The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-09

of Venezuela gave to one Horatio, r..
Hamilton, pretty shrewd citizen of
the United States Of America, large
asphalt lake, which Hamilton proceeded
to trade into corporation. taking
small sum OF money and much stock
in payment. This corporation was
named the New York and Bermudez
Company. The company spent con-
siderable money In developing the
property. but in tho hard times Of 1908
It had to. give up a controlling interest
to new concern, and after the con-
troll had passed through several hands,
finally rested In the General Asphalt
Company, better known as the asphalt
trust, all of which Is said. not In the
hope of clearing up any OF the COM
| plications ! surrounding our troubles
with Venezuela. but simply to give the
reader something Of an idea of the
involved nature OF the dispute.
| Meanwhile, General Crespo got con-
troll of affairs in Venezuela and gave
the asphalt to four yenezuelans, and
in 1900 the Venezuelans sold their
property to two Americans for 100000.
Litigation promptly ensued between
these Americans and the original New
York and Bermudez Company. This
Mitigation has never been concluded to
1.-The satisfaction OF the United States.
The government OF Venezuela has taken
a hand several times. that Is. Castro
| 1t Is alleged, has arbitrarily UNDER.
taken to influence the Judgment OF the
courts Castro charges that the trust
| has attempted to purchase Justice. and
on ono OCCASION. he charges, Just as
| one of the courts was about to render
| decision. the Viking, steamer owned
| by the trust, appeared in the harhor.
with $4,000 in gold aboard. which was
| divided equally between two Of the
three judges composing the court Tho
judge who did not get anything
promptly put up "holler'' and Castro
| had the entire court dismissed. 1t is
barely denied that the trust inspired
and financed the Mates revolution In
1904. which came near to causing the
| final overthrow of Castro.
1t Is absolutely impossible to dis
| tinguish the fact from the falsehood
| in the great mass of matter In pos
! sess.Ol Of the State Department re-
| lating to the troubles OF the asphalt
! people with Venezuela, and ur'troubles
with Castro since the Department OF
State undertook to compel an adjust
ment of the claims Of the contendina
| parties.
There is a strong belief that tho
Department of State acted most un :
wisely when 1t interviewed in the mat
| ter One side to the controversy as
| serts that Castro Is only acting the
patriot In refusing to allow the grent
| republic Of the north to dictate tre
| decisions OF the Venezuelan courts,
while the other claims that he is get
| ting. or stands chance to get. a
"rake-off' from one of the parties if
the other is driven out. However
| that may be, we are In the row, and
1t looks as though we could not get
out with any sort of dignity without
| giving Castro spanking. The United
1 States has taken more from Castro
4 than ever they took from any other
| ruler.
/ 1t is not likely that battleship or
/ a cruiser will be sent to aid in the
| blockade. but that gunboats OF the
4 lightest draft will be employed for the
| blockading service. 1t Is going to cost
| quite a sum to make Castro be gucd.
He has always commended for arbitrn-
| ton, but as soon as arbitration pro-
ceedings We're begun, he made it a
| fixed rule to throw into the Rotunda,
as the Caracas Jail Is called, the law
yers for the trust, and to keep them
| theirs until they were willing to pro-
mise to let their client be somebody
| else's client.
1t is probable that not one person
1 In million knows that Japan not only
| has enough coal for her own needs,
but actually ships it to other counz
tries. Consul General Henry B. Miller.
in report to the State Department
this week, says that the total ship
ments of coal abroad from the port
of Moji last year amounted to 1,750,455
4 tons, while 1,249,000 tons We're shipped
to other ports in Japan. The trade is
i increasing. A well-lnformed man in
4 this city, who has spent several years
in Japan, all told made the remark
one night recently that Japan could
stand close blockade longer than
4 could England. 1t has been stated by
authorities on the subject that three
] weeks blockade OF the ports of Eng
land would reduce her people to the
point OF starvation, This may be an
eXaggerat!on, but 1t Illustrates the vital
weakness of the United Kingdom, her
dependence upon America and Argen-
tine and Russia and India for bread.
/ However, the position of. England.
with her navy always kept at point
where 1t Is stronger than the combined
navies Of any three powers Is much
| like that OF Lucien Beard, the notorious
Virginia horse thief, who operated in
/ various sections of the State forty
years ago. 1t is said that a citizen of
/ a certain Virginia county met Beard
In the road one day. The latter was
a-foot and had bride on his arm,
Look here, stranger said Beard.
you don'tAlsnow where fellow couta
find a good horse to steal do your
by gosh!' exclaimed the shocked
farmer you ought to be took up,
II know / ought" said Beard but
they aln't nobody can do IT.
There is only one turn taken BY az
fairs in the Orient in the last year or
two which has given the slightest
1 qualification to United States diploma
/ lists. That is the present strained re :
Elations existing between Japan and
/ China Our State Department un-
! doubtedly, and probably tho foreign Of
4 fees of European countries, have fear
4 ed that China and Japan would form
i some sort of alliance, which would
|, bring about the awakening OF the for-
mer hermit empire with resulting de-
4 velopment of her lighting strength,
II more than twice as great as that Of
any other power IN the world. There