Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1914-01-21
THE eau Sc o THE $TRoUHLE /
MEXICO. .Es w i5 GSiS. " L

THE CAUSE or THE STRoURLE IN.
MEXICO VI s., d
I Every one knows that the Republic
OF M exico is in the throes of a;
savage, devastating, civil war but
how many know the cause or causes
which have brought about this ter
rible condition? .5. 81 81 Ss:.s
s About seven years ago the writer
travelled through majority Of the
states OF that now unhappy country,
most Of the time in company with
one 81 the editors Of q metro Titan
newspaper whose cred entialsS afforded
exceptional opportunities to study the
country and the trend OF its national
growth ss;;4 i, s
The existence Of conditions resem-.
bling the old feudal system were
observable everywhere, and q change,
IN the country's social system, a.
change that sooner or later would
recast the policies and Institutions of
that country, was also observable.
We find the following In one Of.
the published letters written by us
sat that time from the city of Mexico
##&}ss 8 F,or a long period all the great
posts in Mexico were held by an
upper class This upper class owned.
most OF the land and mines Of the.
country and Its members kept the
humber classes in complete 5subjec-
sstion. There were no intermediate
8gradatio Ions The poor people were:
poems q generic term which means
either Az borer or an ndiyidual Of
the masses. But during the quarter
aof century or more of peaceful
conditions alnd er. Diaz's rule, the nu-
cleug Of a true mid lie class has for
med and Isl likely to rapidly multiply.
New activities and new fields Of la
Dor give steady emp oyment, at good
wages to; an ever increasing number,
and they are the middle class Of the
country, the nation builders Of Mod d.
slern Mexico: Z, III #59 $S4s9 Y
These nation builders are at war
with the supporters Of the old condi-
tons which resemble feudalism m. And:
now, before going further and at the
risk of INDUCING in what some may!
consider rather lengthy diversion
we will attempt to briefly describe
sfeudalism as 1t existed in Europe for
several hundred years, comme ncing}
about the ninth century It was a.
system that bound the laboring class,
ses to the soil like chattels, making
their condi tion as deplorable as any.
species Of slavery that ever afflicted,
mankind Ri >s 35s$s
II In feudal times the king owned:
all. the land and he built his govern
ment IN this way; He divided his
country into certain parts. the same
as Ne general you'd divide. an army
into divisions. IN fact, the feudal
system was more like, a great mill
tary Organization than system of
civil gov eminent. If feuda lism pre-
vailed here, the king would quite
likely give each state to- a feudal
lord, and bind his several lords to
furnish him with a kcertain sum OF
money each year, and with. a certain
number Of men for his army in the
event OF war.
These lords, by virtue Of their posi-
tiions, would become the division
commanders OF; the kings army, and
also, the civil governors of the
states. They, lin turn, would
follow the example sof their king and
give the districts OF their states to
their dukes, or brigadier generals in
return for certain annual rents, and
the services OF a certain number Of
soldiers whenever called for by the.
lord This feature would be carried
down through the several smaller
geographical sub divisions Of the
country, as far as military or civil
officers were required. /. II
4 Under this system the great mass
Of wealth producers became depend
ent upon others, became the victims
of a feudal juggernaut.
There will never be peace in
Mexico until the masses of the
people become the owners of the
lands Of that country.
The great haciendas, or great
farms as we would call them are
principally responsible for present
day troubles in Mexico. One of
Terrazas farms lies north Of the
city fof Chihuahua. 1t is 1876 miles
long and 100 miles wide, and it is
claimed that no feudal lord ever ex-
ercised more despotic control over
his wealth producers than did this
Mexican landlord.
The battle cry of the Mexican reb-
els Is Mexico for the Mexicans'',
and they have as little use for the
foreign corporations, which through
bribery and grating methods have
secured control of the country's nat
ural resources, as they have for their |
native aristocrats who altho few in
number own the larger part of that
country's lands.
A government which does not give
all men a reasonably equal chance to
acquire and use the things which God
has created is an injury rather than
i benefit to the masses of its people.
The life Of such a government is of
ew years and full Of troubles. No
government can long exist that has
lot the support of vast numbers of S
nen who are willing to fight and if
Feeds be to die for the maintenance