The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-05
THE GIDDY VENEZUELANS
A GAYLY IRRESPONSIBLE PEOPLE
FROM PRESIDENT DOWN.
Absence OF Anything Like Worry
Over Either Money or Morals
Will Not BE Miserable.
William Thorp. in New York Mail and Ex-

William Thorp, in New York Mail and Ex-
press.
The Venezuelan, like many another in
solvent debtor, believes in letting the other
man do the worrying To see him at his
bull fight or his fiesta you would imagine
he had not single care i'm the world You
would never think that his nation owed
money to all the civilized world and had
provoked three of the great powers to
blockade its ports, that civil war was de-
vastating the land. and that pestilence and
poverty were walking hand in hand through
Caracas. The Venezuelan, true to his
Latin blood, lives in the moment So long
as he can get few of the luxuries of life
he let's the necessaries go hang. Like old
Omar, he does not heed the rumble of
distant drum if he be happy with his jug
of wine and his rose-wreathed Saki.
During the festive season of Christmas
and New Year / was in Caracas and La
Victoria. At that time the international
dispute was at a most critical stage. Every
body was afraid that the allies might land
troops and seize the custom houses, but
nobody worried about the matter except
the American minister and the newspaper
correspondents. The President himself,
bored to death with political business, went
off to La Victoria to have good time for a
week, leaving poor Mr.. Bowen to do all
the worrying. Most of his Cabinet minis
tiers quit work for what they felt to be
the really important things of life-cock
fights, dances and impassioned 1irtations
with dark-eyed senoritas at the band con-
certs in the Plaza Bolivar.
l followed the President out to La Vic
toria, and had the unexpected pleasure of
spending my Christmas day there with him.
There was dance in the evening, which
lasted until a m. The fun was fast and
furious. and Castro was in the midst of 1t
all the time. dancing with the prettiest
crowd during the intervals. He had a
ball every night, and most days there
in the open air under the shade of the
sheltering palm 1t was not at all an
easy task to get him to talk business under
these conditions. He would not even open
his kilograms.
SEEMED GAY TO VISITORS.
In Caracas every day was a feast day,
with bull fights and cock fights. band con-
certs and balls. To a stranger it seemed
a giddy whirl of festivity, but the old in
habitants complained that the city had
never been so dull at that season of the
year. The good old Spanish families, whose
handsome coaches and liveried footmen
used to cut a figure in the square. had
lost their money in successive revolutions.
and were obliged to live very quietly and
economically. The huge, gaudy opera
enormous cost, was shut UP, but the lot
teries and gambling houses still did a
spend his last bolivar on a lottery ticket
tl<. L. - ~
to gamble with. You cannot enter a cafe
or go around street corner without be-
ing pestered to buy a lottery ticket by
some ragamuffin urchin. Even in the
Presidents palace one Is not safe from
them. l was there one afternoon when a
tickets to Castro and his ministers as they
emerged from a Cabinet meeting.
Even in his business affairs the Vene-
zuelan is delightfully."- irresponsible per-
son. One morning, another correspondent
and myself. having occasion to catch an
early train to see Castro at La Victoria,
had breakfast at cafe where We were un-
known. Being in a hurry. we forgot to
remind us of the fact. When we went back
a few days afterward and paid him, we
asked him why he had not called us back,
ers to him. THAT would be quite impos-
sible;" he said. with his grandest air and
an elaborate bow. 1--WE could never trouble
found out this was the common spirit of
the Venezuelans in business in Caracas.
Frequently We left cafes and other places
without paying our shot," and not once
was the fact ever called to our notice. The
Venezuelans trusted that we would remem-
Der and pay next day; If not-well, they
would just write it off to profit and loss
They treat their own countrymen in the
same way. but the responsibility of the
race sometimes induces the latter to forget
the debt.
are the sternest of business institutions
share in the national characteristic. One
day cashed cable draft for $500 In notes
of the Bank of Venezuela. Next day the
bank suspended payment, and nobody was
inclined to relieve me of my wad of notes
Naturally, was rather concerned: but the
manager of the hotel said: Don't worry
The bank does this sort of thing every now
and then, but it generally resumes payment
in few days" Sure enough, in a couple
of days payment was resumed, and my wad
of notes was all right In most countries
banks which contracted habit of shut
ting down would worry the public; in Ven
ezuela they take the matter philosophically
and walt patiently until the bank bitches
itself together again.
GAYEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.
With every reason to be profoundly miser.
able, the venezuelans struck us as being
the gayest people in the world. Nothing
could dampen their ardor for enjoyment
DC
robustness of their affairs. In a cafe ONT
evening we met a famous guerrilla lead
| er, Gen. Ramon Moreno, one of Castro.
| most trusted officers. He took grea
fancy to los Americanos," and told US tha
he was going to lead his army out to battl,
| with the revolutionists the next day. Now
| most generals under such circumstance.
would be a bit anxious and would sit vi
| late considering their plan of campaign
| Not so our friend. He was busy painting
| the town red" and wanted us TO assist hin
| in that pastime. We managed to escap,
! from him soon. but heard afterwars
| that he went the rounds of the gambling
| hells and dancing saloons till 5 I'm the morn
| ing. and then placed himself at the heas
/ of his troops as fresh as paint. and marched
! out thirty miles into the country.
Numerous gentlemen In high positions II
| Washington, London. Berlin and ROM
| have been gathering few more gray hair
| lately over the affairs of Venezuela Know
| ing nothing of the Venezuelan tempera
ment, they have treated President Castr,
| and his ministers more or less as IL the,
| were responsible persons. They have wor
| ried themselves, their merchants in Carac
| as and their naval officers: but they hav,
not succeeded In worrying the venexue
| lans-