Imperial Valley press., 1913-12-18
Haskin Letters
Mexico-Article No. 4
lRv Frederic j. HaSkinl

maClC nl1lldTN coup u eldt Ill Tie tui :
bulent history of Latin America. True
to tradition the cientifico plotters
chose a Sunday-February 3, 1913
for their last desperate effort to re-
store the old order.
Gen. Bernardo Reyes was in the
Santiago military prison, Col. Felix
Diaz in the national penitentiary. Gen
eral Mondragon, chief of artillery,
marched with force of federal troops
from the Tlalpan barracks and a de-
tachment of cadets from the national
military academy to the Santiago
prison and released General Reyes.
The rescuers had brought along his
uniform and sword. Hastily donning
them and placing himself at the head
of detachment of soldiers, including
some of his late jailers, he marched
to the national palace to demand the
surrender of President Madero. This
he confidently expected to receive, but
a blast of fire from battery of ma
chine guns moved down the attack
ing party. General Reyes fell dead
and more than one-half of his troops
were killed or wounded.
General Mondragon had proceeded
to the penitentiary and had freed
Colonel Diaz, who Immediately estab-
lished himself in the citadel or arse
nal, the prompt surrender of which
had been previously arranged. Pres
ident Madero placed in command OF
the garrison at the national palace,
six blocks away, Gen. Vlctorlano
Huerta, grizzled old fighter. who
long had been the first finger of Por..
firio Diazs iron hand in Yucatan and
elsewhere.
Between the citadel and the national
palace, six blocks away, fierce ar
tillerv duel was waged for week.
The badly aimed shells did far more
damage to the property OF private
citizens than to the palace or the clta-
del. A reign of terror ensued. For
eign residents fled to their legations.
At Washington, London, Paris and
Berlin the gravest anxiety was felt
for the foreign colonies at Mexico city.
President Taft was again subject to
powerful pressure for intervention.
The sentiment of the world was ANY
thing is better than this"
Death of MaderO and Suarez
The fighting stopped as suddenly as
it had begun. General Huerta and
Colonel Diaz had met and agreed that
Madero must be eliminated. Huerta
returned to the national palace and
on February s18 President Madero and
Vice-President SuareZ were arrested.
Within day or two their designations
were obtained and placed in the hands
of the minister of foreign relations,
Senior Pedro Lascurain, who appoint
ed General Huerta minister of gober-
nacion. The designations were sub
mitted to congress and, despite the
fiery protest of the speaker, Senior
Francisco Escudero, against the whole
proceeding, were accepted, whereupon
Senior Lascurain automatically, under
the Mexican constitution, became
president. He promptly resigned and
was automatically succeeded in turn
by the minister of gobernacion, who,
thanks to the previous arrangement,
was none other than General Huerta.
The new provisional president now
had Senior Madero and Senor Suarez
stripped of their offices, }on his hands.
On February % they were killed while
being transferred from the national
palace to the penitentiary. President
Huerta made an official explanation.
For greater security, he said, the ma
tional penitentiary had been placed in
charge of an army officer and Senior
Madero and Senior Suarez sent there
when the automobiles" continued
Provisional President Huerta' s state
ment, chad traversed about half the
distance to the penitentiary they. were
attacked by an armed group and the
escort descended nfrom the machines
to offer resistance.
Suddenly the group was augment
ed and the prisoners tried to escape.
An exchange of shots occurred, in
which one of the attacking party was
killed and two wounded, and both of
the prisoners were killed. The auto
mobiles were badly damaged"
The Murder Theory
Sonora Madero Immediately de-
clared that her husband had been as
sassinated. She was unable to obtain
or examine his body, but was firmly
convinced that he and the vice-presi-
dent were murdered in their cell at
the national palace. Senior Perez Ro-
nero, her brothers, on the morning
of February "a went to the spot near
the penitentiary where the authorities
said that the attempted rescue had
occurred. He found there evidence
which convinced him that both Ma
dero and Suarez had been ruthlessly
shot without the slightest chance of
escape. Constitutionalists declare that
a major of rurales named Cardenas
openly boasted that he shot Madero.
Cardenas was later killed.
A shudder of horror swept over the
entire world. The American ambas-
sador, Henry Lane Wilson, tele-
graphed to Washington: "In the abb
sence of other reliable information,
am disposed to accept the govern
ments version of the manner in which
the deposed president and vice-presi-
dent lost their lives. Certainly their
violent deaths were without the gov
ernment's approval, and if the deaths
were the result Of a plot it was OF
restricted character and unknown to
the higher officials of the govern.
ment." But this had little effect or
public opinion.
Most of the other diplomatists at
Mexico city took similar stand. Eu-