Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-27

himself owes his position 10 an assassi~
nation TO which he WAS a party. Riena
Barrios. nephew Of the liberatcr. was
president in iSa. when he was shot in
the street by Oscar Zoliinge- y German.
Cabrera had just returned from Costa
RIGA when this happened. He appeared
at once before the cabinet and had him
self recognized as first designate, carry
ing with II succession 70 the presidency.
The friends of Barrios have always de-
clared that Zollinger was in Costa RIGA
for eight days at the same time that Ca
brera was, and that his expenses were
paid by Cabrera. Although the constitu-
ton OF Guatemala expressly prohibits the
reelection OF a president, Cabrera has
been reelected repeatedly. and his pres
ent term of office will not expire until
1917.
II is asserted that the custom OF ne
gotiating forced loans and compulsory
government service is much resorted TO
under Cabrera In one instance several
to make clothes for the army free OF
charge. They were Immediately nogged
and sent To prison. Men of wealth are
requested to make loans to the govern
ment and they know better than 70 re-
fuse. When Guatemala desires to play
the host to visitors. the hotels are asked
to furnish free accommodations and they
never dare refuse.
ne currency IN Guateftitid Is HOW u
to 1: that is, you get seventeen dollars OF
Guaiemal-
Seventeen Dollars There an money
to One American Dollar. :, sr,can
dollar. Yet President Cabrera thinks this
is a happy situation. The POOR peon must
work for his peso and half a day. no
matter whether IL is worth $ cents or
whether IL is worth $50. The president
declares that this is an ideal currency.
since the planter is able to pay for the
growing of his crops in paper and to sell
them for gold. When Zelaya was Presf-
dent of Nicaragua, he and Cabrera each
had an ambition to make himself ruler OF
all Central America. The game OF i'm
transitional politics they played kept this
region in constant uproar and warfare.
Zelaya has been banished but Cabrera
still holds on and. while he has no Zelaya
to checkmate. he still has the ambition
to see himself ruler of all the country
from the Isthmus of Tehauntepcc 10 the
Isthmus OF Panama.
Whatever may he said against the die
tatorship Of Cabrera. on the other hand
he has done some things which represent
long strides in the direction OF the bet
terment of the conditions of the masses
OF the people. When Secretary Knox
was In Guatemala a festival of school
CIlliuTcu WAS given III his nbnpf MdflN
hundreds Of children marched out to the
Temple of Minerva and there took part
In some very beautiful exercises. An in
teresting feature was the singing OF the
Star Spangled Banner" in English by
perhaps more than 1000 little girls. One
might have discounted all this as being
the capital show given for the purpose OF
hiding conditions throughout the country
il he had not made more definite inquiry.
But from authorities which may be relied
upon as not giving to Cabrera any credit
that was not his due, IL was learned that
there Is compulsory system OF educa-
ton in Guatemala applying to children
between seven and fourteen years old.
The alcaede or mayor. of each village is
expected to take q school census at the
beginning of each school year and to see
to Ii that each child of school age Is kept
in school. While this law may not bs
rigidly enforced in many communities.
there are others where Ii is lived up to
to the letter. Parents may be imprison-
ed IL they refuse to send their children
to school, and this very frequently hap
pens
Another long step in the direction of
better conditions for the masses Is the
new peon law which was passed by Ca
brera some five years ago. As will he
explained later, Indian slavery does not
pass any longer from father TO son. The
son cannot inherit the debts of his father
fore he is twenty-one years of age Con-
a peon, he does it voluntarily. These two
departures are greatly to the credit of
the confessedly harsh ruler of Guate-
NAL