Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-31
HOT BLOODED PEOPLE.
South Americans Love Liberty and
Are Willing to Fight for 1t.
CHILEANS EVIDENTLY BIG LIARS.
Both Sides of the Argument Give Out Some
Colossal Yarns.
RECENT REVOLUTIONS DOWN THERE


WASHINGTON, Aug. 3o.-At this particu
lar moment it looks as though the sin
surgents," or Congress party, had the uppe
: hand in the State of Chile. Who will be o.
top an hour hence is hard to predict
, seems to me that the comic opera fellow
have left unworked the most fertile field il
the world in that they have not attacked tn
. history of South American revolutions fo
their material Although blood in plent,
has been split, compared with revolution
in other countries most of them have beel
veritable tempests in a teapot The issue
are often trivial. In the case of Chile a
this moment it is hard for us of the Unitet
States to form correct opinion of tn
merits of the quarrel
Congressionalists claim that they are fight
ing against the usurpation by Balmaceda o
dictatorial power, while the Balmacedan
assert that they stand between the people
and the rule of an aristocracy that was more
tyrannical than the Gar of all the Russias
I have frequently talked with the repre-
sentatives of both sides who have been
having monkey and parrot time in this
city for several weeks past, and confess to
a discovery of only one thing that can be
sure of, and that is that Mr.. Egan, who is
the Minister of the United States at San.
tiago, should have been disciplined for
assuming championship of the cause of Bal
maceda. If ever there was a case in which
this Government should have remained neu-
tral it was this, in which the lying was so
colossal on both sides that any one with
| g. 11r 81
under. {.
A CHARACTERISTIC SPANISH TRAIT.
1t seems to me that the Spaniard is a
natural prevaricator, judging from the char
acter for veracity of the Spanish diplomats
one meets here. I do not say that the
Chilean Minister, Lazcano, manufactured
the dispatch he caused to be published the
other day in regard to the surrender of the
'fnsurgents, but it looks very much like
it, as. at that very time, according to the
information now at the State Department,
the insurgents were entering the city of
Valparaiso as victors. Possibly it will
turn out that the United States Consul at
that place who sent the telegram to the
State Department was compelled to do so at
the point of the pistol by some of the fiery
Congressionalists who happened to get hold
of him, and that the two 'armies' are still
facing each other and not fighting.
The anxiety of both sides to secure the
good will of the United States is really
amusing, but the Dictator has certainly had
the best of it in Washington. The repre-
sentatives of the Congressional party have
been treated shamefully, and for one will
rejoice at the predicament of the State De-
partment if the "rebels'' prove successful.
If Balmaceda is overthrown-and latest
reports assert he has been-it will be but a
repetition of history in that Southern con-
tinent. The desire for what is called
"iberty" is in the South American mind
prominent. The name of emperor or die
tator is extremely repugnant to them. The
popular government may be just as bad as
the other, but it sounds more pleasing to
the Spanish-American ear.
SOME SOUTH AMERICAN RECORDS.
Good old Dom Pedro was quite as good
republican as any of his opponents, but he
insisted on some of the observances of the
Empire, and the advocates of the Republic
kicked him out. Guzman tried to assume
dictatorial powers in Venezuela, and he was
invited to live in another country, and a
statue that he had modestly erected in his
own honor in the public square of Caracas
was obliterated..
One of the closest parallels to the recent
war, however, was that of few years ago
in Ecuador, an outline of which has lust
been given to me by gentleman from that
country. 1t was in 1884 that Ignacio de
Ventimilla was President of Ecuador. As
in our own country, there were frequent
disputes over the meaning of the constitu-
tion, as the fathers of that country could not
make Constitution that could be under
stood any more than our fathers. Ventimilla
put one construction on the Constitution
and the Congress put another, just as the
Chileans have done. The Congress de-
termined to enforce its construction. Ven
timilla foresaw the action and was ready for
1t. He secretly summoned troops from the
barracks and had the Capitol surrounded.
He then entered the chamber of Congress,
strobe down the aisle in tragic way, and |
shouted: "You wish to strain the Constitu- |
tion to meet your views. Well, myself |
will strain the Constitution and suiting |
the action to the pun, he swung a copy Of |
the Constitution in the air and then tore it !
he shouted, as he trampled ON the frag- |
ments. 'Ncw, will be your Constitution |
and will make your laws
HE DID NOT SUCCEED.
The uproar can be imagined Shots were
n
harmed, and the soldiers quickly rushed |
into the chamber and took every Congress
man prisoner. The Government prison was
fitted up for the comfort of the statesmen,
and they were soon all transferred to this
safe repository for refractory politicians
The Presidential party crowed their loudest
at this brilliant coup, and it looked as
though the Balmaceda of Ecuador would
make good his threat to make the Constitu-
tion and the laws thenceforth himself.
But the victory was short lived. That
night large number of students in attend
ance at the University secretly assembled,
with such arms as they could muster, and in
the small hours marched silently as a Span
lard bent on mischief can, killed the sem
tinel at the arsenal, entered the gates and
captured the soldiers and arms. With these
they marched on the prison and liberated
the statesmen there in durance. They
reused others of their kind in the city, and
then hurried, with shouts of liberty on their
lips, to the mountain towns and impaired
their excitement to the citizens, while the
fighting was raging fiercely in the streets of
the capital From every side raw soldiers,
but armed and determined to die if need be
to overthrow ''the tyrant," poured into
Quito, and Ventimilla, before As hours of
his dictatorship had passed, found the city
practically surrounded and his handful of
adherents in danger of being put to death
to the last man. A terrible fight ensued,
which can hardly be equalled except in
these South American revolutions.
LED BY A FAIR MAIDEN.
Marietta de Ventimilla, niece of the die
'ator, a beautiful and accomplished Young
woman, took carbine in her own fair