The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-13
NICARAGUA VICTIM
OF BANDITS WORK
Systematic Robbery by Gang at
Whose Head Was PreSi-
dent Zelaya.
BECAME IMMENSELY RICH
BY NEFARI0US PRACTICES
Is Now Seeking Soft Spot Oh
Which to Alight When
Crash Comes.

PANAMA. Dec. 12-It is the Pana-
mans belief that President Zelaya OF
Nicaragua is riding for 4 fall, that he
is deliberately working TO bring about
intervention by the United States, hay
ing chosen this form of humiliation III
preference 10 the greater one Of sut
fering defeat ut the hands of the revo-
lutionists
For the last sixteen years in which
Ielaya has been in power, Nicaragua, 1t
is said, has been ruled by q group of
eight daring, clever and conscicnccless
men, who have looked upon the country
as their own personal property. This
group has grown enormously rich by n
systcmatizcd pillage of the revenues of
the state and of individuals. 1T Is
estimated that Zclaya is worth about
has invested in Brussels and London.
Where zelaya Blunders
It is said to be well established that
the chief cause Of the present revolu
tion was the failure of Zelaya to dis.
tribute among his seven associates q
loan of $5.000,000 obtained recently in
Europe. The seven were gwen Il share
of the money, but not on the basis of
apportionment that had governed the
distributions in the past. They remon-
strated. but to no purpose: Zelaya re.
even threatened that, if they did not
submit gracefully he would turn against
them the system which they had jointly
organized.
This system was simple but effective
It's modUS opcrandi was about as fol
lows: Whenever Il citizen was found in
lawful possession Of Il piece of valu-
able property an agent Of the group
was sent 10 ask the price for which he
would sell it. When tho price was
made known, the agent wond offer 20
buy it for about one-tenth of lis value
This offer being refused. the agent was
then al liberty 10 outline his proposed
retaliation, SAYING:
Systematic Robbery.
"If YOU do not sell we viii dc.
nounce You as a conspirator. We will
spread rumors about your property in
behalf of the revolutionary faction,
which we are careful always TO have
stirring about somewhere in the coun-
Try. We VIII try you with our Judges
in our courts before our Jury and sen
tcnce You TO be shot as traitor and
have your property conhscated VIII
You be shot or viii YOU scll?'
Sometimes the men were shot and
the country at large imagined that
these men were real traitors and APP
plauded the execution.
When originators of this system
found themselves threatened they
promptly Surrendered--all except one,
This one turned revolutionist, with the
result that an army of several thou
sand men was sent into the field, and
BlueheldS and the entire eastern coast
Of Nicaragua was conquered.
zelaya's String Played.
That is the view of the situation as
taken on the isthmus, where, TO be
sure, there arc many Nicaraguans, nat
urally strongly opposed TO the present
administration in their country. They
are of the opinion that Xclaya sees that
the game is up and is anxious to make
his departure in safety, He would rath-
er stand in the eyes of the world as
having been forced out by the United
States than by his own people and this
is why he has provoked reprisals by
the brutal shooting of Cannon and of
Groce.
The statement issued by Zelaya TO
the effect that the revolutionists had
employed The two Americans to mine
the San Juan river, and that they were
captured after they had exploded one
mine near the transport Nismante, is
given no cyedence here. This version
is contradicted by a desertcr from the
Zelayan forces, who confirmed the pre-
vious report that each Of the Americans
were captured while accommodating
some hills near the river.