The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1905-04-14
CASTRO IS DEFIANT
Reply Made to the Demands Of Secre-
tary hay.
his LANGUAGE IS THREATENING.
Washington Stirred by castre's Warilke An
swer-fiis Reply Is Said to Be Undiploma''
ic, Though the Exact Language 10 MOI
Made Public Disputed Cases VIII Not Be
Taken From the Venezuelan Courts.

Caracas, Venezuela, (By CaDleJ.-
president Castro will not withdraw the
New York and Bermudez Asphalt Com
pany case from the Venezuelan courts
and will not resubmit the Olcott case to
arbitration if the whole American army
and navy come to Venezuela"
This emphatic statement OF Gen. Ale
iandro Ybarra, the Venezuelan Secretary
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 Olcott cases.
1t 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 uneasi-
ness when it was announced that the
Venezuelan Government had not only re-
fused the demand to arbitrate the case,
but had supplemented its refusal with
a request that the United States declare
whether it had any respect tor the SOW
ereignty and the courts of Venezuela.
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 previous requests
for arbitration and the incident is prac-
tically closed as far as its discussion IN
Caracas is concerned.
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 arbi-
trated by mixed commission in 1908.
Commissioners cambridge and Grisanti,
representing the United States and Ven
ezuela, respectively, disagreed, and the
umpire, Henry Barge, decided the case,
allowing the company $28,225 on claim
of ST ,4oI ,568.. The greater part OF this
claim was based on damages alleged to
to have been suffered while the Orinoco
Shipping and Trading Company, an Eng
lish corporation, owned the business to
which the Orinoco Steamship Company
subsequently succeeded. :.
In the arbitration the point was raised
that the English company could not
transfer its claims to an American cor
poration and thus have them heard before
an American tribunal The umpire, Mr.
Barge, refused to consider the claims
which had arisen while the company was
owned by British capital and gave his
decision merely on the claims of the
corporation while under 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 diplo-
mat. They also hold that as Venezuela
was denied the right to have the arbitra-
ton of the Belgian waterworks case re-
opened none of the other cases settled
under the Washington protocols shall be
reconsidered.
1t is emphatically denied in the reply
of President Castro, that there are any
claims pending between the United States
and Venezuela. He again reiterates that
the New York and Bermudez asphalt
case now in the Venezuelan courts is a
national and not an international 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 pay
ing its obligations to creditor nations
under the Washington protocols are de-
MED by the Administration officials