The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-02-17

ana the much-deSired military leader
would have materialized. Instead, how
ever, of making a bold stroke he allly-
| dallled until he was hemmed III on the
Mexican side and was being pursued by
! troops on the American side. After four
months of this silly kind of warfare ne
has wisely concluded to suspend opera
tions until spring BY that time it Is ex-
pected hostiiities will begin in the IN
! terror, and thus, when troops on the Dor
der will be recalled. at the head of l,0OO
I men he can cross over and join forces with
the revolutionary army.
Every pressure will be brought to bear
on General Trevino, General Gonzales or
GaZa Ga an to take control and TO an
nounce themselves as candidates against
Diaz. During the Diaz revolt against
Juarez which placed DiaZ on what Is now
the throne, Gonzales and Trevino were the
chief officers OF his household. The trio
arranged between themselves that they
should hold the presidency alternately.
Dlaz took the first term. Then Gonzales
had four years; but when Trevino1s time
came Dlaz again assumed the relns ana
has ever since held them.
Gonzales was sent to Spain on a good
salary, but he became dissatisfied and ex-
poets to spend the remainder of his days
in Mexico. After being in charge of the
troops in northern Mexico and governor
of the state of Nuevo Leon, Trevino was
deposed and General Bernardo Reyes, a
gallant soldier and man of brains, was
put in charge. In the meantime Trevlno
was given several valuable concessions
and at one time he was furnished with 3G0
soldiers with which TO work his planta-
tions. Both Trevino and Gonzales are
now wealthy, and should they lead a revo-
tion which proved unsuccessful they
would have millions to lose, besides having
to either leave the country or have their
backs placed against an adobe wall with
their eyes hoodwinked and squad OF
soldiers shoot them.
American and English-speaking foreign
ers are all friendly to Diaz He has been
the only progressive president the republic
has had. During his tenure of office the
mines, which had lain dormant for years
and which had never been worked except
IN the most primitive way, with the crud-
est of machinery and tools, began TO be-
come a source of vast revenue and today
mining is the leading industry in the re-
public. Railroads now traverse what was
a waste, and the telegraph penetrates all
parts of the country. To accomplish all
this valuable concessions have been grant
ed, and millions upon millions of American
money has poured into Mexico.
The church in Mexico is opposed to all
enlightenment of the people. The clergy,
if they can be honored with that name,
fight all improvements. They want no
railways or telegraph. and when DiaZ
adopted a system of compulsory education
the war began in earnest. Diaz was de-
termined, however, and he retaliated by
closing up the converts and prohibiting
the establishment of monasteries. Being
further opposed in his efforts at reform
and defied by the priests, he put hundreds
of them in Puebla in jail and prohibited
the ringing of church bells in certain local
tiles He forcibly impressed on them the
fact that he was running Mexico, not they.
He gave them to understand that his idea
of Christianity was that priests should
and infraction of the law.
In America the priests of the Catholic
church are looked up to and reprected.
They admonish their f1ocks to be virtuous
and eschsw vice, to avoid gambling and
drunkenness, and to live upright and
godly lives. How different in Mexico.
Priests can keep mistresses with impunity.
From church to a gambling table is but
Il step, and the priests gamble with the
rest of the people The rentals of houses
of ill-fame, of gambling houses, of bull
pens all go to the church which is supposed
to teach religion. Because DiaZ, a Catho-
lie himself, will not tolerate such crime
under the guise of religion he is fought by
the church and is the recipient of their
anathemaS.
Take the leading church in Monterey,
outside of the cathedral. You step from
the church door to a plaza, owned by the
church, and in which stand tents in which
are conducted roulette and other games.
Behind this stands the bull pen, and the
profits and rentals go to the church. With
all these lights the most plausible infer
ence or theory is that the clerical party, as
they see all these privileges being swept
away, will cheerfully contribute the sinews
of war with which to carry on a revolution
against Diaz- They have agents in
Europe. and the money can come through
that source without detection.
We hear in the United States of elections
in Mexico and of Porlirio Diaz being re-
elected. The truth is the there is no such
thing as an election in this republic. There
are booths, or polling places, open, but no
one votes. The boxes are distributed in a
few localities, and those in charge are in
structed in advance how the vote is to be
counted. Not only does DiaZ re-elect him.
self in this way, but he dictates whom he
desires elected to all other offices in the
different states. In fact. Diaz is king.
The elections occur in April, and if there
Is no trouble by that time Mexico will be
tranquil for another four years. That the
present troubles on the border have done
the country much harm is apparent.
Manager RobesOn of the Monterey and
Mexican Gulf railroad stated that his
company had arranged to float $4,000, 600
bonds in New York with which to extend
the road, which, by reason of its running
into Tamplco. a good seaport, is one of the
most valuable properties in Mexico.
Rather than place the money, the tinan-
ciers paid a forfeit. There is discon-
tent and uneasineSs, and all lacking is the
leader. Who will he be?