The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-12
Says American Army and Navy Cannot BudgG Him
WORDS MAY CAUSE TROUBLE
Diplomats Say If American Minister Has Been lnsulted 1t Will Not Be Allowed to Pass
 Unnoticed.

Caracas. Venezuela, April 2.-(Cor. of the Associated Press )-"President Castro VII not withdraw the New York and Bermudez Asphalt company case from the Venezuelan courts. and will not re-submit the Olcott case to arbitration. if the whole American army and navy come to Nene- zuela."
 This emphatic statement of Gen. Ale jandero y. Barra, the Venezuelan secre- tary of foreign affairs, reflects the spirit of the reply which President Castro made to the recent proposal of the American state department for the arbitration of the Bermudez and Oleott cases
 It was generally rumored throughout Venezuela that the demand of the United States was little less than an ultimatum to General Castro. and the reply of the Venezuelan President was awaited With interest Predictions of intervention fol- lowing the refusal of Castro to yield were freely made, and there was much uneas- mess when 1t was announced that the Venezuelan government had not only re- fused the demand to arbitrate the case, but had supplemented It's refusal with request that lut V Hitud f'sH'N' NNNie't whether it has any respect for the sov- ereignty and the courts of Venezuela.
 No Further Demands Made.
 Nearly two weeks have passed since Castro made his reply, and as no action hi.s been taken by the United States and no further demands have been made of wLlch the last demand of the United e-4 .f vions requests for arbitration, the incl dent is practically closed as far as its discussion in Caracas is concerned.
 The Oleott case, the arbitration of which the United States seeks to reopen, Is also known as the Orinoco Steamship company case, and was arbtrated by a mixed commission in 1903. Commissioners Bainbrldge and Grisanti, representing the United States and Venezuela. respectively, disagreed. and the umpire Henry Barge, decided the case, allowing the company S2S, ,225 on a claim of $l 4Ol, 56S.
 The greatest part of this claim was based on damages, alleged to have been suffered while the Orinoco Shipping and Trading company, an English corpora tion, owned the business to which the orinoco Steamship company subse- quently succeeded.
 In the arbitration the point was raised that the English company could not transfer it's claim to an American cor poration and thus have them heard be- fore an American tribunal. The umpire. Mr Barge, refused to consider the claims, which had arisen while the com pany was owned by British capital and gave his decision merely on the claims of the corporation while under American ownership
 Would Be Insult to Holland.
 President Castro and his advisers claim that to reopen the case would be an in- suit to Holland, as Mir Barge. who acted as umpire, Is a well known Dutch diplo- mat. They also held that as Venezuela was denied the right to have the arbl- tration of the Belgian water works case recpened, none of the other cases set tied under the Washington protocols shall be reconsidered.
 It is emphatically denied in the reply of President Castro that there are any claims pending between the United States and Venezuela. He again reiter- ates that the New York and Bermudez asphalt case now in the Venezuelan courts Is national and not an interna- tional one.
 President Castro and the members of his cabinet take the ground that while the government stands for the general principle of arbitration, 1t will not have a case wrested from its courts to be carried before a board of arbitration The charge that Venezuela is not paying it's obligations to creditor nations under the Washington protocols are denied by administration officials.