The morning call., 1891-01-26
THE KEvoLUrIoN IN CHILE.

So few people understand the politics O
| Chile that the news of the recent outbreal
l in that country has excited little interest
| Unlike other Spanish-Amercan countries
| Chile has not been subject to revoluti0nar,
movements. The Constitution under wiicl
| the Government is carried on was adopted
in 1888, and amended in 1874. 1t has neYe
been overihrown by violence, and Presideh
| after President has been elected IN al
orderly fashion, and has assumed ana eAeI-
ci5ed power without resistance IN 9eptei"'
Der, 1856, " hen the term OF Don boL,'n
Santa Maria came to an end-CHlieah I9siI
| dents are not re-eligible-he was suceeeueu
nv ms Secretary of the Interior, ore HaA-
| mel BaInaceda whose term expires III 0SP-
TENDER next $500. t,.
! The dispatches do not make II clear WHY
tba present insurgents were unwilling TO
! bear with Balmaceda for eight months
more. BUTT IS probable that the movement
which threatens to overthrow him had been
maturing for a long time in the Chilean
mind. and that some accident caused 1t to
take shane at this hour. Tie weak srots
in the Chilean political system are the dis
Establishment Of the masses and the grow
ing inclination Of the Government toward
paternalism. These are enough 10 account
A'l q lIhIAtAA 70 i2Aitsa - 49, ''---N
particular causes Of p!ovocatton.
Under the Chilean Constitution both a
property and an educational qualification
are required of voters. No man can vote
unless he can read and write and pays a
given sum-quite large-for taxes, and II he
is unmarried he must he - Years Of age.
These restrictions on the suffrage deny to a
large number If citizens If Chile the right
of participating in elections. In a popula-
ZION Of nearly three millions, tie total vote
for Pres dent is only a trfle over sixty
thousand. That the DISTINGUISHED classes
the POOR, who pay no taxes, and the agri-
cultural lahoreys and workers in factories,
/ who are generally illiterate-should resent
| this ostracism, merely implies that they are
! moved by human instincts.
/ Within a few years the Government eX-
/ Iendilures for war, navy and railroad pur-
/ poses have been very large indeed. \ wild
! idea of asserting Chilean naval supremacy
| On the Pacific has led to the construction OF
/ ships Of war which are Formidable and mag
nihceut, hut far beyond the means Of so
/ small Il State a, Chile. a thirst for military
/ glory, which was increased by Chilean VIC
| tories IN the Peruvian war, has caused the
! maintenance Of an army which tie republic
cannot afford. And in addition 10 these,
the Balmaceda Government, with an enter
prise which the world has admired, has
joined hands with lie Government of Ar
gentine in promoting the construction of
railroads to span the South American Con-
tinent through passes in the Andes. The
Government las not only undertaken 10
build the lines. but 10 run them as well at
the public expense. 1t now owns and runs
about 1900 miles of road, and it has con-
tracted for 1000 more, which are to cost
SlJ,0C00l0
All these eXpend lures tell on the tax
payer The total debt Of Chile, including
some twenty odd millions of legal tender
currency, is not far short of 500, 00O, the
bonded portion Of which bears fIom 81 to )
per cent interest. To meet the interest on
this debt and 10 defIay the ordinary ex-
peuses OF carrying on the Government a
revenue which averages S5O,000O0O a year
! is collected by taxation which amounts to
! $50 per head Of the total population, while
! two-thirds of the people cannot pay any
| taxes at all.
Under the circumstances tic wonder is
not that revolutionary outbreak should
{ nave occurred, but that it should have been
so long delayed. So far as the outside world
knows, Balmaceda is a well-meaniug man.
who has conducted his Government in a
prudent, conservative fashion. But neither
he nor any one else could secure perma-
nency for Government, which, under the
name of republic, was pure oligarchy,
and had no other use for the people at large
except to tax them.