The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-11-25
Excitement Prevails In Caracas
Over Proposed Visit
PRESIDENT SEEKS HEALTH
An Operation is To Be Performed
Upon Castro Who Has Suffered
Long-Polticians Are Aroused
Over Presidents Voyage.

! Caracas, November 23.-(Via Willem-
stadt November 24.)-President Castro
| will sail tomorrow from La Guayra on
the steamer Guadaloupe for Bordeaux
| for the purpose of undergoing an opera
| tion at the hands of DR.. Pratt a skilled
! specialist, of Berlin, who could not come
to Caracas for the purpose of performing
the operation. An operation was impera-
tive, and as President Contros attending
| physicians were unwilling to take the re-
sponsiblity nothing remained but for
| the President to undertake European
voyage
The operation will be performed immed-
! lately upon President Castro's arrival at
J Bordeaux, where DR.. Israel will be in
waiting. Should the operation be sue
! eessful the President will visit Paris,
where he will rest for few days only,
returning to Caracas at as early a date as
! possible. Three of the leading Venezuelan
| physicians will accompany the Presi-
! dent and several members of his immed-
late family.
The greatest excitement prevails in
| Caracas and political intriguing already
| has commenced. 1t is thought that the
/ departure of Castro may open the road
for the settlement of the Holland, Amer
| ican and French disputes. Vicente Co
mez, the vice president, will assume the
| presidency. Castro today issued proela-
nation stating that special circumstances
Compel him to leave To- Europe for a
short tirne. and adding:
| THE Venezuelan nation already is on
the road to prosperity and true greatness
because of the strict fulfillment OF obli-
! cations and the sound condition of the
| revenues and because of the stable peace
which we enjoy, and which it is your duty
! to maintain that my work may endure"
! The President of Venezuela is suffering
| from an internal abscess of the kidneys,
| and his attending physicians long ago ad-
! vised him that the only possible relief was
| in an operation by German specialist. At
| the time there did not apepar to be any
| imminent danger and President Castro
| decided to postpone the trip to Europe
| long as possible. He was not prostrated
at any time, but on the contrary for many
morning visit to his office in the yellow
house.
When 1t was announced a few days
| ago that the President had finally deter
mined upon proceeding to Europe, Ca
| racas was all excitement. That he would
| only take this step as a last resort was
| known to everybody.
| President Castro has never before been
| out of Venezuela.
1lr i1ta ie 10
| tro's departure because of the embarrass
| ing effect it is likely to have on Hollands
plans to force Venezuela into revoking
| the transshipment decree, which Castro
| has refused to do peacefully. If Holland
| sends out confidential agent, as suggest
| ed by Castro in his last answer to Hol-
| lands demands, that functionary may find
+, no Castro with whom to deal.
-----~-~--~---~------- ------~-~>--------~----~--
| but 1 assume they probably did not fail
| to state everything they could think"
| Mr.. Rockefeller was told that Virgil p
| Kline, who afterward was a Standard
| Oil attorney, was then counsel for Scho-
| field. Schurmer & Teagle.
well, they had a very capable at
| torney," said Mr.. Rockefeller.
Pioneer Oil Contract.
The witness said in reply to other ques-
ticl;s tnat a similar contract was made
with the Pioneer Oil company, but he
could not remember whether he stated in
the contract that the Standard Oil COM
pany operated refineries only in Cleve-
land and Bayonne. He understood, how
ever, that he had made an affidavit in
connection with this contract that the
Standard Oil company of Ohio had never
owned any stock of any railroads or pipe
lines.
You were trying to give the impress
sion at that time that large the number
of companies you had acquired an interest
in were not controlled by the Standard,
Oil company of Ohio?''
Il tried to give the status at that time
Mr.. Kellogg asked the witness If he
made it known to any one at that time
that he had an interest in the companies
included in the trust agreement of 1879,
and If it was not a fact that this agree
ment was kept secret while he was COM
bining the companies
81 cannot say, but / think it must have
been known to a number of people out
side of those who signed it," replied
Mr.. Rockefeller.
rs it not a fact that Mr.. Archbold, Mr.
Flagler and others in 1875, and latterly
made affidavits and public statements
that the Standard Oil company of Ohio
had no interest in these subsidiary COM
panies?''
Couiu lol SOY dHy lillHB dDOuI the
statements they may have made"
Railroad Contracts.
Mr. Rockefeller was asked if he had
not made an affidavit that the Standard
had made contracts with railroads where
by the Standard had obtained rebates for
guaranteeing certain volume of oil. He
did not recall it.
"Did not the officers and agents of the
Standard Oil company of Ohio at that
time control a majority of the. stocks of
the subsidiary companies with the idea
of concealing their real ownership"
1T may have been that the properties
were owned by individuals who were
stockholders in the Standard Oil company
of Ohio"
Mr.. Rockefeller said that he had never