The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-11-26

! &e.FA-EGEfS "
.eaNe | was told the other night how
NJ Treated & lawyer. who has since
fett lat par and IL now an archbishop
o. the Catholic church. This man
was practlcing in the courts Of tn.
republic, \ he had j case concern
ING 1ht use Of certain water which
passed through q deserted convent
lie advised his client that tn. con
vent authorities. il they again took
posseSs1on Of the property. would hax.
the right To- hold back the water
mis- Was interpreted as being in favor
81 the church authorities. IL whom
tne president is opposed, II il said
mat cabrera was angry. and sent for
ne lawyer and said to him.
Il see You have become d priestly
attorney and are giving your opin-
IONS IN favor of the monks. Wen. I
Will make you a priest"
ft thereupon ordered him to be
put III the garb of q priest and 10
sweep out the plaza IN front Of the
cnurcn. The attorney was made To
obey. but as ne welded the broom ne
decided that inasInuch as ne was thus
forced into the priesthood. he would
De one IN earnest. He took up relig-
lous work and finally became a devout
member of the church. He afterward
studied for the priesthood and was
made an archbishop. He now acts
~
must necessarily be in a quiet way.
A and OF Graft.
An administration based on such
conditions could not but be honey
combed with graft. This is so OF most
OF the Contra American countries
Nearly every official is a CRATER. and
every one knows it. The salaries are
exceedingly low. The president here
nomlnally receives a salary OF $4,000
| u % n ~ 1oA ,o.
bly pay his expenses for a single
month Subordinate officials are pro-
~portionately poorly paid. The situa-
ton is very like that of China, where
the squeeze is a fixed affair and where
every one expect to pay for any
official service rendered. President
Cabrera knows just about how much
each official is getting. and the Off
Gals have to be Oh their guard as TO
how much they take.
The Killing OF 4 Hunchback.
1t must be remembered, however.
that Guatemala is backward as to its
communications, n that any one
in power can Cypress those beneath
him without danger of being discov-
erd. | have heard Of many instances
and here give you one which was told
me by a German merchant. 1t hap
pened at Antigua a year or 50 ago.
1t was shortly after n Of the at
tempts to asSassinate Cabrera which
/ have referred TO. The mayor of
Antigua, who is closely allied with
n PRESIDENT, wanted to buy a Ger
tain coffee plantation which belonged
TO q h~unehback. The ~hunchback re.
fused to sell or otherwise dispose O.
it. He had, however, already loaned
the mayor $4,000 in old but coule
not get his interest nor Any satiSfac
ton OF the debt, and he feared tina
ms DfODArtE "Oni6 on he u ~ wa
He transferred it to his children
who were still minors, and then sai(
the property did not belong to him
A little later he asked the mayor t.
pay his loan, which request the lat
5 ter considered an insult and threat
!, ened him.
After the attempted assassination
of the president the mayor sent in
!, report that the hunchback WAS in tn.
plot, and he ~thereupon ordered hi:
; soldiers to take him to Guatemala
City. They started out over the hill
, and when they got into the noun.
tains. the story is, that they told tn,
hunchback that they had orders t
shoot him, which they did h re
, port was then sent into the p~reShiden
: that there was no doubt of the trea
son Of the hunchback, and no on,
t dared say anything IN reply.
? Bloody Guatemala.
The government Of this countr!
has always been more or less cor
!, rupt. The republic was born in tn
! blood Of the Indian. and it is the u
: come Of the tyranny Of the Spaniards
: Alvarado. who took possession 0
: Guatemala for Spain. tortured AM
> enslaved the natives. At one time h
, wrote to COrteZ:
! 4 have killed and captured man.
: people. many OF them captains am
1 persons of rank" And at anothe
= time:
: Il determined to burn the lord
, and their cities, in order that
! might bring them to the service Q
1 his majesty the king"
u Alvarado had a pleasant way o
branding his Indian prisoners on tn
checks and thighs and then selln
. them 2s slaves at public auction. |
{ was much the same with his sue
2 cessOre during a period Of seyera
" hundred years, almost all of the Off
u ciaIS being Of Spanish birth.