Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-02-26

/ DuSNiSo uttWStNl ltlC I<tAtih iotSo III tiiC
Central American states. Perhaps 1t
Will be interesting to some Of the
readers OF the Daily Press to know
what oil the fuss is about anyway.
1t would seem, according to the
dispatches received that the Nicara-
guam government has allowed itself
to he made the catspaw of Honduras
revolutionists. At the beginning Of last
January the President of Honduras
had sent to the government OF Costa
RIGA, merely In the way Of informa.
tion. confidential note, stating his
intention to send troops to the Mic
aragnan frontier to suppress the rev.
iolutionary movement prepared there
against Honduras. Therefore. It Is
quite possible that some Honduran
troops may have crossed the Nicara.
guam frontier on Il sort of scouting
expedition. This seems to have Civ.
ell the Managua government d pretext
to invade Honduran territory and be.
gin the military operations. This
pretcxt appears to have been
seized upon with all the more
alacrity since Nicaragua, which was n
party to the treaty of peace and am.
ity signed at San Jose de Costa RIGA
as sequel to the friendly arrange
ment concluded among the Central
American republics OIL board the
United States cruiser Marblehead on
the high seas off the Guatemalan
const OIL July 90. 1906. had declined
to ratify that San lose supplementary
treaty Inc motive alleged for this
denial was that the treaty of Corinto,
which was initiated by Nicaragua and
signed by the other Central American
republics. covered the same ground,
and therefore rendered the San Jose
treaty Unnecessary.
Tho latter treaty was more precise
than that of Corinto, especially in
regard to the ways of maintaining
peace between the republics The
breaking Of the treaty on the part of
Honduras or Nicaragua (for 1t Is not
yet known definitely which of the
two republics opened hostilities) is
an indication that one of the Presi-
dents aims at subiugating his neigh
bor and utilizing his success to as
sumo the hegemony of Central Amer
lea, and re-establish the old Confed.
eracy proclaimed by Morazan in
1890 Of five states, General Zelawayt
who has been so long the President
OF Nicaragua, would 1t Is said, hard
ly indulge in that dream. after the
sad experience of Rufino Barrios, the
President of Guatemala. That coun-
try was by far the most powerful of
the five republics, and yet the
scheme OF Barrios TO re-establIsh the
Confederacy under his own rule was
defeated by the smallest of these re-
publics, namely, Salvador, and Bar.
rios was killed at the head of his in.
vading Guatemalan army on the bat
tlefleld.
inc NicaraEuans may capture Teg-
ucigalpa, us they did in 1894, but at
that time the number of Honduran
indictments was larger than at pres.
cnt. and the government of Nicara-
qua easily found among them an able
man to take the place of the deposed
President, Senior Vasquc2. Now, that
may not he so easily done. and Prcsi-
dent Zelaya may assert that Nicara-
qua may occupy Honduras for some
time rather than abandon 1t to revo-
lutionary factions. That would be a
first stage toward the projected hage.
mony, which Salvador would not toll.
crate on the part of Nicaragua after
having rcpulscd it from Guatemala,
and the result may be that the Sal
vadoreans will actively support the
llonduran troops, which would seem
ingly result in the overthrow of Pres.
ident Zelaya and his ambitions.
-HrprzrE-eE
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