Evening star., 1916-03-19

milan on the throne. OF how much
fighting it has been the scene during
the last two years little is positively
known, but in view of its success in
maintaining it's own identity there
probably has been less than in other
sections of unhappy Mexico. although
undoubtedly there has been 5rigand
age.
The capital city is at the junction Of
two lovely valleys. trimmed in by noun
tains- The climate is perfect-so per-
feet that, taken with the natural sit
uation. OaXaca has been called a dwell
ing place of heroes in the garden of the
gods. The Southern Cross is some
times visible to those who care to sit
up until or 3 o'clock in the morning
to scan the southern heavens, and 2
o'clock in the morning is not late
hour for upsitting in the latitude of
Oaxaca.
The architectural attractions of the
town, about which so much has been
written, consist chiefly in the medieval
churches and the cathedral The cathe-
dral. which is Of the sixteenth century.
is not particularly notable, and has
restoration.
The famed Church of Santo Domingo
is far more striking work of archi-
lecture than the cathedral, and more
history clings about it. Thirteen mil
lion dollars are said to have been spent
on 1t. La Soledad is also a dream of
medieval picturesqueness
The modern architecture of Oaxaca is
of the usual Spanish type. The gov
ernment building. the Municipal palace
and the Palace of Justice are of this
sort. There are library and scientific
institute which are tribute to Oaxaca's s
culture as much as to it's architecture.
x =
The people of the state of Oaxaca, as
might be inferred from their main
tanning semi-independent republic in
the midst of anarchy, are somewhat
different from the inha bitants of other
sections of Mexico.
The descendants of the original Span
ish colonists have preserved many of
the virtues of their ancestors, and it is
worthy of remark that the Spanish COL
onists had virtues well as vices. But
it is the native Indian race to which
Oaxaca more than anything else owes
llS uHlqueHeSS- HtE are tne LdpOleCS,
Indians who have been compared to
the Aztecs of the Mexico valley, much
to the disadvantage of the latter. They
also give contradiction to the theory
that il is only in the Indians of north
ern Mexico that the qualities can be
found which are capa BILE of developing
something like government by the peo-
pie. At least they have done very well
in governing themselves.
They have had schools in the larger
villages and towns, and even the poems
are not a hopelessly ignorant mass
] have heard the Mexican national an
them sung by OaXaca school children
with as much understanding as Ameri-
can school children sing '"The Star
Spangled Banner" and have seen some
evidences Of school methods that go
schoolmaster who explained that his
system was the Socratic one
Oaxacs has been celebrated for the
number of famous men it has pro-
duced. all of whom have had Zapotec
Indian blood in their veins
Benito Juarez. who brought Mexico
through welter of anarchy and
whose faith and grit enabled the Maxi
milan monarchy to be upset. was
full-blooded Zapotec Indian. In his
honor the capital city was renamed
Oaxaca de JuareE.
Porfrio Diaz was a native of Oaxaca,
and IL is, of course. known that Indian
blood coursed through his veins. Much
of the history of Oaxaca in the pc
riod which settled that dictatorship
better than monarchy centers
around Daz's early manhood in his
native state. 1t was here that he was
besieger and was besiegcd: was a tri-
umphant military comma nder and was
fugitive military chief
Ignacio Mariscal, the minister OF for
eign affairs during both the stormy
period and the calm of the Diaz re-
gine, a native of Oaxaca 1t was
very largely due to the genius of Ma