The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-05-10
THE REBELS GAINING
Latest Authentic Advices of the
Gillian Revolution.
THE DANGER TO BALMACEDA
Gillian trade With the United States-some
OF the Reasons Why it is
not Greater.


seat of war; but the clouds that overhang
unhappy Chill grow darker every day, and
the end of the revolution appears no nearer
than ever. One thing is certain-the rebels
are gaining ground Though President
Balmaceda has only about four months
more to serve, his most sanguine friends
hardly think he will live to see his successor
inaugurated. Should he succeed in com
pletely defeating his foes, which is not
likely, he would surely fall by the hand of
some reyengeful assassin; and in the event
of victory by the opposition, his fate is
sealed. 1t is said that even the officers of
the Gillian navy, many of whom the Presi-
dent formerly loaded with favors, have
signed solemn compact never to lay down
their arms till they have hung Balmaceda
in the Plaza Mayor of Santiago.
THE PRESIDENT
has not once shown his face outside the
Moneda during the last three months; but,
having sent his family out of the country,
lives in strictest retirement, eating and
sleeping in the presence Of an armed guard.
AS the close confinement is telling upon his
health, he is about to remove to the Quinta
Normal-a beautiful public garden near the
outskirts Of the capital. One would think
that an unwise plan for his personal secur-
ity; but 60 place is safe from the traitor,
and nobody in Chilli would be surprised, at
any hour, to hear of Balmaceda's murder.
Some Of the atrocities of this unholy war
almost surpass belief-the shooting of pris-
oners by both sides, the barbarous slaugh-
ter of unoffending women and children, and
=.
makes right IN Chill, and in the present
state of anarchy nobody's life is safe.
Foreigners who have money invested here
are blue as blue can be ana devoutly wish
they had "sunk' it almost anywhere else.
In spite of trouble, good deal OF amuse-
ment is created by
SOME OF THE UNITED STATES NEWSPAPERS
that occasionally stray down here, contain
ing the most absurd stories regarding the
CHILEAN situation and giving detailed ac-
counts OF battles that never occurred.
These reports are doubtless evolved from
the brains of enterprising journalists, who
are ION the spot' in the home Office, and
they serve the double purpose of filling
space and satisfying that gullible individ-
ual, yclept the general reader.
Other reports are also unfortunately
spread abroad in the north, which, though
containing some truth, are much too one
sided to give the public a correct knowl-
edge of the case. For example, one of the
great New York dailies boasts of having a
native special correspondent in Santiago.
The journalist aforesaid (who was born in
Chilli, of an American father and a Gillian
mother) is a member of the Opposition,
though by no means a prominent one-an
alternate In the Chilian congress, which
means that he has a seat there in the alb
sence Of certain delegate. In other
words,
BE Is HIMSELF REBEL
against the government, and altogether too
deep in the middle to be expected to accord
justice to the other side of the question.
This hot-headed young man naturally
paints his Bete-noir, Balmaceda, in lurid
colors as tyrant and would be dictator
and has great deal to say about how the
country has been oppressed by lone man
power,n etc.
The sober truth is that political clique
desire to usurp the rights of the executive;
and it is extremely doubtful if such a re
gime-ludging from their actions the last
half year, which have cost the country
thousands of lives and millions of dollars
would be better for the people than the long
established order which had made Chill the
most prosperous of South American repuh-
lies. Nobody disputes that Balmaceda was
the fairly elected choice of the nation, or
accuse him of having ever gone beyond the
rights accorded him b. the constitution
So far from aspiring to over much author
ity, his first great mistake was in
HOLDING THE REINs TOO LOOSELY.
The opposition were determined to find
fault, on one preteXt or another-as shown
IN their persistent objections 10 Balmace-
da's cabinet, although he appointed three
different sets of ministers in the vain effort
to please them. Considering that the
present incumbent's term was so nearly
over, If these patriots had really had the
interests of the country at heart they
would have directed their efforts toward
electing man of their own ideas to sue
coed him and TO amending the constitution
so as TO limit what they call lone man
power"
Unfortunately for Chill, this rebellious
faction in the legislative chamber possesses
much power for Ill, and by refusing to pass
needed appropriations in their efforts to
hamper and coerce the President they
brought suffering upon many people, which
led to strikes and riots, and finally to armed
rebellion. Balmaceda made every possible
concession, short of rendering his govern
ment farce, to preserve peace; but the
farther
THE CRANKY CONGRESSMAN
became involved, the more pride and OBJ
stinacy prevented retraction-and so things
of INSCRIPTIONS politicians are directly re-
sponsible for the butchery of many thou
sands Of their coun trymen, the murder of
women and children, business failures all
over the land and the suffering for food
which has come upon large proportion of
the population = and had Balmaceda
promptly executed every man of them as
traitor, all this trouble might have been
saved.
At the best of times food is dear in Chilli.
because SO much of the country is not agri-
cultural, and low that supplies can no
longer be brought in from abroad, prices
are so tremendous that distress prevails.
Think of paying S. for small chicken, $40
per pound for tough beef, $50 can for con-
iensed milk, $50 sack for -four, and 500
Tor half grown hog There is no set
standard Of prices, but they
RANGE ACCORDING TO THE NECESSITIES
have actually been paid in Chilli within the
past fortnight.
A few evenings ago the good citizens of
Santiago were treated to a little scare
From private dispatches received by the
government, trouble of some sort was ap-
pretended, but the particulars were not
made public. The police force was largely
increased, and everybody sent home from
the clubs, cafes and other resorts at an
early hour. In the theatres, the second act
was well under way, when it was an
nounced from the stage that by government
order the people were required to quietly
dispense But nothing came of it, however
beyond considerable grumbling about
shat tyrant, Balmaceda."
Now that the Gillian steamers are all en-
gagged as war vessels, there is only the
English line to bring mail down from Pan
anna; hence letters from the United States
come less frequently than before. All
postal matter going out of Chill whether