San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-07-12

PRESIDENT PORF1R1o DlAZ.
tor being allowed for very 500 votes,
and these elect the president, senate,
deputies dixie our congressman and
higher Judges. 1t is safe to say that
President Diaz will be elected unani-
mously and there will be very little
difference in the congress of judges,
but definite details will not be known
until the second Sunday in July when
the electors will make formal re-
port.
MIRANDA's CHANCE (?) .
TWAS somewhat expected that there
would be some opposition to Diaz's
reelection by a party that is opposed
to payment of the English debt and
who have a batch of alleged reforms
i'm their mind, but the party was so
insignificant that ii concluded it
would avoid ridicule by silence and
inaction. There is a nominal candi-
date named Miranda. He is the Wig
gins of Mexico. His claims to fame
lies in the fact that he predicted an
earthquake that did occur and several
that did not. He is kind of social
anarchistic refOrmer. Recently he
was jailed for illegally pawning a pi-
ano he had hired and for having on
his person a magnificent drunk. Mi
randa has about as much chance of
being president as Crazy Phillip has
to be mayor of your dear old city.
MEXICAN SOLDIERS LIFE.
The average American soldier no
doubt believes he is badly treated,
but having examined the barracks at
Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio,
and the barracks of the Mexican sol
der / am satisfied that the former is
as paradise compared with the Hades
of the latter, though, of course, there
might be Improvements made in the
condition of even the American sol
der. The Mexican soldier is under
far stricter discipline and if he vio-
lates the rules he is generally sent to
prison, instead of the guard house.
The barrack rooms are dirty and din
gy, there are no beds and the soldier
sleeps partly dressed on a blanket
laid on the floor. He has two suits of
clothes, one dress suit of cloth, the
other of linen. He has to be his own
"laundress' and has a pretty good
share of work to do. His meals con-
sist of a pint of coffee and bread for
breakfast and supper and for dinner
he has a can of soup, a little of the
meat used in making the soup and a
half pound of bread. For service as
soldier a private receives the enOr-
nous sum of thirteen cents per day
in silver! / had the good fortune to
meet a Mexican soldier at the bar
racks / visited. He had lived in San
Antonio and spoke the English Ian
guage fairly. He said that a Mexican
soldier is treated worse than cur
dog and his life is as bad as any hell
can ever be. And the little / saw led
me to believe that he was speaking
the truth. The Mexican soldier can
not, however, compare with the Amer
lean. He is as rule brutal and ig-
norant, and in many cases is in the
army to escape punishment for some
crime committed, it being the custom
of some judges to send prisoners to
the army instead of to the peniten-
tiary. / don't know which is the
worst fate of the two judgments that
the judge may at his discretion in
fict.
JUSTICE IN MEXICO.
Justice in minor cases, such as
dealt with by the Bexar county JUS
tees and San Antonio's recorder, es-
pecially among natives, is most ex-
peditiously done in the city. When
one of the courts are in session the
prisoner is brought in. He stands
like a soldier Eat attention" The
charge is stated, sentence is pronounce
ed and the prisoner is marched out
to pay a fine or go to Jail. Over a
hundred cases are disposed Of in that
way within the hour. The judges are,
however, more lenient and particular
with aliens. These are allowed every
latitude and given every opportunity
of proving their innocence.
ROMERO BACK HOME.
The Hon. Matias Romero, who has
been for many years Mexican minis
ter at Washington, is in the city and
has rendered his resignation. This
was not unexpected, as there were
some differences over his action in the
Guatemala difficulties from which
l-Sike government dissented, but it was
ds. ~ Co., was, slated" for pc
or ii ~ q. - the