The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-05-17
DlAZ ISSUES OPEN LETTER OUTLINING
 MEXICAN POLICY

Mexico City, May 17.-General Fe- lix Diaz has published his platform in the form of a manifesto or open letter to the political clubs supporting him.. In 1t he has carefully refrain ed from giving any but the most gen. era1 undertakings, such as a promise to restore peace; to do justice to all; to encourage education, etc., and all without entering into details as to how he is going to proceed.
 But the election of Diaz appears far from certain. Had the election for president been held the day after the close of hostilities in the capital, there is no doubt he would have been elect ed without any material opposition. With Huerta in the chair, however. and big revolution to attract or dis tract the people, there is much less heard of the popularity of General Diaz. There are many of his own partisans who have expressed the opinion that he never will be presi- dent It is nothing that he has done, say they, to turn from him the popu- lar support. but rather the fact that he has done nothing spectacular since he ceased firing shrapneI into all quarters of the city.
 Investigation of the army payro11s has shown an expenditure of 1000 pesos ($13.60O) a month for salaries to officers wlao never appeared in uni form It is charged that this was the work of one of the Madero family. He is said to have used the paymaster of the Rural Guard to pay off his own henchmen. His method was, accord ing to the story told at the palace, to name man whom he wished to favor or use.- an officer in the rurales, at the same time telling the command ing officer that this new officer would report once a month for his pay. None of those appofntees has appear ed to collect his money since the ov- erthrow of the Madero regime.
 Pessimisn at the Mexican capital continues dominant With or with opinion of thousands of residents both native and foreign, is bound to fall These men believe that intervention by the United States or some other power might prevent the overthrow, but, left alone, that the Huerta. gov ernment will see itself slowly crushed backward against the wall by the ConstitutionaIists-
 Francisco I. Madero. alive, never could induce any considerable num- Der of men to take arms in defense of his government, but Madero, dead, has proved a far more potent figure Any estimate of the mum Der. of rebels is largely guess, but it Is safe to assume that in no previous revoiu- ton have there been in the field so many men armed working so closely together.
 It was not the lack of money that handicapped the government so bad ly in the opening days of the rebel lion as it was the sTna1lness and in efficiency of the army. There was a fair part of the irregular establish ment which could not be counted on, and when an investigation was made it was discovered that not every name on the payrolls was backed by a sol dier present or accounted for
 It was believed. however that with money to continue the pay of the sol diers and to organize and equip new bodies, the government would whip the rebels. The more hopeful said that if the government could hold them off for a year or more 1t would win, but the majority regarded the chance slight even in that case.