The sun., 1919-05-19
zELAYA, EX-DESPOT,
DIES HERE IN EXILE
Central Americas Stormy
Petrol Ruled Nicaragua
With Hand of Iron.

Gen. Jose Santos Zelaya, President
and Dictator Of the Republic OF Mica
ragua from 1898 to 1909 and for many
years the stormy petrol Of Central Amer
lean politics. died late Saturday night at
his home in sso5 Broadway. His body
was taken to the Campbell Funeral
Church. where services will be held on
Wednesday morning at IL o'clock. The
body then will be placed in a receiving
vault In woodlawn Cemetery and later
sent to Nicaragua for permanent inter-
ment
Gen. Zelaya had been I'll for severa
years, and it is a curious coincidence
that he died of abdominal trouble, the
exact ailment which caused the death
OF many of his political prisoners whom
he had imprisoned In the dungeons Of
Nicaragua capital city during the
numerous revolutions in which he was
Involved. Reports of American secres
agents and consular officials stationed in
Nicaragua during tho zelaya regime
indicate that one Of the favorite methods
Of disposing of such prisoners was to
give them diet that invariably caused
acute abdominal trouble or Inflammation
Of the intestines
While Gen. Zelaya was one of the
most successful Of the many South and
Central American dictators. and was
prevented only by the enmity and active
opposition of the United States from
carrying out a scheme for the oombina-
ton of several Central American coun-
tries into O republic under his absolute
rule. he was not born Of dictatorial
stock. or even of stock that ordinarily
ms kaa
the CONTRARY. while d the better class Of
Nicaraguans, Gen. Zelaya's father, when
the future Dictator came into the world,
was peaceful Nicaraguan coffee
planter. and his father had been a coffee
planter before him
Advocated Radical Reforms.
The family was wealthy as Central
American wealth went. and Gen. Zelaya
as a boy had everything he wanted, 80
that he grew up in luxury and in the
habit Of getting his own way. He got
such education a. Nicaragua afforded,
and he was then sent to Paris to COM
plete his studies. But the records OF his
life indicate that he had no taste for
scholarship. but instead spent the time
he was in Paris in the pursuit of pleas
ure. When he returned to the coffee
plantation he found life dull. and went
into politics. advocating many very rad
ical reforms in what he called an obso-
lete Government
1t Is said that he became actively en-
gagged in the tempestuous politics OF
Nicaragua largely because his family
suffered financial reverses and because
he had not been trained in a profession.
AT any event, he appeared in politics as
a leader of one of the cantons of Mana
qua during local election. Later he
was elected Mayor of the town and be-
came power in the Liberal party. His
activities and the fact that he planned
and executed several serious disturb
ances and demonstrations against the
Government, excited the fears Of the
Government leaders, an dnnally Pres
country. 1t probably was only because
of the prominence OF his family that he
was allowed to live.
Gen. Zelsya Immediately sought ser
vice under Gen. Barrios. the then ruler
of Guatemala, and obtained a commits
sion in the Guatemalan army There
he absorbed military knowledge of the
Central American sort. and got the
training in politics that later made him
enc OF the shrewdest politicians and
most feared despots in Central Amer
lea.
Ii was Gen Barrios who conceived
the idea of unincation OF the Central
American republics, a scheme which never
left Gen. Zelayas mind and which he
often attempted to carry out. without
success. He was with Gen. Barrios
during that official's p~rning and plot
ting but II lasted only q short time and
was not success.