El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-05-27

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ment OF CfprianO Castro, the govern
ment has been headed by Cen Gomez,
and Ehings have been going along with
unusual smOOthness curing MS ddnlL
istration.' Castro left Venezuela IN
1908 10 go to Europe TO seek surgical
aid. and expecting to come back, ne
made Gen. Gomez acting president As
soon as CastrO's ship had sailed Gomez
seized the reins of power for himself
Upon the petition Of thousands OF
property holders of Venezuela, from
whom Castro had formed habit OF ne
gOtiating forced loans, Gen Gomez ue-
cided to prevent Castro from landing In
Venezuela on his return voyage. Co
nez had the help OF the powers and
although Castro attempted TO land on
almost every important island In the
West Indies, none Of them would give
him asylum He went back to the
Canaries and then was lost to sight al
most as if the earth had opened and
swallowed him up The whole dlplo-
matte world until recently, has been
/ ringing with the question; Where Is
CastrO2"
some insisted that the "Restorer," as
he termed himself had found a haven
in the Andean region OF Colombia and
that he was only waiting an OppOrtuni-
ty to surround himself with an army
with which to march to Caracas as he
had marched at the beginning Of his
career as a dictator The Venezuelan
government was anxious and IL sent
the Colombian frontier to keep watch
lest Castro cross the international
boundary line Meanwhile Venezuelan
secret agents were also going through
Europe trying to find the mysterious
exile.
Castro still Is In Spain.
The United States also was inter
ested in Castro, and the government de-
tailed officials to ascertain his where
abOuts One naval officer declared.
after a prolonged trip through the
neighbOrhOOd Of the COlOmb ian from
tier. that he had located his man. and
could put his finger upon him any day
Others located him with equal positive
ness elsewhere, and Castro had them all
guessing. Since then il seems to have
been asCertained definitely that Castro
has remained in Spain. and that the
constitutional disease from which he
suffers has left him in such shattered
health thar Venezuela has little to
fear from him.
Meanwhile II seems that Gen Gomez
is going to establish a record that will
constitute him famous man in Nene-
zuelan history. 1t appears at this juno
ture that he intends willingly and free
" to lay down the office Of president
when MS term expires. and to retire to
private life without the slightest effort
TO perpetuate himself in power II he
lives up 10 this present intentfOn-and
those who know him best believe that
ne Will not allow himself to be per-
suaded against such a cOurSe-he will
be one Of the few Venezuelan rulers
who have not resOrted to force TO
maintain themselves in power.
There are plenty of candidates 10
succeed him. One of these is Gen. Al
cantra, the prime minister He IS
West Pointer, and one needs TO talk
with him but a little to conclude that
ne is a man OF ability and is loyal TO
the ideals inCulcated in the student
mind at West Point Another candi-
date IS Cen Matos. the minister Of for
eign affairs under the present admin
lSrraUOn and the leader of the reTOlu-
ton against Castro some years ago.
Gen MatOs is a suave and diplomatic
leader, an excellent politician, and
very wealthy man. He planned the
reception given to secretary Knox and
his party when they were here the
last OF March. and II he overlooked
anything I'm making that reception
glorious success. neither history nor
the newspaper men who accompanied
secretary Knox have recorded the fact
1t was q celebration wherein the hos
'pitality was as cordial as it was siren
uous, and there was something doing
l6 hours a day for four days.
There are other candidates. but most
observers think the fight is between
Alcantra and MatOs. Both of them are
friendly TO the United States. and eth
er would bring TO the presidency Gull
ture and an equipment which would be
creditable to the country. So far as
known. president Gomez IS not sup
porting any candidate.
Gomez Rises From the Ranks.
Gen Gomez is not an educated man,
nor yet has he received the advantages
OF foreign travel. He is a soldier who
grew up from the ranks and is pos
sessed Of no small amount Of native
ability and force OF character. As soon
as he came into supreme power he
gathered around him the representa-
tives Of all factions members OF the
former revolutionary party and the
leaders against them The result has
been an era OF good feeling that has
not been equsled IN Venezuela since
-Guzman BlancO made Caracas known
to fame as Little Paris"
Under the Gomez administration
many improvements have been made
in Caracas and IN many other parts OF
the country. OF course no one believes
that a political millennium has dawnCd
in Venezuela. Gen. Gomez would break
all rules IN Latiu-American politics IL
he did not have his favOrites around
him to receive patronage in various
forms, and II he did not get a little
more out OF the presidency than the
mere salary and the honor Of being
chief executive Of his country.
Yet in the main he has done far bet
ter than any one could have expected.
When Castro left Venezuela the indus
tries fthe country had been suffering
from political blight for years, and the
people had been exploited by Castro
until they were in pit1able state.
Where monuments galore filled public
plazas and fine opera houses existed,
starvation stared the masses in the
face and comparatively few had enough
food to eat.
Today Venezuela largely has recov-
cred from the afflictiOn of Castroism.
The republic is at peace, in fact as well
as in name, with all the world. It's
foreign credit is good, its obligations
being met with such clocklike regu-
larity as to win words Of cOmmenda-
ton from the foreign bOndhOlders. The
agriculturists are enabled to SOW and
to reap in peace. Exports have recOv-
cred all the ground lost under Castro
and are setting q new record.
Gomez Is Wealthy.
peal to the popular imagination as a
hero. he seems 10 have the confidence
of the people He goes about freely
among the people and is perhaps the
most democratic Of all the rulers be-
tween the Rio Grande and the equator.
Gomez was a wealthy man when ina
came to the presidency but ne has
added something to his private fortune
since then He has q hacienda which
is about 40 miles square. The "big
house" on this great estate is so large
that he frequently eutertains weekend