offering
comparatively little protection to ship
ping. The inside harbor is secure end
quite commodious.
The geographical conformation Of the
country causes fear that unless Cas-
tro's people rise and overthrow him,
substituting an administration which is
willing to treat with the blockading pow
ers. the settlement of the difficulty will
be Indefinitely postponed.
Blockade a Big Task.
4 prolonged blockade would be III
cantic undertaking. Venezuela has.
with it's many indentations and irregu-
larities. coast line of nearly 1000
miles. To guard this Effectively by steam
launches. as the joint feet has proposed,
would require a inonstrous mosquito
feet. Even with such a feet, enterpris-
ing blockade runners would speedily hLd
loopholes. and by repeated successes
would. under the rules of war. force the
United States and other neutral powers
to declare the blockade void.
Senezuela's vital statistics give these
figures: Area. 593. 943 square miles; pop.
ulation. 1900 900: yearly imports. most
IN from Britain, $S.457, 977; exports.
mostly To Britain, SIT 1862 .257; total
debt. SIS, 100000. mostly due to British
and German investors; total yearly reve-
nue.. $6.5OO.OO0: total yearly expendi-
lures. 100000. showing a steady an
nuai deficit of $2.500.O00.
Ii is to be seen that blockade actu-
ally destroying Yenezueia's commerce
cannot help the Anglo-G German investors
in the long run. The duties collected on
$. 500 600 of imports viii certainly not
nav the arrears Of interest. TO say moth
inc az the large cost of blockading- There
i much point in the London Posts ~
marx that il is not worth Germany 5
and Great Britain's while TO snend
millions in coercing country which can
not be annexed and is likely to prove
bankrupt"
The conduct Of the British and Ger.
man commanders Is severely censured
by all the European colonies in Xsnexue.
Ia
Alfred Blohm. the banker, who went
10 La esuayra and saw the commansis Z
Of the British and German cruisers. sa9d
thar he did net hesitate On meeting
Charge von Pilgrim Balfaxzi on board
the German cruiser Yineta to tell him
that the conduct Of the German legation
il this question lad heen shameful. and
thar the matter could have been arrang.
cd If Herr yon Pilgrim had only Seen
President Castro. who. ike the German
colony. vas ignOraut Of Germany's de.
signs.