The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-04-01
Some Grave Offenses Must Be
Explained 70 United States
Government
STRONG MEASURES TAKE
PLACE OF DIPLOMACY
Treatment of American Business Men
In Venezuela Has Come To Such
Pass That the Acts Can
not Be Overlooked.

Washington, March 31.-The long ex-
pected correspondence between America
and Venezuela respecting pending Amer
lean claims against the latter country
was submitted to the Senate today, and
is almost certain to create profound i'm
preston. 1t will be difficult to digest the
vast mass of material which Secretary
Root has placed before Congress, but
even cursory inspection of the doeu-
ments makes it evident that negotia-
tions have reached a critical pass. The
Presidents realization of that fact is
shown by his transmission of the matter
to the Senate without any comment re-
gardjng the correspondence, and especially
Secretary Roots strong presentation Of
the American case as sufficient to instant
ly enlist the attention of Congress.
All of the correspondence and docu-
ments were referred to the Senate COM
mittee on foreign relations. Secretary
Root will appear before the committee to-
morrow, ostensibly to discuss some of the
treaties negotiated at The Hague, but it
is expected he will take up the Venezuelan
affair and suggest some action. Those
members of the committee who have al
ready famiiarzed themselves with the
situation have arranged tentatively pro-
gramme which consists of three PROPOSE
tions as follows:
Venezuelan Programme.
Place prohibitve tariff on Venezuelan
coffee, the exports of which constitute DO
per cent of the entire Venezuelan foreign
trade, and so per cent of the coffee 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 power invested in him to take
whatever steps he may consider necessary
to treat with Venezuela in the future.
In a letter to Minister Russell on Feb
ruary 2S, 1907, Secretary Root reviewed
the difficulties encountered by the various
American claimants, and instructed Mr.
Russell to demand remedy and redress.
The letter concluded with this statement:
TYou are instructed to bring these sew
eral causes of complaint to the immediate
and serious attention of the Venezuelan
government and to insist that the gov-
ernment to which you are accredited shall
give to each and every demand herein set
forth immediate consideration"
In issuing general instruction to the
American minister, Secretary Root said:
Statement of Offenses.
"You will call the attention of the
government of Venezuela, that not
withstanding the long and unbroken
fba
States for Venezuela; notwith standing
the repeated occasions upon which tho
United States had intervened as
friend in need to relieve Venezuela
from disagreeab1e and dangerous CON-
plications with other powers; notwith-
standing the patience and consideration
which always characterized the action
Of this government toward Venezuela
the government of Venezuela has with
in the past few years practically con-
fiscated or destroyed all the property
interests of Americans in that country.
This has been done sometimes in ac-
cordance with the forms of law and
contrary to the spirit of the law,
sometimes without even form of law,
by one device or another, with the ac-
tion of the government apparently al
ways hostile to American interests, un-
til of many millions of dollars IN
vested by American citizens in that
country practically nothing remains. A
memorandum compiled by Solicitor
Scott of the state department gives
exhaustively the facts and law in each
of the subjects of dispute between the
Americans and Venezuela.
This memoranda occupies nearly two
of the large pages of the records which
Secretary Root transmitted to the SEN
ate in response to a resolution of SEN
ator Lodge.
M Mixed-Up Middle.
The muddle of concession on con-
cession, revocation of mining it'll IS.
wild cat land titles, and titles under
changing constitutions and varying
laws, intrigue, revolution, imprisop-
ment and death, woven and interviewer
in the case of the claim against Ven
ezuela of the New York and Bermudcz
company forms the most interesting
chapter of the long story. The COM
pany y.is now completely dispossessed of
what is regarded as the largest asphalt
lake in the world, and has been con-
oemned by Venezuelan courts to pay
that government fine of $4,000 900 Tor
melting revolution. Though repeatedly
requested, Venezuela has refused to ar
bitrate this case, and 1t Is the opiu-
ion of the solicitor that 1t is mad
visable to resubmit the claim through
the ordinary channels.
"An impasse has been reached In this
case" he says, (which cannot be solved
b. ordinary peaceful Methods
The troubles of this company seem to
have begun from the moment Horatio R.
Hamilton, an American, obtained a 25-
year concession to exploit the natural re-
sources of the state of Bermudez. Sep
\ tentber IS, 1883. The first mistake seems
NJ 20 Lave been the misplacing of decimal