The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-30
ALLIES TURN.
 DOWN TERMS Refuse Proposals of. Mi. Bowen. TWO COURSES NOW OPEN
Each Is Fraught with PoSsi- bility of Rupture.
Enlarged Powers Hay Enable Him to Continue Negotiations and Satisfy England and Germany.
 xsstsrdAy's Developments.

Washington. Jan. D.-There was a pause in the Venezuelan negotiations to- day that approached perilously near . breach, and the end is not yet in sight. It all grows out of the attitude of the allies in insisting upon preferential treat ment for themselves in the settlement Of their claims.
 As foreshadowed in the London dis- patches, MT. Bowen has been informed of the decisions of the allies to insist upon adhering to this claim. and he has come to a stand in his work for the moment. Possibly fresh and enlarged powers will be necessary to enable him to meet the de- mands of the allies.
 Two courses are nowa open to Mr. Bowen. and 1t probably will be for Presi- dent Castro to elect which he shall fol- low. He may, ip his response to tho oth- ef claimant nations than the allies, take the opportunity to inform the world that yenesuela yields to overpowering force. and that if she cannot meet their claims, they must reckon with the allies them selves. The other course is for him to oeclare that his mission has failed, that he cannot come to q reasonable under- standing with the allies because of their uncompromising attitude, and, therefore, the case must so to The Hague tribunal Tor adjustment.
 Officials are Uneasy.
 The Venezuelan situation tonight is still uncertain, and officials are awaiting wiIh some concern the deveiopments of the next forty-eight hours The final answer has come to Minister Bowen's proposition offering a guarantee as demanded by the allies as preliminary to the rasing of the blockade and tho relief of the un. fortunate situation in which the blockade places the people and government of Venezuela
 The contention of the three allies that they shall be given preferential treatment In settlement and payment of their claims as against all the other seven creditor nations is the point on which the negotia- tions now hang fire. Minister Bowen is insistent that the allies shall not have preferential treatment in the matter of payment of the claims and in all his conferences with the representatives of the European governments here he has made his position very clear. It is known h0 uHS uSCAAlco to AAOdklt AAA1 QcAllebL0b iu this respect.
 Pressure along certain influential lines has been brought to bear on the allies to show the justice of MT. Bowen's con- tention. The rejection of this proposition for the treatment of all the creditors alike, it Is believed here, would result in throwing the case to The Hague tribunal, before which body all the nations having claims against Venezuela would be placed on an equal footing. 1t Is known that the alhes would prefer that this should not be done as consideration Of these claims by that body would entail delay in the settlement and there are other features which make it desirable to the allies that the claims be settled outside that body. One of them is that if they came before The Hague. Venezuela would have the right to set up counter claims as an offset to those presented by the allies. These, 1t Is said. might reduce considerably the amount of money to be paid by Venezuela.
 Delay of the Allies.
 For these and other reasons 1t is not surprising to well informed persons here that the European governments are talk ing time to consider fully their reply to Bowen's proposition before making their final answer. At the same time the fact that they have not agreed upon their answer caused an uneasy feeling in Washington and some apprehension as to what the future may bring forth.
 Minister Bowen continues hopeful of a favorable answer to his proposition. He realizes that the question is an import ant one to the nations involved and is not unwilling that they should take time to consider the question fully. Up to a late hour tonight the allies representa- tives had received no answer from their government and there was no accession for them to see MT. Bowen.
 It is learned that on the second day after his arrival here Minister Bowen in formed the French diplomatic represen- tative in Washington that the French claims would be treated on the same basis as claims of the allies and would be taken up after the blockade was raised. Relying on this assurance. the French Government has remained inactive. but 1t is stated that should the allied powers be granted preferential treatment France would take steps at once to protect her Venezuelan interests and would make representations on the subject to the forei1n offices at London. Berlin and