The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-22
PEACE TALKS IF THE MEXICAN TROUBLE Railroad Engineer Returns
 From Front DIAZ IS AN AUTOCRAT Tyranny, Graft and Corruption Are Causes of Determined Uprising
 in the Neighboring
 Republic

W. H. Peace of this city, who spent several months in Sonora, Mexico, as an engineer for the Hartman railroad in that locality, said yesterday in speaking of the Mexican trouble that the fiercest fighting was going on In Sonora, which is the min eral district of the republic
 He said also that so much as criticism of President Diaz on the streets was suf- ficient to cause any person to be shot who was under the authority of the autocrat of Mexico.
 "The mining industry of Mexico" he said, lis confined largely to the state of Sonora, where the fiercest fighting is now going on That is the mineral district. The district is separated by the noun tains, on one side of which the National Railway of Mexico operates into the cap- ital. On the Pacific side the Hartman system is building line into the capitol.
 Mining in that section has never been profitable and never can be until graft and corruption are wiped out. The mine operators start business and by the time they cease paying money to the men higher up their profits are wiped out and the investment Is good for nothing. The grating process in Mexico is condoned by ! the officials and no one expects to go there and get any concessions without paying heavily. President Diaz is at the fead Of the entire system. Another thing Is that the laborers there cannot be de- pended upon under any circumstances. They will promise one thing and within five minutes will swear by all the saints that such was not what he said. Madero in Earnest The revolution in Mexico is headed by Madero who is a wealthy and influential Mexican. He is related to some of the
 best families of the country, many of whom have been exled because of their rolitical affiliations with some of the an ti-Daz movements. He is in earnest and knows that Diaz will not tell the truth even on a stack of Bibles. That is the req son he refused the agreements of an ar mistice and why he mstrusts anything coming from a Mexican belonging to Diaz.
 ''I do not believe that there are any men in Mexico on the Diaz side of the trouble whom the revolutionary leader would be- lieve on oath. He promised to cease fight ing when Diaz resigned and he will not let Lup until that time.
 ''President Diaz is one of the most auto | cratic rulers that ever lived. The people bear him an intense hatred, but they can not say one word for fear of being shot by Diaz spies. In Mexico native would
 no more dare criticise Diaz than he woul1 | itIro a li,i1 foa F
 the president. If a native in Sonora
 standing near a policeman or rurale should say Down with Diaz, the police man would unhesitatngly murder him without a word, and Diaz's henchmen would see that the murderer was amply protected This has occurred time and | time again.
 A Heartless Tyrant | 'Diaz has no more heart than snake,
 which Is amply exempliied by his treat ment of the Yaqui Indians. He caused them to be exported in chains to Yucatan, where they are sold as slaves and held prisoners the remainder of their lives | Those he could not apprehend were chased into the state of Sonora, where the rurales butchered them like sheep. 'The Yaqui Indians are assisting to | overthrow Diaz and he will fall as sure | as the sun sets in the west He cannot expect to maintain an oligarchy In these times.
 | q have no doubt but that the Guggen-
 helm interests are backing the revolu-
 tionsts as much as possible, although this
 would be difficult to determine accurate
 ly. They have the satisfaction of know
 ing, however, that every one thinks they
 are guilty-who thinks at all after seeing
 Mexico"