The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-12-13
|nsuTgent General Has Decided
to Stay Under Cover and
Play Waiting Game
ELAYA WANTS PhRLEY
WITH REVOLUTION|STS
Armies Within Two Days March Of
Each other-Nicaraguan Clique
One of the Cleverest on
Record.

washington, December 12.-Senor, Cas-
trillo, the representative of the Mica
raguan insurrectionists In this city, to-
day received a cabegram from General
Estrada, head of the revolutionary
movement. which declares that the revo-
lutionists are strongly intrenched at
Rama and that the forces of President
Zelaya are two days march from the
city.
The cablegram asserts that a revolu-
tionary victory is certain. but that fol-
lowing 1t the revolutionists will take no
steps until their programme is approved
by the state department at Washington.
This is presumed to refer to any de-
cision that he made in the case of Pres
ident Zelaya should the insurgents win.
The cablegram as translated by Senior
Castrillo is as follows:
Rama, via Bluehelds. December 12.
"Ca>trillo, Washington:
we occupy our impregnable position
in Rama town, with an army more nu-
merous and more decided than ever.
Enemy Is two days march from Rama
From there he asks US for a parley. We
are disposed not to concede anything
and are sure of our victory. That Is our
true situation. and believe me, that our
plan from the beginning has been to
capture the enemy at Rama. We are
disposed not to take resolHte action
without approval OF department of state,
to whom you must Communicates this.
When the battle is expected we will ad-
wise you. ESTRADA
Avery Clever Clique.
Nicaragua has been ruled by a group
of eight daring, clever and constituencies
men. This group has grown enormously
rich by systematized piilage of the rev.
enues of the state and OF individuals. It
is estimated that zelaya is worth about
s2o.ooo,0oo gold, most of which he has in
vested in Brussels and London.
II is said to be well established that
the chief cause of th epresent revolution
was the failure of Zeaya to distribute
among his seven associates a loan of
s5,ooo.Ooo obtained recently in Europe.
The seven were given a share of the
money, but not only the basis of appor-
tionment which had governed these dis
tributions in the past. They remon-
strated, but all to no purpose.
zelaya refused to pay off on the old
basis and even threatened that if they
did not submit gracefully he would turn
against the system which they had
Jointly organized. This system was sim
pie but effective. Its modus operandi
was as follows:
System of Confiscation.
Whenever in any region of the country
citizen WAS found in lawful possession
of piece of property of any consider
able value, an agent of the group was
sent to him to ask the price he would
sell for. When the price was made
known, the agent would offer to buy it
for about one-tenth of it's value
This offer being refused, the agent was
then at liberty to outline his proposed
retaliation. saying:
IF you do not sell We will denounce
you as a conspirator We will spread ru-
mors about your activity In behalf of the
revolutionary faction. which we are care
full always to have stirring about some
where In the country. We viii try you
with our judges In our court, before our
jury and sentence you to be shot as
traitor and have your property confis-
Gated. VIII you be shot or will you
sell?"
Sometimes the men were shot and the
country at large imagined that these men
were real traitors and conspirators, and
applauded the verdict and their execu-
tion.
When the orignators of this system
found themselves threatened they
promptly surrendered-all save one.
This one turned revolutionist, with the
result that an army of several thous-
and men were soon in the field and
Bluefelds and the entire eastern part
OF Nicaragua was conquered.
Zelaya Feels Uneasy.
That is the view Of the situa tion as
taken on the isthmus. here. to be sure,
there are many Nicara guans naturally
very strongly opposed to the present
administration in their country. They
are of the opinion that Zelaya sees
that the game is up and is anxious to
make his departure in safety from the
republic. He would much rather stand
in the eyes OF the world as having been
forced out by the United States than by
his own people, however. and this is
why he has provoked reprisals by the
brutal shooting of Cannon and Groce.
The statement issued by Zelaya to
the effect that the revolutfonists had
employed the two Americans to mine
the San Juan river, and that they were
discharged after they had exploded one
mine near the transport Diamente, Is
given no credenoe here. This version
is contradicted by a deserter from the
previous report that each of the Ameri-
cans was captured while accommodating
some hills near the river