El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-06-05


there many people imagine that
That country is a half savage nation
whose normal condition is a state Of
violent revolution nation, in short,
that has no conception Of the duties
OF CIVILIZED peoples.
Those who hold this opinion Of
Mexico are wholly mistaken. though
( their error is not at all surprising
All nations however advanced they
may be, always misunderstood the
across their frontiers. It would
seem that nations feel in duty bound
to misunderstood and SANDER one
another.
It is not strange. then. that Mex
leo should be misunderstood The
Me1icans. themselves, and include
among them the ruling classes. also
lack proper understanding Of a
foreign country.
Civilized. but Unfortunate.
It may be stated that Mexico is as
civilized as any OF the other coun-
tries Of Spanish speaking America,
but she has been extraordinarily IN
fortunate.
The history Of Mexico during the
last so years may be summarized as
follows:
Those who tried TO civilizs her
either did not know how or else did
not care 20 complete their work. and
their successors not only failed to
complete the work Of civilization.
but, blinded by political fanaticism,
they destroyed a great deal Of what
their predecessors had accomplished
Diaz Peace One OF Force.
have never been an admirer OF
EorIirio Diaz he was simply a ty-
rant The peace that he maintained
for 30 years was secured by whole
sale executions, ordered without due
process OF law and by violations Of
the liberties Of the Individual
During his 80 years OF rule he
caused the death. by secret and I'M
derhanded ways, Of more people. per-
haps. than have fallen in all the bat
ties Of revolution.
Moreover, although with his dicta-
torial powers he could have given a
great impetus TO public education in
his illiterate country. he preferred to
keep the people ignorant
Has Good Word for PorflrIo.
Politically and spiritually, the long
reign OF PorfiriO Diaz was a misfor-
tune for Mexico, but we must admit,
IN all justice, that. so far as material
progress goes, Mexico never had an
other ruler that could compare with
this man
Every eOnspieuOusIy modern thing
that Mexico has today she owes to
Gen. DiaE. The great buildings in !
the eitiess the public sanitation, the I
railways, harbor improvements, |
elasses-au these date from the time |
of Don PorfiriO. One is amazed to see |
the amount Of building done or half /
completed during the time OF this /
tyrant- He kept the spirit OF his peo- |
PIE in letters, but he succeeded IN /
giving the country the outward ap- /
pearance Of a nation
Held AlOof From World.
IN one particular he succeeded ad- /
well Mexico is a country /
that has inherited from the Indian
certain tendency TO hate all foreign
ers, 70 shun them with an irresistible
aversion or 10 harass them whenever
possible. But Diaz realized that his
would be all the greater and
more enlightened in proportion as II
kept in contact with the rest OF the
world.
HIS glorious predecessor. Benito
Juarez, for whom every man OF dem
lcratic ideals must feel a deep in
crest and sympathy had, neverthe-
ess, a great defect He was an In
Ian, and through an irresistible "a
.ial instinct he distrusted all foreign
rs and tried TO avoid them AS he
vas patriotic and, after the imperial
adventure Of Macmillan, had mis-
stvings about the possible effects OF
foreign influence on his country, he
.ried 10 keep his nation in the. geo
graphical Isolation in which IL had
lived The coast line OF Mexico con-
-inued 10 be mere coast line with I
put ports, and the north Of the re-
public continued a desert to consti-
-ute an almost impossible barrier
between the United States and the
vital center Of Mexican life.
Porfirio Diaz reversed the policy
o. BenitO Juarez. He opened the
ports and thus placed his nation in
more frequent communication with
EurOpes he laid several railway lines
-. 4. 7
with the United States.
He took pains to develop the re-
sources OF the country favoring the
creats0u OF new industries, stimulat-
ing the development Of the mines.
and aiding directly the discovery OF
he oil wells, an Industry which
grew in the last years Of his rule.
During this period Mexico did not
have liberty. but It had peace and
A group Of Intelligent men whom
he public sarcastically nicknamed
adopted this title themselves, placed
themselves at the orders OF the for
ner warrior. now become dictator,
md cooperated with him There
we're ministers who held their port
.oIos for 80 years without inter
upton. The people naturally found
his tutelage too long-s0 long in
Iced. that the annals Of absolute
scarcely show a similar
Example.
Revolt Sure to Come.
The revolution had - come. When
( did come, the people Of the whole
country, some because they wanted
liberty and others because they de-
tired a change after such a long pc
'iod OF inertia followed the revolu-
ionary path
Today, after 10 years, observers
,eGin to realize that the revolution
ias been OF little use. There was no
more liberty under Cnrranza than
here had been under Don Porflrfo,
md on the other hand, peace and
prosperity has entirely disappeared.
The revolutionary governments did
rot do anything new What Mexico
las today she already had under
)iaz; except that now everything Is
llder. almost in ruins, like a build
ng which gradually deteriorates for
ack Of someone TO take care OF Il
md repair the damage caused by
ime.
sained anything in morality. When
as they do now, about
he lack Of honesty Of their rulers, /
md they called the Cientificos OF
hose days thieves, just as sincerely
IS later they accused the revolution
SITS
Politicians Are Money Mad.
Perhaps the people were right I
lave not seen at close range the men |
Who ruled the country under Diaz.
But IL seems that poor Mexico Is
ursed with an endless succession OF I /