New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1901-10-06

CHARA CTERIsTICS OF THE LAND AND
THE PEOPLE-WHY EVOLUTlONS
ARE FREQUENT.

Were it in any other than one OF the Datln-
American republics, the present distressing STU
alton in Colombia would have created "lue-
spread alarm that would have made ltselt Iei'
in all the commercial and social conditions or
life down there AS it is. two-thirds of the
people. the poems, the agricultural class, view
the impending crisis with an imperturbability
and GOODNESS that speak we'll for their mixed
Indian ancestry. There is a revoution," That
is all. There have been revolutions before AS
far back as the oldest inhabitant can remember
(and there are some who can give "reminiscences
of the 'LberatOr'' Bolivar there have been
revolutions. Judging from the history of South
America during the last century. revolution
is one of the necessities of republican form of
government. How else can the Liberals get
into power?
That is of many odd features in South
American politics. 1t is always the Liberal
party that is out, the Conservative party that is
in. Whenever revolution is successful. hap
pened in the case of Castro in Venezuela two
years ago, the cOnquering party it's aces
sion to power modifies its Liberal programme
and becomes more or less conservatives; while.
vice versa. the defeated Conservatives show
strong tendency to the former Liberalism of
their opponents. Yet there is a fundamental
difference between the two partes-the same
difference that showed itself in the early history
vi our own pO1tlCal parties. Inc conservatives
advocate strong centralized government. with
a greatly modified liberty of action accorded to
the States or Departments" as they called
under the present regime. They believe in
long term of office for the President. who has
the authority TO appoint the department gov
ernors. Under the Conservatives, also. the
Church receives official recognition. and there
are certain restrictions placed upon the liberty
of the press. The Liberals. on the other hand
have a short term of office for the President:
State governors elected by the people: no State
Church and no limitations to the freedom of the
press.
Roughly speaking. these differences comprise
the two political programmes that constant
~ before the people and about which so many
revolutions are waged not only in Colombia. but
in almost every republic in South America
With our sense of political stability, il is diff
cult for an American to understand why there
should be such constant disturbances in coun-
tries whose governments are said to be
patterned so closely after own. Undoubted-
ly, the founders of the Latin republic had the
American system in view in the establishment of
their own governments But vital part of
our system has been left out OF the political
equipment of Colombia and Venezuela-an in
violable constitution back of the Executive and
Congress Instead of this one supreme fixed
constitution each party has its own constitu-
ton, in reality political platform, and on as
Stunning the reins of government the old CON
stitution gives way to the new. There is n
complete change in the fundamental law of th,
land, with all the chaos that such a radical
transition inevitably means
The absence of a fixed constitution although
IT has been the source of endless mischief is
not the prime cause for the frequent revolutions
in South America That is to be found in the
people themselves. together with the physical
peculiarities of the country. We have onlv a
slight realization of the latter. and of the peo-
pie we are equally, If not more. ignorant CO.
lombia is habitually set down as a petty re-
public. State of insignificant dimensions Yet
Colombia is really vast territory 5l3S45
square miles in extent. of which, unfortunately
only about One-fourth is inhabited That Is
COLOMBIA covers an area equal to that of New
England, NeW-York, New-Jersey Pennsvl-
vania Delaware Maryland, Ohio Indiana West
Virginia, Virginia. Kentucky. Tennessee North
Carolina and Georgia, with a total known popu-
l'tion net much in excess of greater New-Yorki
Such an immense territory sparsely populated
and employing the most primitive methods of
communication naturally offers unbounded op-
portunities to the revolutionary. Then the
people are politically apathetic. They have in
! herited the carefree. joyous disposition of the
/ Latin, mixed with the quiet content and in
difference of the aboriginal South American
Theirs is essentially a home life with a tendency
almost patriarchal in its strong family assocfa-