The Triumphant Life of Theodore Roosevelt edited by J. Martin Miller

298 THROUGH ONE ADMINISTRATION
won on nearly every point, and from that day down to the
present there has not been a dispute between the anthracite
operators and miners.
THE VENEZUELAN INCIDENT
The Venezuelan affair came up in the closing weeks of
IQ02. It was a notable incident in American history, for it
enabled President Roosevelt to secure from the European
powers a more cordial recognition of the Monroe Doctrine
and at the same time to give that famous American principle
new and broader interpretation.
It is not necessary to refer here to the events leading up to
the Venezuelan incident. On December 7, 1902, a fleet made
up of British and German warships appeared at La Guayra.
On the evening of that day both nations presented ultimatums
to President Castro, demanding the payment of debts long
overdue to citizens of Great Britain and Germany. Both
nations had secured the assent of the United States to their
program, which included the probable seizure of one or two
Venezuelan ports and their occupation until the collection of
customs revenue sufficed to pay the claims. The right of
foreign powers to adopt this course with Central and South
American republics has never been questioned.
Venezuela, however, refused to submit tamely to the Anglo'
German program. President Castro called out an army of
200,000 men and prepared to fight. Germany and Great
Britain, to their overwhelming surprise, found that their plans
for a peaceful blockade had gone awry and that they were
engaged in actual war with the hot-headed South American
republic. And it was like real war. Venezuelan warships
were captured and scuttled, ports were bombarded, and people
were killed.