The Washington herald., 1911-01-30
Conditions in Portugal Not Serene.

talk with a prominent foreign diplo-
mat ConVinCcs me that all is not as serene
in Portugal as the press dispatches would
make one believe. in fact. the life
of the provisional government hangs on
a thread. Two extreme r'vUluuonarlcs
seem t. dominate the cabinet, some OF
whose acts are more than arbitrary un-
Just. 7 am not quite ready to subscribe
10 the expressed sentiment that a
new revolution may break out at any
moment. but the outlook is serious. no
doubt. despite the reassurinE notes sent
out by the foreign minister at Lisbon.
Senior Machado.
What ! have been tolG. and my au-
thority is absolutely trustworthy, is that
one OF these days the sword of one or
the other Of the two opposing parties,
Conservatives and Revolutionaries, who
may find themselves for the moment in
conflict with the ministry in power. will
sever the thread from which it bangles
over the heads of the leaders of the new
regime. and what will follow is chaos.
1t is an undeniablc fact that the present
government. in the short space Of two
and half months, has alienated the sym
ndtnS OF t1e serious GIllDCCU CLASS, WnbSe
opinions are Of some weight and has sue
ceeded in making itself as detested. il not
more SO. as was Franco. the dictator.
In the present government there really
are only two men who govern. having
usurped the powers of the others. The
DEGREES that ostensibly are issued by the
government as a whole. never are sub
mitted beforehand to certain members of
the ministry. and very often the first
knowledge these ministers have of en-
actments is gained on reading their al
legged promulgations in the official gazette.
The section of the cabinet that is pow
erful enough to dominate the weaker
majority in reality has established a dual
dictatorship. The Erandiloquent DEGREES
proclaiming federation and guaranteeing
individual liberty, which were issued by
the Braga government at the beginning
of its career. speedily were ignored by
the dictators within the cabinet. Politi-
cal opponents-not always monarchists-
have been thrown into prison on flirsy
pretexts: in fact. as my informant has
it, on no preteXt at all.
The Republican newspaper. Pove dave
fro, was suppressed by armed force and
its editor summarily imprisoned by order
of the government. This. too, in spite
of the alleged abolition of the hated and
unjust press laws of the preceding re-
cime. The editor was a stanch Repub-
lican, who had fearlessly advocated the
Republican principles for two years be-
fore the overthrow of the monarchy. The
offense he committed against the Braga
government was that he appears to have
been unable to see in all things as did
the cabinet. and that he carried on a
bitter personal campaign against one
member of the ministry.
Then there was the notorious case Of
the editor Of the Petardo, a weekly sa-
tirical sheet The editor was priest
without a charge. One week he had the
unfortunate inspiration to publish car
toon which lampooned an eminent Re-
publican a member Of the present cabi-
net. When the Braga government took
ONCE he was arrested and sent to prison
without the formality Of having charge
preferred against him. Some members Of
the cabinet did not know Of the mans
Incarceration for several days afterward,
and when asked for explanations gave
reasons that differed widely In some In
stances.
Apart from noted cases Of gross In
Justice ana fiagrant abuse Of power, I
hear that the severity Of the censorship
also u causing grave discomfort at LIS
bon and oporta The ofaeiaaA = my