Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-02-23
M AM0 aso0r. TIE c,rr OF Msxlco.
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10 the CHnos1clE:


ent Government, La RepstblicG
MezicdnG, has endured longer than
any of its predecessors since the
times OF the Montezumas and the
pure Aztecs. But OF the present
Government 1t may be said, as of
Bret Harte's "HeatheE Chinee''-s
for ways that are dark. and tricks
that are vain, it Is remarkably Pc
culiar. 1t may not be worse than
other governments, and probably
is not; but their faults are more
apparent, and their tricks are prac-
ticed more openly. In the United
States some scandal attaches to dis
graceful exposures of great men |;
and as the phrase goes, "dark
things are whispered of men high
i'm authority But in Mexico these
dark things are told in matter-of-
fact way, and are taken as a matter
of-course. Perhaps being bribed IS
not very much OF disgrace, after
all. But you cannot bribe Next
can, II he be above the lowest level.
Mol His honor proudly rejects
the hint of such thing. He will
accept a present, however.
This recalls a story 1 heard told
by prominent American, of the
Spanish Governor-G General OF the
Isle of Cuba. An important conees-
sion was required. There was
plenty of money ready to be used to
this end. Upon an attempt at ne
gotiation, however, the noble Span
| lard was seized with a fit of righte-
Gus indignation that was terrible to
look upon, and the Americans re-
tired i'm dismay. But an astute
negotiator undertook to pass the
measure. He made friendly call
upon the Governor General, was re-
ceived cordially, talked of the mer-
Its of the scheme, and carelessl y
placed, upon leaving, a certificate
for a large sum of money under the
paper-weight on the table at which
they were sitting. Salts est! The
concession was granted few days
later.
The Spaniards have ruined Cuba,
and the breed resulting from the
cross between Spaniard and Aztec
is what has been the curse OF Next
co. In every branch OF the Govern
ment, everywhere, is nothing but
corruption. Appointments to civil
service positions can be easily Sc
cured with little money. In the
post-office, when you carry a letter
there to be sent away, you have to
pay the amount of postage to the
officials In charge, and they affix
the stamp. That is, they do some
times. 1t is by no means certain
that a letter posted in Mexico, will
ever leave there.
In the departments of Justice, the
same condition exists as everywhere
else. I will instance a case in
point, which I have heard response
BILE American residents mention as
fact. An engineer or fireman on
the Mexican Central Railroad, a
Boston corporation, accidentally
ran his train into a wagon contain
ing priest, who was slightly in
jured; the priests have graat influ-
ence in Mexico; the church made
some threat hostile to the railroad,
wlfereupon the latter had the man
arrested and jailed, and as ii is an
easy thing for any party possessing
influence to secure a postpOnement
of trial before the court, the prison
er, an Irishman, and destitute Of
money or friends, remained in dur
ance vile. He had been in Jail
year last spring, awaiting trial; and
is probably there still.
And the words "duranee vile"
never were more truly used than
when speaking of a Mexican Jail.
They execute criminals very sell
dom in Mexico. This is not hu-
manity, but cruelty. After man
has been in one of their damp, moi
some dungeons, with no compan-
ians but the rats and other animals,
for a few weeks, Death is his best
friend. When they do execute
man, however, it is by shooting
him.
In reality, the Government OF
Mexico is but another name for
General Porf1rio Diaz, the demi-god
of the republic. He is, in effect,
supreme Dictator all through the
republic. though at present occupy
ing only the anassuming position of
Governor of Oajaca, his native state.
This man is certainly an example OF
true force of character. Born in
Oajaca in 1882, a poor, ignorant
Mexican Indian he remained until
manhood, when he engaged in the
many revolutions and wars which
have convulsed Mexico since that
time. He was one OF the most pow.
erful agents in placing Juarez In the
chair as the first Presiden. of the
Mexican Republic. And when
Macmillan was led to accept the
throne of Mexico, by false promises
and representations, and then at
tempted to retain that throne, Diaz
did more than any other man to-
ward his overthrow and execution
or murder. And then when
Juarez, the noblest and most patri-
otto of all Mexicans, died, and Ler-
do succeeded him, the latter soon
began to assume the privileges of a
dictator. Again Diaz came forward,
and overthrow LerdO, this time as
Stunning the Presidential chair him
self, by an almost unanimous vote
of the entire republic. To avoid
the semblance of absolute rule, he