The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-07-06

city government The centralized or
tunitarY srsteul. however, makes the
president and the congress supreme In
the state ana enc of the ether strives
90 get the upper hand.
Baimaeeda tried by Voluntarily lay
ing aside same at the fermer abselut-
ism of the presidency to equaliee
things between the executive and the
congress hnd only succeeded In al
lowing revolutionary congress- TO
overthrow him in the civil war that
followed lie had taKen a strong
stand against the clerical party, had
insisted on religious tolerance In fact
"a well as In theory In the state
Efforts Met Little Response.
He had belonged to the Reform
club al Santiago and had ehainpiened
the iaaa nf national freedom and pro-
@EreBs. AS minister of foreign affairs
he prevented the Intervention Of the
United States during the war with
PERU
when at Last he WAS hunted,
refugee IN the Argentine legation at
Santiago no waited TIL the last hour
of his presidency had expired ana
then he fell on his sword accord
ing TO the old proud traditions, inr-
nishing, IA Calderon thinks. one OK
those famous figures as of Greek trag-
edy or OF the serofe courage or
Socrates, "He felt that great crisis
or drama reeds a protagonlst or VIC
tim. and he accepted his destiny.
Above the half breed caudillos, above
the obscure crowd who swarm in
palaces and parliaments, hungerlns
for power and display. rises this pa
trictan figure. towering and SOLITARY :.
Authority was tho basis Of the for
rner Chilean greatness. ana with us
decline new order must be hshered
In. After the fall OF Balmaceda Chile
was the scene Of social revolution
ia thp direction Of true freedom OF
che people from the old oligarehicai
rule The radical party of today Is
rgfnu0sed Il il said. of fervent OPP
ponents Of tho clerical party and
great body Of the youth of the mid
die class, who antagonize alike inc
clergy and the wealthy landholders.
For Chle's problem, like MeXlco's' Is
one Of lnnd
BaImaceda was an opponent Of the
merchants and their plutoCratc dcs-
potlsm He sought To educate ana
lead the people as opposed 10 the
fiuaneiers, who were organizing with
the wealthy families of high rank and
tradition. In short, as opposed to the
conservative forces of wealth ana
privilege. being, however, himself an
arfstoerat by every instinct his great
44ttat41pt Ia establish the ideal demo-
rracy seemingly wrought i'll for flm
save. as the future Of chile shall prove
what forces he set In action. He was
the master builder In Chile, and
negr1v all the fine buildings are of his
achieving.
Conditions Now Promising
The election of 1896 was so close
that Frrazuris was elected by one vote
only over his rival, Reyes, His term
was marked by the dispute over the
Argentine boundaries which was arnt-
trated by the United States rho sam
question came up again, however, IN
1900. when British arbitration settled
I after a careful survey Of the water
shed.
The Trans-Andean railway, con-
Meeting Buenos Aires and Valparaiso,
has been, Of course. a great means 10
fraterDai peace between the countries
and also Of prosperity for both. me
opening Of this line was celebrated by
the erection of the bronze Christ OF
the Andes. on the boundary over
which the two countries had so long
disputed. It marks their compact OF
peace.
Calderon says that Chile and Peru
however, must be foes or must De
united. Deprived of her coast line by
chile. Bolivia has twice been united
with Peru What could be mora
natural and helpful, he asks. than Inc
union OF these three States, where the
tropical luxury and the patricia
charm If Lima would be supplemented
hy the hardy virtues and practical
commercial abilities of Santiago and
Venezuela?
The school systems OF Chile are said
to be run on the German basis under
German direction. while Anglo saxon
ideas dominate in finance. These two
Influences help TO steady the other eie-
raent and make Chile a more peacefui
land than the Argentine or other or the
Spanish- American republics have been.
Nitrate is ono of the chief resources
of chile, but there IS little doubt GEN
eral Reyes. forrner~prerident of Column =
hta. says that within few years chile
Win he the garden of the temperate
zone in south America. n nav popo-
latiou viii flock to It's shores ana
transform the land even as California
was transformed by transcontinental
railways