Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-04-09
A BAD-BOY GOVERNMENT.
VcnezuIn Is Developing n Habit of In
sulting the United Stntcs Tint Makes
ChaStiNemcnt IncNltnhlc.

Chastisemcnt Inevitable.
President Castro Of Nenez,ila sccms
disposed to find ont how far he can 20
with the United States. we dare say
that he Ia stffened In this purpose by
the encouragement he is receiving In
this country. That this encouragement
Is profitable to those who furnish 1t Is
obvious. The Guanaco asphalt lake alone
furnishes an excellent financial basis for
all this professed sympathy with Castro.
and those who are handling in this coun-
try the product of this lake. since its
seizure by the Castro government, are
the persons who also furnish this sym
pathy.
Castros latest performance. in re-
lation to the United states, Is to open
the naval mail bags despatched to tho
American cruiser Tacoma Mt La Guaira.
This incident happened on March y or a
day or two later. Tho mail bags reach
81 the Tacoma on March is, and then
T. was found that the seals had been
broken. our minister to Venezula, W.
w. Russell. thercupon sent a note to
Castro's foreign minister asking for an
explanation and remarking that II was
a SERIOUS matter" On the cath OF
that it was nero accident the seals
on these official pouches being similar
to those on the bags that the LaGuaira
postal mon were accustomed to open;
and adding that only a prejudiced mind
could describe the incident as SERIOUS"
inasnuch IA the contents of the pouches
had not been disturbed. No word of
apology, or even Of regret, was returned.
paper at Caracas, the Constitutional.
asked editorially what does Roosevelt
WANT" and went on to say that Sec
rotary Root, under the influence Of
Americans holding claims against Vcne-
1ucla, Is following n "premeditated plan"
to create n conflict with that country,
and tho United States purposes to raise
the laS Of conquest In South America"
On Saturday the State department.
having received an official report from
Commander Hood Of the Tacoma, tele-
graphed to the Venezuela government
asking for an inquiry. The reply, trans
mitted through Mr.. Russell, was to the
effect that the entire affair was an In
advertance and without significance.
Then the State department ordered Mr.
Russell to make thorough investigation
and bring his report home in person
Mr.. Russell himself, upon an intimation
to tho state department that the Ven
ezuela post office was not safe, has
| been using the Tacoma as despatch
vessel, messengers from that ship having
made three round trips between La
| Ciuaira and Caracas IN order TO pre-
\ serve the line OF communication be-
tween the State department and our
minister inviolate. The last Use by Mr..
| Russell of the Nenezua mails was on
March g.
The Senate has asked the state depart
ment for full information In regard to
the difficulties between the two coun-
tries, and the official documents may
appear any day. 1t Is believed that the
| Calhoun report will be included among
the papers sent in. In 1905 william J.
: Calhoun, a lawyer of Pittsburgh, Pa,
was sent to Venezuela as a special com
missioner by the United States govern
ment in order to examine the situation
on the spot Nothing at all is known of
| the nature OF his report. the presump-
ton being that It's publication would not
have strengthened those good relations
with Venezuela which our government
has earnestly and continuously been try
ing Ia maintain. II this report is now
permitted to be published 1t may be con-
| strued as a sign that tho job of taking
| Castro as we would like to be. rather
than as he l Sis approaching an end
It must be remembered that all the
| voices heard IN Venezuela. or In this
country in behalf OF Venezuala. are
Castro's voices. II IS his say that We
hear from the Caracas newspapers, from
the Venezufla post office. from tho Ven
ezuela foreign minister, from tho Ven
eauela courts, and from the American
apologists for Venezuela. Those II
| Venezuela who do speak as he Wills are
ban!shed and those in this country who
do not speak as he Wills are are cut off
from financial relations with that coun-
try. Secretary Root has compared ouI
position in this veXatious matter to thai
OF a well-dressed man who is followed !r
the street by a small boy who plastcrs
him with mud balls Shall the dccen
man lay aside his coat and his dignity
and catch the boy and spank the mis-
chief out of him, or shall he pursue hi,
own way under the pretensc that he i:
neither pestered nor iniured?. one ans
wer to this question is that the bust
be- and all the rights that they actually
possess. is not n matter OF pleasure or o
dignity, but a matter OF duty which
reaches to its own repute in the world al
well as to the safety OF those ind'vidual
who may be concerned. Government
that amount to much exist I'm part 70
this identical police work, Another ans
wer Is that good deal depends upo,
the boy When the finely dressed ma
finds that his clothes are pretty ncarl,
ruined and that the mud balls are still
coming it is likely that he will see tina
his dignity has already disappeared an,
that the small boy is merely made NOR
audacious by his patience. Castro as
small boy, unless checked, may be de
pened upon to throw mud balls as Ions
as any on appears in sight for him 4
hit,
| WISE ONE