The sun., 1919-07-28
RAILWAY PROBLEM
DISTURBING CHILL
Resignation Of Minister of
Public Works Revives
Old Trouble.
ROADS ARE IN BAD SHAPE
Government Control Reacts
and Whole Cabinet Is Said
to Be Affected.
~ osaosp HARDY. M. A.


Wrtttcn especially for tho Latin An'ertT
can Section Of THE Sum.
The reported resignation Of the Minis
ter of Public Works IL the FIRST news re-
ceived in this country of the recent Cab
met crisis which has taken place In
Chile. 1t is rather difficult at this dis
lance to know Just what is the cfux OF
the situation, but according to the mea-
gre reports that have arrived this action
was due to differences with other MEM
bers of the Cabinet over plans for SOW
ing some Of the problems OF railway ao-
ministration. These have arisen from
congestion of traffic which the ralS
reads are suffering, a congestion 30
severe that the Government has been
compelled to place an embargo on the
export of foodstuffs.
During the war Chile was unable to Sc
cure the materials necessary to keep her
railroads in good condition, and now
that steel can once more be obtained, she
IL considering various means Of rehab-
ilitating her lines. Disagreements as to
the best methods OF bringing this about
have caused what seems to be q minis
terial crisis which may result In the
resignation of the entire Chilean Cabi-
net, for as the greater part OF Chile's
railways are operated by the Govern
ment, railroad troubles are Immediately
reflected in Government circles.
This is made the more acute by the
fact that the -laboring party wields an
Immense political influence In Chile, and
no Cabinet which does not take It into
consideration can remain in power any
length of time. The Cabinet system Of
Chile is patterned after that of England
and Ministry always resigns II II Is
not supported by the majority of Con-
gress, The support of a majority is diff
fcult to secure and stin more difficult
to retain, for Chile has not two, but five
strong parties, no one of which in recent
years has ever been able to claim a
working majority in Congress.
The oldest of these parties Is the Con-
sentative. 1t is made up OF the old
land owners whose position dates back
to Colonial days and which Is supported
largely by the clerical element Opposed
70 it is the Liberal party, which has
lately been in the ascendency. Its pol
icies are represented by its name. More
extreme Is the Radical party, which cor
responds to the Socialist party in this
country and is daily becoming more
powerful. At the extreme left is the
Democratic partyA 1t represents the la
boring classes pure and simple and may
be compared to the better element OF
our !. w. w. Somewhere between the
Liberals and the Democrats is the LIB
eral-Democratic party, whose position In
regard to legislation can never be pre-
dicted. for it is rather opportunist in
character.
In addition to these regular and fairly
distinct parties there must be mentioned
the Balmacedists and Montinos, for
whose origin one must go back to the
days Of Chile's civil war, which took
place in the early '90s. Suffice It to say
that the former stands for increasing
the Presidential power. while the latter
works for an increase in the scope Of
Congressional domination.
From this brief outline It can readily
be understood that a Cabinets position
In Chile Is always precarious. Every
Ministry is the result of a coalition and
II one party to It becomes dissatisfied
down goes the Cabinet. These changes
are so frequent at times that they are
almost kaleidoscope and on occasions the
Government has been greatly harrassed
while in the midst Of negotiations with
some foreign country to find that the
official In charge of the affair is sud-
denly replaced by another. The Chilean
Government in its efforts to meet the
present railroad situation is now facing
the contingencies inherent upon such
possibilities.
1t is to be hoped that the report that
Mr.. McAdoo is to come to its aid is true,
for any aid which the United States can
render Chile will be of great benefit not
only to her but also to US.