The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-26
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Caracas. venezutela. Oct. 2b-That Diaz of Mexico Is the model. that Latfn- American Union is his ambition. and that the advancement of the Ven- ezuelan people Is hiss hearts desire, is the declared triple purpose of the pre- sent Dictator of VeneZuela. The strongest statement in the defense of Castro Is that he hes ruled. that he has kept the country Free from constant revolutions. This he has accomplish ed in the same manner and by use or the same methods that Diaz used m the pacihcation of Mexico. say his friends, admitting that no president or Venezuela could rule according to law and admitting that benevolent des- potism Is the best government TOT which Venezuelans can hope at this time: what then of Castro?
 By the results of the nine years of his rule he Is condemned. Venezuela reached the highest point of dts devel- opment and prosperity about twenty years ago under the rule of Guzman Blanco. He was desOot also. but he was travelled and educated. He tried to raise the standard If living among his people. and he did much to eneour- age business. While 1t was Guzman Blanco's reckless sale of monopolistic concessions which has brought Vene- zuela into many of its present woes. 1t cannot be den'ed that he did much good for the country.
 How. after nine years of Castro. the volume of business in Venezuela Is less than it has been for twenty years. There are practically no industries. and agriculture is retrograding each year. The railroads built twenty-fi years ago are doing less business than when they were first opened. Caracas. once the gayest capital of South America. suffers from actual hunger.
 Castro has piled higher the heavy export duties on coffee and other prin- cipni products of the country. He has increased the internal taxes to such an extent that men have abandoned their businesses. He has enriched himself while the people were being impover- ished. He has permitted his personal retainers to wax fat upon graft" OK torted by the use of his powerful name.
 He has cut of his country from communication with the outside world. so that now Venezuela is the only civilized nation on earth which has no telegraphic communication whatever with any other nation. He has SUD- pressed that few real newspapers formerly existed in the country. and now the people have no means of in- forming themselves as to the true con- dition of home and foreign affairs. All the world knows more about Venezuela and It's relations to foreign powers than Venezuela itself knows.
 Assuming the title of 'Restorer'' he has set out to restore the Venezuelans the things which were in the hands of foreigneps It may be that he has thus crushed out some monopolics that were bad in principal, but it remains a fact that he is continuing the mono Yo1xy far hia arun hqnAf1t and fl fa a1aO fact that he has absolutely stopped the investment of foreign capital in venezuela. Without foreign capital the immense resources of the country cannot be developed. Thus he has stopped the growth of the business of his people.
 He has not even respected the few conventIonalities that formerly abtain- ed in the incendiary politics of the country. The Constitution practically guarantees the right of revolution by i exemnting the property of revolution ists from coniscation. Castro con- | fscated the property of revolutionists without warrant of law. though in nearly all instances the property has been restored. The old custom that revolutionists were not be to visited with capital punishment was Violated | when Castro. from a sick bed. com manded his wife to order the immedi- ate execution of band of eighteen l revolutionists. There was a custom. dating from the old Spanish days that a mans house was his castle and that | he was safe from arrest so long as he kept within his own home. Castro was the first to violate that custom by sending troops into a house to arrest a man who had committed nocFime other than that of expressing desire | for a change of administration.
 A man left his office in Caracas to go to his home. He was quiet busi- ness man who never meddled in poli- ties At his door he was arrested by three policemen. taken to prison and it was a week before his family knew where he vas. He does not know to this day why he was arrested. nor why after ten days, he was liberated. There are now more than five hundred poli- i tical prisonrs in the 1ails of Venezuela and many of them were carted oil to their cells without even the semblance of formal arraiRnment and trial.
 The slightest criticism of Castro or any of his retainers is sufficient to cause the suppression of a newspaper and, perhaps, the Imprisonment of iti | editor This fact is so well known that 1t has been a long time since there has been any effort to criticize the administration in any newspaper.
 If a judge on the bench decides a case contrary to Castro's orders ol wishes. off goes hisl official head. Yet let it be said to the honor of the bench of Venezuela that the courts have often l . Eo..L ta bis p,Athodo for succass