Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-20
Force Likely to Be Used.

The information respecting the situation
at Caracas received by the State Depart
ment from Minister Bowen in a cablegram
OF yesterdays date is to the effect that
President Castro has made proposition
for the settlement of the asphalt claims
and other issues between the United States
and Venezuela of a nature that makes 1t
impossible, it is said, of acceptance by our
government Being notified of that condi-
ton. and having left the capital for an
indefinite period, MIR. Bowen has thus ter
minated the negotiations, at least for the
time being. The effect of that action is to
place the relations between the United
States and Venezuela under a decided
strain. However, there is no intention on
the part of the administration to act with
undue haste, and though it is now almost
certain that some action of a compulsory
nature will have to be taken by the United
States government, that will not occur un-
til every resource of diplomacy has been
exhausted.
Castro's latest proposition, it is stated
was to provide for permanent arbitration
of all issues arising between the United
States and Venezuela. That is regarded at
the State Department as entirely unneces
sary, in view of the fact that the United
States and Venezuela were both signatorieS
to the general arbitration treaty resulting
from the last Pan-American congress, held
at the City of Mexico a few years ago.
Then Castro proposed that if the arbitra-
ton proposal is accepted the first question
to be determined by the arbitrators would
touch the right of the United States to in
tervene in the asphalt case, which it re-
CARDS as purely an internal affair. That Is
in effect an applicat ton of the old Caiyo
doctrine denying the right of diplomatic
intervention in the internal affairs of the
state, which has been repudiated by the
United States. Lastly, assuming that the
arbitration decided that the United States
1ad a rlo n nj 1Str
posed that the arbitration shall ascertain
the merits of the claim.
Awaiting News From Bowen.
The position of the State Department, be-
yond the statement that it has found Cas-
tro's proposal unacceptable, has not been
definitely laid down. Further information
from Mr.. Bowen, United States minister to
Caracas is awaited as basis for future
action. Meantime the Attorney General of
the United States, through his assistant,
Mr. Russell, is making a careful and eX-
haustiVe inquiry to ascertain whether all of
the proceedings in the last few years before
the Venezuelan courts respecting the as
phalt controversy have been conducted ac-
cording to the established legal procedure
in Venezuela, and to ascertain whether or
rot there has been a technical as well as an
actual denial of justice to the cOmplainantS.
The purpose of the President in adopting a
rather extraordinary course of calling upon
the United States Attorney General in, this
matter, when it is well known that the legal
branch of the State Department is perfectly
equipped to deal with it, is to arm himself
with the well-considered opinion of the
highest legal authority in the executive
branch of the government of the United
States before resorting to compulsory meas
ureS in the case of Venezuela, and thus to
avoid the charge that he acted hastily and
without due regard to law and order in en-
forcing settlement of American claims.
The Administrators Forebearance
The State Department authorities feel that
they have been very patient in this matter
in the face of strong representations and
appeals from the representatives of the as
phalt company. The latter no later than
last week complained that Castro's offense
against them was continuous one, as all
most every month large shipments of as
phalt from the Bermudez lake are being
sold in New York by Castros receiver, one
$4,000 lot being landed within the last ten
days. They ask the department to demand
CT Castro that pending a final decision of
the legal issues involved these asphalt ship
ments shall stop and the company be placed
in the. possession of it's property, thus re-
storing the status existing before the ap-
pointment of the receiver.
The department is inclined to regard this
demand as reasonable, but it has been taken
in consideration, along with the other more
important questions involved, without i'm
mediate action.