Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-04-12
Venezuela President Will Not
Withdraw Asphalt Case
From the Courts
HIS REPLY TO UNITED STATES
It Was Subject of Much Interest in
Venezuela = Castro Said to Have
Demanded Also That the United
States Declare Its Attitude Toward
Venezuela.

| Caracas, Venezuela, April 2.-"Presi
dent Castro will not withdraw the New
York and Bermudez Asphalt Company
case from the Venezuelan courts and
will not resuhmit the Olcott case to
arbitration If the whole American
army and navy come to Venezuela"
This emphatic statement of General
Alejandroy Barra, the Venezuelan sec
rotary 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 Oh
colt cases.
1t was generally rumored turnout
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 following the refusal Of
Castro to yield were freely made and
there was much uneasiness when it
was announced that the Venezuelan
government had not only refused the
demand to arbitrate the case but had
supplemented it's refusal with a. re-
quest that the United States declare
whether it has any respect for the
sovereignty and the courts of Venezu-
ella.
Incident is Considered Closed.
Nearly two weeks have passed since
Castro made his reply and as no action
has been taken by the United States
and no further demands have been
made the last demand of the United
States has gone the way of many pre-
vious requests for arbitration and the
incident is practically closed as far
as it's discussion in Caracas Is con-
cerned.
The Olcott case, the arbitration of
which the United States seeks to have
reopened, is also known as the Orinoco
Steamship Company case, and was ar
bitrated by mixed commission in
1903. Commissioners cambridge and
Grisanti, representing the United
States and Venezuela disagreed, and
the umpire. Henry Barge, decided the
case, allowing the company $2S,225 on
a claim Of si,401,56s. The greater part
of this claim was based on damages
alleged to have been suffered while
the ,Orinoco Shipping and Trading
Company, an English corporation, own
ed the business to which the Orinoco
Steamship Company subsequently sue
ceeded.
In the arbitration the point was rails
ed that the English company could
not transfer its claims to an American
corporation, and thus have the hearing
before an American tribunal. The UNI
p1re, Mr.. Barge, refused to consider
the claims, which had arisen while the
company was owned by British capt.
tall and gave his decision merely on
the claims of the corporation while I'M
der American ownership.
President Castro and his advisers
claim that to reopen the case would be
an insult to Holland, as Mr.. Barge, who
acted as umpire, is a well known
Dutch diplomat. They also hold that
as Venezuela was denied the right to
have the arbitration of the Bulgarian
water works case reopened none Of the
other cases settled under the Wash
ington protocols should be considered.
1t is emphatically denied in the reply
of President Castro that there are any
claims pending between the United
States and Venezuela. He again reit-
crates that the New York and Bermu-
DEE Asphalt case now in the Venezue-
Ian courts is national and not an in
ternational one.
President Castro and the members of
his cabinet take the ground that while
the government stands for the general
principle of arbitration, it will not have
a case wrested from its courts to be
carried before board of arbitration.
The charges that Venezuela is not
paying its obligations to creditor ma
tons under the Washington protocols
are denied by administration officials