The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1914-06-03
By William G. Shepherd.
Omitted Press. Staff Cores
pondent)

NEW 1OTh)-lWO months from LOIuOT-
row July S, II Huerta is still in power
and, perhaps, even if he isn't, Mexico
will perpetrate that occasional farce
known as a popular election. Huerta
has tried one election, but SO few peo-
pie voted that he didn't dare to claim
the election valid. But the election
July has been called by the congress
of Mexico and Huerta, if he runs, will
undoubtedly attempt to prove after it
is over that the election was held hon
estly and that the president of Mexico
was chosen by an expression Of the
popular will.
Want Honest Election.
1t can be said that there isn't any
way to have an honest election in
Mexico, under the present election
laws, which are the laws Mexico has
always had, since the republic was es-
tablished. Let's take the imaginary
case of Juan Martinez, laboring man,
in the City of Mexico, and watch Juan
go through the process of expressing
his will as a sovereign voter. In the
first place Juan doesn't belong to any
party, as John Smith does, in the
United States. Only the folks with
collars and cuffs belong to parties and
Juan always takes his hat off when
he's in their presence. These collar
and-cuff persons have temporary party
headquarters in some building in the
capital, and these headquarters look
exactly like ward, city, county, or state
headquarters in any American city.
1t Is Uttered with handbills, posters
and pamphlets and filled with collared-
and-cuffed politicians.
Only One Headquarters.
But you'll notice that there is only
one headquarters. That's the one that
belongs to the party of which the out
going president Is a member. The
outgoing" president in Diaz's time
and he will be In Huerta's, tools al
ways the leading candidate for re-
election. He permits few other per-
sons to make believe they are candi-
dates against him, just for appear
ance's sake, but he knows that our |
friend, Juan Martinez, won't vote for |
them. The outgoing" president, I'M
der Mexico's election laws, always
owns the election machinery, and |
there is no way to get it away from
him.
Makes a Probe.
About two weeks before election
day, always a man comes around to
Juan's house. Juan isn't home; he's
away, at work OF course. The man is
an election official; he talks with
Juan's wife. He wants to know what
kind of a man Juan is. Has she ever
heard her husband talk against the
president; or against the governor of
the state? She never has, certainly.
AS soon as the election official sees
that Juan is just common, everyday,
workaday type OF Mexican, who won't
run amuck on things political, he
leaves a certificate for Juan. This
certificate entities Juan to go to the !;
polls to vote and when Juan gets home :
at night and asks the "Missus" what 8
has happened during the day, she 6
hands him the certificate, which Juan ;
tucks away, against election day. Juan f
is now a duly registered voter. T
Sunday Rolls Around. 7
At last the Sunday rolls around; L
election day is always on Sunday, in
Mexico because Diaz, at the request
Of his friends, the great ranch owners
in Mexico, set the custom 80 that the
voters would go to the polls in their fl
own time instead of the bosses. Juan h
goes to the polls. The chances are he a
doesn't want to go. But his boss, who .
g probably a big factory owner, or N
| big farmer, who wants to stand in
With the president and governor, de- p
Tres Juan's vote. La
At the Pools. u
So Juan turns up at the polls. The
,olls usually consist of table placed
n one of the big double-doorways
Which lead from the sidewalk into the r
atio or some business house or resi-
ence in Juan's neighborhood. Around
his table set men in collars and cuffs -.
nd high silk hats. If there's anything =
hat throws Juan into a panic it's
Ugh silk hat. There are thousands 4
t officials in Mexico who hold office Z
lst on the strength of a high silk hat
which they have owned for years. {
18th long black coat thrown in, for
xtra measure. Mexico is very pecu-
ar that way on comes Juan's SOM
zero; he tucks 1t under his arm and
'oks frightened; he doesn't know 1t,
ut he's better man, every inch of
i'm, from his sandled feet to his kind
brown eyes and Indian cheek bones,
ian any one OF the spindly-shanked,
in-fingered, frayed-hatted, half-Span-
h, half-Indian politician before him.
Calls His Choice.
Whats your name?" asked one high
It, Juan names himself, and hands