Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-03
URGES A SQUARE DEAL
FOR CIVILIZED MEXICO
Mai. c. E. Gillette Defends
Huerta and Describes Con-
ditions in Republic.

Mai. Cassius z. Gillette, a former engi-
neer officer of the army, addressed a
large invited audience last night at the
Belasco Theater on conditions in Mexico.
He explained the character of the people.
one-fifth, he said. highly civilized Latin
race, that owns all the land, and four
fifths degraded savages that have been
practically slaves for centuries. and are
about the equivalent of sApaches and not
equal in political capacity to the lower
half of our southern plantation negroes.
Maj. Gillette said there is very small
middle class, neither poems nor land
owners, habitually dissatisfied and ready
to lead the poems in banditism, or rebel
lion, whenever they dared to make trou-
ble He said Mexico tried for fifty years
to be republic and absolutely failed in
every particular. That finally a genius,
Porfirio Diaz, organized it into an IRON
ruled. ruthless military dictatorship under
the forms of pure democracy, and peace
and happiness reigned. But the country
was always sleeping volcano, the speak
er said, ready to be exploded-as Diaz' S
grip relaxed with age-by any rich crimi-
nal willing to finance the arming of the
savages.
Madero did that, he said, and the saw
ages he loosed continued, practically
every one of them, to ravaSe, loot and
destroy throughout his term down to the
present moment.
Speaks From Personal knowledge.
Maj. Gillette spoke from personal
knowledge in detail of several bands. He
claimed they were all exactly alike; that
they were each wholly independent and
only united to capture large game like
cities; that the beautiful city of Durango
had been ruthlessly looted and practical
ly destroyed; that the leader of the prin-
cipal band there was a well known horse
thief and the others no better.
He gave details Of horrors that he said
were not the incidental accompaniment
of all armies. but in case of the consti-
tutionalsts were the sum and substance
OF the whole business.
Maj. Gillette said that Carranza con-
trolled only his own band. and If he
were made President of Mexico tomorrow
he would have to fight % per cent OF
those who now pose as his followers;
that he would have exactly the same
problem Huerta has He deplored the
threatened lifting of the embargo on
recently told the President that only the
personal regard of the senators for the
President kept them from giving the con-
stitutionalistS free access to buy arms
and ammunition.
The speaker claimed that not l per
cent of the so-called constitutionalists
could read a constitution, or understand
it If it were explained to them-nor would
they care a rap what it was, anyhow:
that not ] per cent of them had any in
terest in a vote. citing the fact that when
Madero held a free election only e, 900
out of a population of 15.OOOO0O voted,
which was not 10 per cent of the civilized
vote.
The speaker asserted that only in one
other case in history had enslaved saw
ages been put over their former masters.
and painted a shocking picture of what
happened in that case-the Island of
Haiti-and he drew parallel between
that case and what is happening in Mexi-
co. He begged his audience. in reading
Of Outrages in Mexico, to bear in mind
that these are not committed by Mexico.
but by the savages that are destroying
Mexico. just as similar savages destroy
ed Haiti and converted 1t from the rich
est island in the world into a bowling
Wilderness