Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-12

BILE curvos, or crooked knives-made to it q
human throat and sharpened on the inner
side-which every Chilean soldier carries.
South Americans must indulge in their
little advertisements of revolution now and
then. 1t Is "born in the blood and bred In
the bone; and as Chile has not had war
In several years, some prete1t must soon
nave served for getting up one, II not that
seized upon by the disaffected Congressman.
BY the way, the alleged information con-
cerning these affairs which is being industri-
| ously disseminated in the United States by
rebel emissaries, is standing joke among
the American and English residents OF Val
paraiso and Santiago. Whenever a north
4 ern mail comes down bringing newspapers,
| they collect in club-rooms and private par
lors to read the alleged news-generally
with many hearty laugh, and sometimes
with not a little indignation. 1t 10
well known that number of Chilean rebels
have gone to the United States
some as authorized agents to seek assistance
Tor the lnsurgent cause, and others who are
simply renegades, their doings here having
made absence desirable, both for themselves
and the country they have left.
Imaginations Worthy of Rider Haggard.
These gentlemen seem to be inventing
blood-curdling tales worthy of Rider Hag-
CARDS 1maginations, concerning Balmaceda's
''despotism," the torturing of captives, i'm
prisonment and ill treatment of ladies, be-
heading of prominent citizens, and other
dlreful stories, most of which are utterly
without foundation in fact.
One can readily understand how desire
runs high for war news from this far away
country, and that every item is eagerly
gobbled by enterprising reporters; but it is
difficult to conceive how intelligent news
mongers expect to get any reliable and un-
biased accounts from the rebels themselves,
or from the emssaries who have been dis
patched to sue for Northern help and SYM
pathy. The Federal Government has sent
no spokesman to represent its cause; and
therefore but one side of the story, and that
a garbled and distorted one, is being pro-
mulgated to any extent in the United
States.
To-day read column account in a
prominent New York journal, which mixes
things up in most surprising manner and
contains more misstatements than are often
allowed to appear unchallenged in a
reputable newspaper. For example it goes
on to state that Balmaceda 'instigated and
is perpetuating" the contest, when all the
world IS aware-or ought to be-that this
war, which means ruin to Bslmaceda what
ever may be its outcome, was instigated by
a political faction in Congress, who finally
AuGo IcUtlllOu dBdl06L tu0
Constitutional Government and are keeping
1t up, partly in hope of being able to serve
their own ambitious ends, and also because
to let go at this juncture would be as dis
astrous to themselves as to the man who is
attempting to throttle lion. Personal |
safety now lies in retaining their grip.
Too Serious to Be O Joke.
Such gross ignorance or deliberate mis-
statement in those who claim to inform the |
public Of the true state of affairs would |
border upon the ludicrous, did not one re-
feet that the injustice toward a harrassed |
sister Republic in her hour of need is really |
no joke at all
1t would be funny also, were not the situ- |
alton so grave, to observe how the handful |
of malcontents have gone ahead with the |
puny Government which they are playing |
at in the Northern provinces-as children |
pretend keep house" with dolls and broken |
dishes-even to the extent of sending Min |
listers to foreign countriesl Of course the |
claims of these latter gentlemen will hardly !
be recognized by any respectable powers,
uutil they are founded upon something |
more substantial than the "baseless fabric"
of personal ambitions and vituperation of |
the Government they have wronged
The end is not yet-but apparently fur |
ther away than ever. No man can tell |
what the result will be; but one thing is |
certain, viz, that Americans have no sort |
OF business with Chile's political muddles
and would better keep out of them alto
gether. FANNIE B. WARD.