The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-11-26
THE CHARMED LIFE OF
PRESIDENT
no" ne Keeps OIL the Ass assins-Land of Spies and
oololers Automobiles With Machine Guns
Cabrera,s Coat Of Mail and His Food Tasters

with Colt machine guns At the from,
OF them. and there are Americans here
VINO are lnstructing him and his men
IN their use. Should a revolution
arise, the people IN the streets might
De moved down with Calling guns.
and the past actions Of the president
lead to the belief that he would use
them.
The Narrow Escaues OF a President.
AS to the danger of the assassina-
tion or President Cabrera. there is no
DOUBT or that Every one here knows
that he takes his life in his hands
when he goes outside of his palace,
and some Of the attempts made to
hLl MIN are a matter Of terrible rec
ord. The first public demonstration
was IN 1907, now five years ago., when
a mine exploded and killed his horses
n coaehmen. This plot was care
FULLY laid. The president had q cof-
fee plantation some distance away
from the city. and there was a CERTAIN
street through which he usually
drove In going to it The c%onspira-
tors made a unnel under his street
and in the middle Of it secreted dyna-
mite bombs with which electric wires
were connected, SO that they could be
set off instantly.
The plOtters then bribed the coach
man by paying him SO. 900 Guatemala
dollars, a sum equal to $1,000 Amer
lean. to drive slowly as he passed over
this spot. They were to explode the
dynamite just as soon as the horses
had gone by, the idea being that the
coach and the president would be
blown into the air, but hat the
In some way might escape.
The man in charge Of the electricity
did his work. but he acted a moment
too soon. He put his finger on the
button just as the horses reached the
CpOf TlNn vryOu -s1A%-
and a part of the street rose into the
air, killing the horses and ceachman
and leaving the president safe.
1t was some time after that before
the whole plot was laid bare. and it
" as then only tina Cabrera realized
said that he had already given a
present to the coachman's widow,
and had provided for his family. At
the same time arrests were made by
wholesale, the jails were filled with
suspects and the trials were secret
It is said hat some were tortured tc
make them confess.
The Conspiracy OF the Cadets.
h n plot or the army cadets against
the life of Cabrera was quite as tragic
and its result were ever more terri
BILE. This occurred in 1908, about q
year after the attempt to blow him
up in the street. One Of the finest
va AA Il Ia
the military academy, INC among the
best young men and boys Of Guate-
mala are those who are educated
there for the army. AT this time the
flower of the students had been cho-
sen to act as a guard OF honor to the
president. They We're in full uniform
and were stationed in front Of the
palace when our American minister
Maj. Heimke, had come to present
his credentials. The arrangement.
were such that the president was te
walk through a double file of them a!
he came back to the palace. and the
plot gotten up by these boys was tina
they were all to shoot at him as h
came in.
This plot failed for the same rea.
son as the first. One of the boys sho
an instant before h time set, anC
I believe there were several more
shots fired, out the guards rushed il
before the others could follow, tn
president threw himself fiat on hi
) face on the street. It was though
that he had been MORALLY woundel
and before the others could fire a
/ him a German official in tie pay O
t the president threw himself on tOl
Of Cabrera as he lay on the street
n the cadets were ~oVerpoWered
: Up to his time every one supposed
that h president vas dead. but
moment later he rose and it was the1
discovered that only his little finge
had been hit.
. And now came the real tragedy
e Cabrera ordered that the cadets b
arrested. and he had them inc u
and every tenth boy shot. He thel
f directed that the bodies be throw
= on a cart and carried to the cemetery
t This act was done on the spur of tn
e moment, and it created great indig
s nation among the people. The boy
t represented the best families OF tn
n country and some Of them were Yer
e young. Some were So small. II
said. that they were put up on hoxe
q before the shooting was done. Thl
punishment was followed by other
S which related to the families Of tn
cadets. Many Of the fathers wer
e imprisoned. and. in IL way or ar
IS other, several hundred lives are sal
tn have been sacrificed. The Gade
d CAPTAIN was promised immunity II h
would reveal the names OF other