The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-24

As0n6LiLuIlOnal ETeSIutnL Ol NhC AeOPhS' ltc." In this name and under thii
 style and title are issued the decreei which govern the country known or the maps and the reference books a' the 'RepubIic' of the United States of Venezuela. As a. matter of fact
 there Is no government but Castro, nc power but Castro, no law but Castro He Is as absolute in fact as Is the czar of Russia in theory.
 Whatever may be the final verdict
 of the historian, Cipriano Castro has
 had a remarkable and romantic ca
 reer. Born fifty-one years ago in q
 section of the Andes mountains which
 Is almost ,a as remote from the world
 as Tibet, he has come to be knotty
 problem for the chancellery of every
 world power. The son of half-breed
 Indian, he has Imposed himself upon
 and over the proud Spanish grandees
 of Caracas. When he first came to
 the capital as a senator his feet re-
 belled at the unaccustomed restraint
 of leather shoes. Now he dresses as
 well as any gentleman of the Partisan
 bouleyards. Born to the poverty that
 never dreams of greater wealth than
 that of full belly, he is now the
 possessor of millions-millions thrift
 ily laid, up in the vaults of London and Paris banks where the arm of the
 reyolutionists may not reach.
 Wicked and tyrannical he has been,
 but he has followed only the customs
 of the tyrants which have gone before
 him---the precedents which will be
 followed by his successors. Immoral
 In his private life, coarse with the coraseness of the half savage. he likes
 to appear as the patron and protector
 of higher education and the fine arts.
 Standing scarce five feet high, and being altogether most unprepossessing in appearance, he thinks of himself as the greatest of living military heroes.
 Yet. with all his conceit. he Is not so conceited as Guzman Blanco, who erected himself on every hill Absurd as Castro may appear in the eyes of 'a people trained to the American Idea of government and personal propriety. he is neither the worst nor the best of Venezuelan dictators. But he Is the most forcefuL
 Whatever Is good and whatever Is evil in the present condition of affairs in Venezuela must be credited to his account. On the credit side of Castro's account is placed his success in keep ing the country in a state of compara- tive internal tranquility In the nine years of. his regime there has been but one revolution. the one headed by General Matos. and that was crushed out. This is a remarkable record of peace in a country which had seventy revolutions in seventy-five years.
 Castro pays his debts to foreign powers. This is undoubtedly an asset which has been of great benefit to him. After the blockade by three great pow CTS he entered into protocols for the settlement of claims against Vene- zuela. These were adjudicated. by mixed commissions sitting at Caracas, and Castro has abided by the decision of those tribunals in regard to money claims. He has paid off all the claims of the block adisR nations and Is now paying the claims of the so-called peace powers.T Even during the pres ent rupture of relations with Holland, the Venezuelan government has been on the Dutch claims to Baron Secken- dorff, the German minister, who is temporarily in charge of Dutch inter ests in the country
 Castro has arranged a settlement of the outstanding bonded indebtedness of the countru, long in default, and Is meeting the interest payments with regularity. He has maintained the high monetary standard of the coun- trc, which. strange to say, in spite of all the revolutions and disturbances always has been higher than that of most Latin American countries.
 When all is said, it appears that the two chief arguments to be made In favor r~of Castro are that he has maintained his ascendancy and that he has paid his debts.
 These are the arguments advanced by his foreign friends, of course. His Venezuelan followers are by no means so chary of compliment. Headed by IvAa of stitucional," the leading newspaper of the countrf, the Castroites join in glad chorus of acclaim to their leader.
 His official title is "Restaurador de Venezuela y resldente Constitutional de la Republica." It has been the habit of the great men of Venezuela to select extra-constitutional titles for Thus, Guzman Blanco, the only man who has ruled longer in Caracas than Castro, used to call him. self General, the Citizen President lustrious American, Guzman Blanco." The great Simon Bolivar called himself The Liberator." So 1t may be that Castro is not transgressing the pro- prieties of his people when he calls himself the "Restorer of Venezuela"
 But 1t Is hard to understand why any man should delight in having a under his control. as "El is under Castro's con- trol. praise him as It does. "Invin- ciffe Leader" 'Homeric Hero" "Sa- vior of His People" Pillar of Light" "Exemplar of Virtue" The Superior Being" and the like are the titles which Editor Rivas daily showers up- on his delighted chief. These editor ials have appeared every day for nine years and they have been prac- tically the only editorial comment on Castro's government which the peo pie of Venezuela have seen. If an ed- itor writes in a contrary vein he goes to prison.
 The recent forty days journey which President Castro took through the interior of the country was really a political fence-mending junket. It was great processional, the Presi- dent travelling in state and marking his stops with great balls and festi vals. "El Constitucional" published daily reports of the affairs along the line of travel under the headline The Apetheosis of the Hero" One day. after devoting a line or two to the ac- tual program, the faithful Editor Rl- yas wrote.
 Every attempt made through all the ages against the liberty of people nas always been met by a character unwilling to accept bondage, aud stop ping the avalanche in the name of beyond humanity. which Is not mentioned in the codes because it emanates from the inspirations ot the Eternal to his elect. At ono time the chosen one was Jesus. at other times Spartacus, ReIgus. Garabaldi. Bolivar. 1t Is Ciprisno Cas- tro"