Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-04-01
PRES CASTRO
After COnfiscating Millions Of
Dollars Worth Of American
Investments He Refuses
Satisfaction :. Conditions
Are lnt0lerabIe and Crit
ical Stage Is Reached

Washington, D. c., March 31.-Long
expected correspondence between
America and Venezuela respecting
pending American claims against the
latter country was submitted to the
senate today and is almost certain to
create a profound impression. 1t will
be difficult to digest the vast mass of
material which Secretary Root has
placed before congress, but chen cur
sorry inspection of the documents
makes it evident that the negotiations
have reached critical phase.
All the correspondence and docu-
ments were referred to the senate
committee on foreign relations. Those
members of the committee who have
already familiarized themselves with
the solution have arranged tenta'
tive program which consists of three
propositions, as follows:
Place prohibitive tariff on Venezue-
Ian coffee exports, which constitute As
per cent of the entire Venezuelan
trade, as ninety per cent of the cot
fee is taken by the United States.
Exclude all importations of asphalt
from Lake Bermudez, the product Of
which has been taken almost entirely
by the United States.
Authorize the president to exercise
the general pawer invested in him tc
take whatever steps he may consider
necessary to treat with Venezuela in
the future.
The most interesting features of the
correspondence are those in which
Secretary Root figured. Various at
tempts had been made by preceding
administrations to effect a settlement
of American claims, Secretary Hay
having gone so far as to lay dowr
what was regarded as almost an ul
timatum. But all these attempts fail
ed and after the lapse of many months
Secretary Root felt bound to strive To-
an agreement
In letter. to Minister Russell. OF
February 2S, 1907, Mr.. Roo. reviewed
the difficulties encountered by va:iou,
American claimants and instructed
Mr.. Russell to demand remedy. TIL,
letter concluded with this statement
You the instructed to bring the sew
eral causes of complaint to the imme
diate and serious attention of the Ven
ezuelan government, and to insist tina
the government to which you are &C
credited shall give to each and ever,
demand herein set forth immediat
consideration"
In issuing general instructions t
the American minister, Secretary Roo
said:
You will call the attention of tn
E government of Venezuela to the fac
that Notwithstanding the long and III
broken friendship manifested by tn
United States for Venezuela; notwith
standing the repeated occasions upo
which the United States has interven
ed as a friend in need to relieve Vene
zuela from disagreeable and dangerou
complications with other powers; no
withstanding the patience and consid
Grafton which has always characteriz
y F-f . Z.
ed the action of this government tt
ward Venezuela, the government q
Venezuela has within the past fe,
years practically confiscated or d;
stroyed all the substantial property In
terests of Americans in that country
This has been done sometimes in az
cordance with the forms of law bu
contrary to the spirit Of the law. Som,
times without even the form OF Law
by one device or another, with the q,
ton of the government apparently al
ways hostile to American interest
until OF the many millions of dollar
invested by American citizens in ths