Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-01-26
HAVE WRONCI IDEAS.
V. o. Peterson Writes From
Mexico of Impressions
Prevailing Here.
MUCH PRAISE FOR DIAZ
Declares Government Is Strong and
Popular and Americans of Bet
ter Glass Are Safe.

V. o. Peterson, writing from Sara
bia. Oaxaco, Mexico to The Argus, de
clares that an entirely wrong impress
sion prevails in this country as TO the
conditions that prevail across the Dor
der. President Diaz, he asserts is
wise ruler and is beloved by the great
majority of his people for whose best
interests he has labored throughout his
long administration. Foreigners who
live in Mexico. mingling with the
people as though one of them, and at
tending to their own business are not
molested and are never in danger in
the so-called out breaks reported in
the states The reason such wrong i'm
pressions prevail in this country, Mr..
Peterson asserts, is because the great
majority of Americans who go TO Mex
leo are Adventures and trouble max
ers, or else hold themselves aloof from
the people of the country and hence
never acquire proper understanding
of the natives and their institutions.
These people write or return home to
the states and give their personal i'm
pressions which are wrong.
Mr. Peterson treats Interestingly of
the causes leading up to the present
uprising in Chihuahua He says:
Social conditions are gradually
changing. A middle class is now being
rapidly created and is already making
Itself felt in the social and political
life of the country. This class has
today all the political rights and pre-
negatives that citizens of the United
States enjoy.
But the government has very diff
ficult problem to solve relative TO the
general application of the principle of
universal suffrage. In many parts of
the country there still exist some of
the old Spanish and French estates,
man. of them comprising large por-
lions Of an entire state, one that know
of being larger than the entire king
dom of Belgium.
These estates are still run very
much on the plan of the feudal sys-
TEN, and though no legal peonage
exists in Mexico today, the people on
those estates would not dare to vote
contrary TO their masters will or COM
mand. For this reason the govern
Inent, not only Diaz personally, fire.
Quenty sees fit to disregard some such
votes, especially where the owners of
such estates have openly set them
selves up against the established pol
icy of the government, which is to
divide up such estates and covert them
into smaller plantations and farms.
ha
complished only by the imposition of
heavy taxes, thus compelling the own
ers to sell portions of their estates.
This naturally causes bad blood on
the part of the would be lord and
practically all the talk against Presi-
dent Diaz is derived from such sources.
The family of Madero, for instance.
the instigator and leader of the pres
ent instruction in the state of Chihua-
hua, owns an estate of more than T.
900 5000 acres, and knowing what the
determined policy of the government
is, deep-laid plot was concocted by
which it was hoped that the realiZa-
ton of that policy might be prevent
ed One of the members of the
family, Francisco |. Madero, was pub
licIy denounced by the rest as being
practically an outcast of the family.
Then this 'outcast" put himself up as
a candidate for the presidency in OPP
position to Diaz. Newspapers were
bought or founded to agitate in his
favor and emissaries were sent to
every part of the country to form little
clubs, which were usually composed
of the most ignorant and unruly ele-
ment Of the community and called
themselves anti-reelectionsts.' But
no such thing as an organized politi-
cal party was ever attempted, for the
very plain reason, that the lords"
who naturally bore the entire expense
of the campaign, wanted 70 have ALSO
lutte control of the movement, as this
election campaign was merely a pre-
tense. serving to make the name of Ma
dero known throughout the country
and to stir up the minds of the people
in anticipation of the intended revo-
luton, which was planned by a coterie
of the lords at and during the
worlds fair at St. Louis. Mo, U. s. A
The announcement of Francisco I. Ma
dero by the rest of the family was
merely a precautionary measure in
tended TO prevent the government
from confiscatfng their broad acres.
ARMY ALL LOYAL.
But the lords might as well have
attempted TO stay the hand of fate as
10 stop the government in its purpose.
for the entire army is loyal to Diaz,
and every intelligent Mexican who is
not under the absolute domination of
the lords. or one of them, is in favor
of any practicable plan to force the
development of these immense tracts
OF land
The lower class of Mexicans, by far
the greater part of the people, are en-
tirely illiterate. which is by no means
the fault Of the present government,
and they do not have the slightest idea
Of the principles of national govern