Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-03-31
(From our regular correspondent

| WASHINGTON, ID. c., March 90.
The Venezuelan situation has be-
come somewhat acute during the last
week and the diplomacy of the admin.
istration is being taxed to the utmost
to protect the dignity of the United
States and the rights OF its citizens
without resorting to the application
of force. President Castro is running
things with high hand. He has
calmly forfeited the entire property
of the New York and Bermudez AS
phalt Company, by legal procedure il
is true, but not until his contention
that the property should be forfeited
was deniefby the Venezuelan Supreme
Court and he had recognized" that
court by the discharge of every men,
Der who voted against him and the
appointment OF others known TO be
ready to construe the law in accord
ance with the wishes of the President
In the case of one Jauret', an Ameri
can citizen, Castro, expelled him from
Caracas because he disliked certain
editorial utterances of Jaurett, and
entirely without process of law. In
the case OF the Oronoco Steamship Co.,
Castro quietly forfeited their charter
without rhyme or reason and numer-
Gus other instances might be cited.
Some time ago the United" States
urged upon Castro the ACCESSIBILITY OF
referring the differences growing out
of there claims to a court of arbitra.
ton. Instead of remaining at the
Venezuelan capital to complete nego-
tiations proposed by Minister Bowen,
Castro quietly retired to a country
place and refused to be disturbed while
lurid accounts of his methods of crest
and recreation" we're all the informa-
ton Mr.. Bowen received. He has now
returned to Caracas, however, and Mr..
Bowen has been instructed once more
to press the represen tations Of this gov
eminent that the questions at issue
must be submitted to an arbitral court
and to insist on categorical answer.
Meanwhile, Castro has executed what
he doubtless regards as a coup intend.
ed to remove all possibility OF the Unit.
ed States taking forcible steps to re.
cover damages for the wrong done its
citizens.
| 1t will be remembered that three
years ago, when Great Britain, Ger
many and Italy established "peace-
full blockade" off Venezuela's ports, the
United States, with them, finally con.
scented TO submit to arbitration the
method of payment of Venezuela's
numerous creditors and the Hague Tri.
bunal decided that those countries
should be preferred creditors to be
paid from the 30 per cent. OF the Gus.
toms receipts OF La Guira and Puerto
Cabello, which Castro promised to
devote to the payment Of his country's
debts. Now, Castro according to Eu.
ropean reports, has agreed to devote
so per cent. or more of the customs
receipts OF all other ports in Venezuela
to the payment of certain hitherto
repudisted bonds held by Euro.
peans. The purpose of this move
is, Of course, virtually to award to Eu-
ropesns q mortgage on all Venezuelan
ports, 80 that should the United States
be compelled to exert force and segre.
gate the customs receipts Of any port
to pay the damages growing out Of
Castro's abuse OF American citizens,
this government would be confronted
by the prior claims of European cred.
itors. 1t is not believed in Washing
ton that the European nations will
sanction such q bargain" but the
outcome is awaited with some anxiety.
The Senate finally adjourned with.
out action of any kind on the San,o
Domingo protocol and that fact has
doubtless emboldened Castro to 60
farther than he would otherwise have
dared IS the Dominican affair WAS
unquestionably intended to create q
precedent for the application of SIM
liar method OF collecting revenues and
defrsying Indebtedness to Venezuela.
The indications are that the Domini.
can protocol will be approved, in it's
revised form, next fall, after which Mr..
Castro may conduct himself with less
temerity provided, OF course, that he
does not render imperative . more
drastic course on the part OF this coun-
try in the meantime, and further
provided that Santo Domingo does not
render impossible the ratification of
the agreement by some iujudicious act
before Congress meets again.
Senators are leaving Washington
this week convinced that they will be
called back il October and the Presi.
dent is assuring them plainly that he
purposes to recommend not only rail-
way rate legislation but tariff revision
as we'll. A strenuous effort will be
made by the "stand patters" to dis
suade the President from saying any
thing emphatic on the subject of the
tariff, but it 10 doubtful if they will be
as successful in this regard in the fu.
ture IS they have been in the past.
There has been widely circulated q
report that prominent members of the
Republican party contemplated plac.
ing a duty on tea and coffee at the
next session Of Congress and consider
able sums have been expended TO get
the statement into the public print.
for q time it was impossible to detect
who is responsible for the circulation of
those reports, who paid the freight"
to borrow the newspaper slang of the
national capital. The facts have now
come out however. The wish is father
to the thought, and the brewers and
distillers are footing the bills. They. it
appears. are fearful that instead of re-
vising the tariff 80 as TO afford less pro.
lection and produce more revenue, that
stand patters will insist on adding to
the tax on liquors to meet the growing
national deficit. The facts are that
prominent members of the two houses
Of Congress have never seriously con-
sidered the proposition to tax coffee
and tea and it is entirely probable that
they would deem it wiser 10 increase
the tax on liquors than to tax these
necessaries of life. The increased tax
on liquors could he collected wiihont