Wichita eagle., 1890-02-25

srvation demand tlaL liiey sta-..s -
| other In any uprising; WitGin the oouh0S g
| either country.
Between three and four thousand Saiva
| dorians marched to meet Rivas and MS army
! They met him and in twlnkii1g he was
| theirs. 1t is the unexpected that happens,
| for no one anticipated such result. RiVGs,
| although an old man-he must be well on TO
| 7O-was as brave as a lion. He had record
! for wonderful courage and brilliant ach.eVe-
ment Many a time had he demonstrated his
| physical daring on the battlefelds Of Central
| America. but now all his firm qualities for
sook him At the first battle-and 1t can
scarcely becalled that, being little more than
a skirmish-he went all to pieces. He acted
like one whose mind is diseased His follow
ers. astounded, became first angry, then dis
courased ard disorganized. The government
troops had their own way. The powerful
Rivas showed the white feather and in a day
the rebellion was crushed, and peace relgns
again in the department Of Guscaltan. was
in Honduras when the revolution broke out,
and FASTENED at once to Salvador, hoping to
witness some lively events, but the day ar
rived the battle was fought and won, and
La Union in the morning was full Of faring
headlines announcing the fight of Rivas and
exclaiming viva la Menandezl"
It is well known that the president was de
lighted at the fact that Rivas was captured
on outside territory. Had he been taken in
Salvador he would have winked at his es.
cape, and the statesmen al declare he will
not now sign the death warrant Of his old
friend. He wishes him safely away; has
sort of ''go and sin no more" feeling for him,
and this find. strangely enough, is the tenn
per Of the people generally. And so ends the
first revolution of the new year in Central
America. l doubt very much if it viii be
the last.
! wonder why it is the American people
and the American biographies insist upon
calling this republic San Salvadora Take up
almost any atlas with an American imprint
and this Central American state is put down
as San Salvador. And yet it bears no such
name and never did. 1t was christened
''Republque il Salvador" at the declaration
of its independence, and religiously lives up
to that title. The capital of the country is
called San Salvador, and to that fact is
probably duo the error. While it is repub-
lie in name, it is in fact mild despotism
This is true of all Spanish America. Con-
erty to their people than do these republics.
We all make a great ado about the new re-
public of Brazil and welcome her enthusias-
tically to the ''grand sisterhood of states"
But between you and me, good friends, it is all
rubbish. The Brazilian's privileges will not
be extended one iota under the new order Of
things Iguestion much if he was not better
OF under the kindly rule of Dom Pedro than
he will be under the presidency of the dicta-
torial Fonseca. He has no rights the govern
ment is bound to respect, and as for having a
voice in government and voting for his ruler,
that is the veriest moonshine. The natives
never think Of it seriously. The president Of
any of these republics re-elects himself when
ever he wishes to, or elects as his successor
whoever he chooses. There never has been
free expression of public opinion, and there
is not likely to be for years to come
There is what is called an election, it is true,
but the alceldes, projects, judges, command
antes, ETC., are appointed by the president
simply to do his personal bidding. They will
run drove of a hundred Indians into corral,
point TO sign, say 'You all vote for SO and
So" they yell, and that ''goes." Occasion
ally man objects, but he is scourged, or, il
necessary, shot. And yet the people are iv-
ing under republican form of government,
and are, ''by the grace Of God, free and inde-
pendent" 1t must be admitted, however,
that the people are scarcely capable of ruling
themselves, and "a strong government" is
necessary. 1t may lead to something better
in tho distant by and by, but at present the
president of any of the republics-and l have
visited them all, from Ecuador to Me1ico-is
vested with powers as autocratic as the car
OF Russia, and is not averse to exercising
them. One must believe it is an essential he
should do SO, but our notions in the United
States of Spanish America being made up of
a group of free and enlightened republics
like our own is very far from the truth.
''The survival of the fittest" as an axiom
finds its true realization in these countries.
The Englishman, the German, the American,
with their advanced civilization, come down
here and in short time "own the country"
All that Is best in trade, in living, in money
getting IS soon theirs The native merchant.
planter, miner or worker is generally thing
Of shreds and patches by the side of the rust
ling Anglo-Sa.yon. IL you see fine store, a
rich coffee tinca, vast sugar plantation,
big enterprise of any kind, it is, nine cases
out of ten, owned or controlled by an English
man, a German and occasionally an Ameri-
can. For "1ample, nearly all the ports Of
Central America We're, until recently, surf
ports; that is, the merchandise had to be
carried from the ship to the beach in surf
lighters This was always dangerous, soms-
times impossible.