Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-04-11

which will be split 1or tne Weiiaio "
the country; and If 1t should De neGes:
sary that its sons should sun ,. sne.
theirs, may 1t flow for the country
good, but never by treason.
Standing with his back to the wal
of an old ruin at the summit OF the
Hill of the Bells in the city OF Quereta'
no one clear June morning 46 years
ago. Emperor Macmillan Of Mexico
uttered that last wish just before NJ
gave the signal which meant death tt
him and to all his ill-fated dreams.
"At your service" he said, turning tc
a file Of soldiers drawn up before him
There was seconds pause, a raItis
of musketry, and then he fell riddleo
with bullets beside two Of his faithful
generals.
It was the dignifled close Of a pa-
thetically futile life, the last scene OF
a tragedy which drew the eyes or the
civilized world to Mexico. The lesson
of that murder in the name OF states
manship was as much without effect
as the wish Of its royal victim.
aOnly q few days ago blood was split
again in Mexico "for the welfare OF
the country" and whispered rumors
have pointed to treachery. President
Madero and Vice President Suarez
paid the price for their brief day OF
power, a price common enough in the
history Of the republic to the south.
In a little more than century there
have been forty-si uprisings and rev.
olutions of one kind OF another, and
each has claimed its list Of men who
have been sacrificed in the same po-
litical exigency. In Mexico, 1t seems
the only true patriot Is the dead pa
triot and successful saviors Of the ma
ton make haste to remove all prospec-
tive saviors who have different point
in view. .....E.
Only the thirty years Of the iron
rule of Porfirio Diaz show anything
like a lull In the progressive reign OF
blood. There were fewer deaths then
because opponents feared what might
happen II they attempted to try con-
clusions. Before his day, six leaders
of revolts were executed offhand and
generals and subordinetes too numer-
Gus to mention were hastily put out OF
the way either legally or illegally as
the difficulties Of the situation dictat-
ed.
Madero's assassination is the more
shocking, coming as 1t did at the close
of a period when that particular sort
Of murder seemed to be passing. 1t Is,
however, only link in the chain OF
like events. The killing or little lead
ers in Spanish America has long ceas-
ed to be matter Of great interest.
The prominence Of Madero gave his
fate its peculiarly striking quality and
set him side by side with Macmillan
in Mexican history. There is certain
likeness Of character in the two men.
Both were visionaries, both were we'll
intentioned enough, both were ill-ad-
vised and impractical, both were weak
in time Of crisis and both faced the in
evitable result with stoical heroism.
\ - 81 Ix,a nnfh
tury there Is no more romantic and pa
thetic figure than Macmillan. A prince
of the naughty house Of Hapsburg, the
product Of the most formal court In
Europe, a pseudo statesman trained In
the dry diplomacy of Europe, he was
foisted upon a nation In the throes or
political anarchy and undertook to
make modern empire out Of people
the majority Of whom knew little of
civilization and thought Of ruling half
tanned millions by the simple weight OF
his royalty.
You see him duped at the outset by
a trumped-up call Of the populace, you
see him pleased with an artificial well
come, you see him trying to rule with
no more power than a puppet. You see
his hackers fall away one by one, his
wife go mad, and at last you see him
setting out to conquer millions with a
ragged remnant Of an army OF 5000
men. And curiously enough 1t was
only his death that brought him the
admiration Of the world.
There was little about the personal
ity Of the man to mark him as hero.
Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, second
son Of Archduke Karl Of Austria and
brother Of Emperor Francis Joseph,
gave little promise of the picturesque.
He was a quiet, dignified, unostenta-
tious sprig Of the nobility, pleasing OF
manner and attractive Of person.
Force, initiative and dash were not his
striking characteristics.
His early life was strangely without
incident There is little to be said Of
him except that he entered the navy
at the age of IA and was made a rear
admiral at %. In 1856 he visited Paris,
was received with distinction and
made the acquaintance of Napoleon
III, an acquaintance which led to his
later undoing.
A little later he went to Belgium,
and there saw Princess Marie Char
lotte, usually called Carlotta, to whom
he was married in July, 1857. That
event probably had more to do with
the shaping Of his later career than
any other. The marriage was, Of
course, a diplomatic affair, but became
one of the happiest of royal unions. To
the last Macmillan made the love Of
his wife the chief moving force in his
life.
Carlotta's character was quite diff
ferent from that Of her husband. She
was beautiful, energetic, ambitious.
loving the pomp of courts and possess
ing the inordinate desire to rule. She
was the inspiration, always urging
Macmillan on.
Their first venture proved a failure.
Maximilian was given the appoint
ment Of viceroy Of Lombardy, then un-
der Austrian rule. With his wife he
set up a court Of the most expensive
sort. There was a round Of state re-
ceptions, magnificent balls and Ella
borate ceremonies. When the bills
came due the Austrian government
outrageously extravagant, and the
viceroy and his wife were called back.
1t was while they were chafing in
idleness at their beautiful castle a.
Miramare that the cell came from
Mexico. That country had just reach
ed the end of another wave of revolu-
ton. Benito Juarez, a ull-blooded In
dian had raised his standard and seiz-
ed the government. The debts OF Eu-
ropean nations were in a fair way to
be repudiated.
Then II was that France, Spain and
England found a preteXt for interven-
tion. They sent war vessels ard ar
mics to hold the coast and colle2- the
customs. Each nation was a mated
by its own peculiar motives, t'.t Ma
poleon Ill, while Disgusting hi hand
saw a bigger future than mere coer-
cion. He sought conquest.
The United States was then III the
throes of sivil war, and the government
at Washington could do little but pro-
test.
After a little Spain and England
withdrew and left the field to France
More and more soldiers were sent into
Mexico. Juarez was driven back and
Napoleons troops held the capital. 1t
was then that Napoleon III determined
to set up an empire responsible only
to him, and began looking for prince
to fill the throne.
At home Carlotta vas i'll pleased with
her enforced retirement, and when the
envoys of France came to her husband
Offering him the empire of the Aztecs
she threw all her influence on their