The San Francisco call., 1909-02-22
fREDk. PALMER
FINDS DESPOT
PEOPLES IDOL
President POrfiriO Diaz Is More
Than King and Maker of
Modern Mexico
Ruthless and Cruel on Occasions,
Aged Ruler Has Gentle and
ResOurCeful Nature
Shows Friendship for United
States and Moderation to
All But RevOIuti0nists

For 81 weeks Frederick Palmer,
The nell known writer on International
topics. has been travelling through Cen
trail america, visiting every capital and
mailing extensive side trips in every
country from The Rio Crdnde TO the
Panama canal zone. The unspedkdble
political, business and moral conditions
existing there he has embodied in a
series of 20 copyrighted articles, show
ing that behind the opera boufe repo-
lutions there is tragedy and devastation
morse than the poor Russian, who
has so long excited american sympathy.
ever knep-dnd alllthis at our peru
door. The publication of these 20
articles begins herewith.
BY Frederick Palmer
Copyright, 1909 by Tribune company, Chicago.)
ROM Texas to Panama, if you
r. keep to the land trail. you pass
i through six nations. twice the
number on the route from New
York to New York by way of Hamburg,
st. Petersburg and Tokyo. You study
the manners-most strange and devil
ishly invented manners-of the custom
houses at the same time as conditions
in a wonderland of undev eloped re-
sources which misgovernment has
transformed into darkest Africa. The
temptation in this series of articles is
to plunge at once into Central America,
of which less is known than of Bull
garia and Servia. whose insurgent plot
tings often have a prominent place in
the news. while our neighbors may
claim only a few agate lines when an
other revolution Is starting or is sup
pressed.
But 1 shall begin where 1 began the
journey-with Mexico, of which we
know much in a general way. Mexico's
credit is high. She stands for Latin
American progress. Her treasury is
overhowing. Foreign capital. taking
wealth out of her mines and soil, sings
her praises. Popecatapetl is a snow
capped landmark on one of the beaten
tourist routes And it is only 80 years
since Mexico's reputation was as bad
as Central Americas is today.
LOOKING FOR ANOTHER DIAZ
One thing the Central American
states have in common with Mexico.
To cross a frontier is to pass out of
the principality of one into that of an
other self lf-created autocrat whose per-
sonal power is more arbitrary than that
of any monarch in Europe. Central
Americas problem is to find such
ruler as Diaz. Mexico's problem is to
replace Diaz. who is rs years old. Both
are serious problems, intimately con-
cerning us. That of Central America
is Immediately pressing. In Mexico
reside 10000 Americans who speak for
$SOo.o00, 900 of American gold invested
there, or a sum nearly equal to the
total of our national debt
II a visitor to Mexico remarks that
things are carried on in pretty high
handed way for a constitutional gov
ernment, he is told to wait until he
sees Guatemala and Nicaragua-until
he sees what Porfirio Diaz might have
seen. In one sense Diaz has to answer
for the sins and errors of the Zelayas,
the Castros and the Cabreras, who JUS
tify their careers by his. When they
execute men without the formality of a
trial they point to his own merciless
surgeon lops off a finger to prevent
blood poisoning, they seem to reason,
why shouldn't a butcher cut off whole
hand and start a case of gangrene?
ONLY ONE BENEVOLENT DICTATOR
When they re-elect themselves with
out the consent of the people they point
to the example of Mexicos long con-
tinued despotism. 1t was by travelling
in Central America tnat 1 learned prop
erly to respect Diaz for that strength
and temperance of character which
could resist the tendencies of the time
and civilization to which he was born
and the wisdom with which he has used
his power to develop his country and
make more power for himself.
Wanting people suited to constitu-
tator is the best thing. But first catch
your benevolent dictator; and of the
countless Latin Americans who think
that nature fitted them Tor the role only
one has been found. It remained for
country with 40 per cent of its popula-
tion purely aboriginal and with only 20
per cent of anything like pure White
blood to produce in a halfbreed Indian
one of the heroic figures-perhaps the
most Olylnpiap figure-of modern his