Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-26
ONLY A PAPER LOAN
Bonds for $4,000, 600 Francs Issued
Without the Money Being
Paid in Fact.

The correspondent of the New York Her.
aid at Caracas says:
A former minister of finance for Vene-
zuela has visited me to throWslight on the
loan Of the Disconto Gesellschaft, the Ger
man banking house. as the main subject.
and also on the German uitimatum and the
aggressions of the kaiser's government
against this republic.
He brought to me sealed documents, two Of
which / had authenticated at the foreign
legations before accepting them finally as
accurate records. After an investigation
1 am prepared to indorse the statements
that the former minister OF finance has
made.
the D1Sconto GeSellSchaft In conncct1on
with other documents. After they had
been examined and read my visitor said:
Every one in the United States and in
Europe generally believes that German cap
italists through the -Disconto Gesellschaft
lent 5O.O0O.OG0 francs cash to Venezuela.
This statement. which has been spread by
Germany. is false. The loan, which was
raised by General Crespo when he was
president Of Venezuela, was largely ficti-
tious, through the Machiavellian operations
of it's instigator, Senior Bruzual Sierra, who
was the Venezuelan minister OF finance IN
1896. and who was at the same time the
legal counsel for the Disconto Gesellschaft
and the German railway.
THE loan was only that OF paper. The
scrip was given to several railway conf
panies in consideration of the release Of an
agreement previously made by the Vener
zuelan government to guarantee the pay
ment of interest on the railway securities
for period of ninety years. and In pay
ment of the interest due on the securities
for only five years previous
This loan was therefore a conversion Of
uncertain future abilities and not a money
transaction. The German railway received
2,7OO. 600 bOlivars as concession: the Bar
quisimeto railroad, e.500,CO the Carenero
railroad, 1.30O,GO the Guanta railroad,
400, 600; the English Central road 1900
COO the German slaughter house, 100000,
and other interests 100000.
You see that up to the present The Dis
conto Gesellschaft has not financed one
cent. Moreover. the institution foresaw
the drift Of events. and it's contract with
Venezuela. dated April Is. 1896, says: In
no case whatsoever shall the Disconto Ge-
sellschaft be obliged to give cash for scrip
delivered to the companies This proves
that the Disconto Gesellschaft only repre-
scented Intermediates and handed them
scrip not cash.
Notwithstanding this fact the Disconto
Gesellschaft took for its conmission-arti-
Gle of the contract says
" The Disconto Gesellschaft Is to pay
itself a commission on the loan and all ex-
penses of the mission'-the sum of 10 GOO 600
francs. This sum was collected by the Dis
conto Gesellschaft For what? To print scrip
as the Disconto- Gesellschaft neither as
stunned responsibility nor guaranteed the
payment of interest. Shylock is not only a
Shakespearian character. but resides also
on the River Spree
I'VE will now turn to another vital point
The German government asserts that the
payments Of the interest were always re-
fused. and that the indebtedness has never
been paid. Have the Germans used all re-
sources? No. as article IS Of the contract
shows:
" The coupons due the Disconto Gesell-
schaft for the loan shall be received at
par. their equivalent value in gold, for du-
ties in all custom houses of the republic
Il can assert that never has the German
legation presented one coupon in payment
of duties
"In all this affair. as in the diploma tic
German and English legations has been sur
rounded by mystery. 1t was not clean
business. as 5.O000OO francs Of scrip was
found on the estate of President Crespo.
Senior Bruzuai Sierra also received 10000
francs in scrip for his share. l personally,
as well as every one who was in touch with
the goyernment-all of us-sha.ed in the
German Panama.
And it is this bank the Disconto Gesell-
schaft. which did not disburse one cent nor
risk anything. which leads the campaign
against its accOmplices. 1t was. rob-
berry against the Venezuelan nation, Of
which we all were instigators and in which
the board Of the Disconto Gesellschaft had
been active accomplces.
"In New York similar scandal would
have lodged them in Sing Sing and in Paris
at Mazas' -- -5.-- -.ir