The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-02-26
HAS NO BANANAS,
BUT NICE REVOLT
ALL FACTIONS THUMB NOSE
AT TIC SAM, HIS WARSHIP
AND MARINES.
Honk! Honk!

f1Onk! f1OIk.
Up the broad road to international
complications petite, naughty Hondu-
ras honks in a Fordian revolution. In
other words it is election time in
TegucigalDa. In still other words,
three presidential candidates present
ed themselves to the Honduran con-
gress. and it came to pass, after much
wrangling and maneuvering, that none
OF them could muster the required
majority. Ito SAM" as they call
their big uncle down there, sent a
nicely worded-even severe-warning
that he would have no more fireworks.
But what is your Uncle Samuel to
petite naughty Honduras with her
population OF some $4,000, American
battleships may steam about in terri
torial waters for all the Hondurans
care So, without paying the least at
tention to Secretary Hughes warning,
they got together the spare parts OF
the old election machine and started
the regular Celebration-a revolution, /
saws the New York Tribune.
Why are the battleships there, you
ask? Because the revolution threatens !
your Uncle Samuel with a shortage OF
bananas. and that terrible vegetable /
market song will once more be in
vogue. Surely itsis worth the price OF
4 battleship steaming about in Hon |
duran waters to prevent reactonares
from scrapping some progressive new
tune 10 the defunCt "yes-no' aria.
Novel Situation.
What's this connection among rev
olutions, battleships and bananas It's |
what the state department has descr1b- !
ed as the most novel situation ever |
faced by the American government in !
Latin-America."
The recent presidential elections
brought out three General !
Carias, DR.. Arias and DR., Bonilla-
all representing different political FAC
tons. Though Carias received the
largest number of votes, none OF the |
trio got majority OF all votes cast
as required by the constitution. This
threw the election into congress, and |
preparations were made to nominate |
a president from among the three |
candidates
Right here begins a lesson in Latin |
American politics. General Carias |
charged that the government which |
supported Bonila, terrorized the Ga !
rias followers, even killing some OF
them and refusing to count several |
thousand votes cast for him. President |
Lopez Gutierrez shrugged his shout |
ders and Uncle Sam raised vlrtuOus |
evebow. Then Carias offered as proof /
secret Geographic instructions sent by |
the minister OF the interior to govern !
ment officials throughout the country
to keep down the Carias majority |
The aim OF this bit OF practical poll
tics would be to throw the election !
into congress, said Carias, where the |
government believed that it had sui
fcient majority to nominate its ia
vorite, Bonllla
President Lopez Gutierrez is a stern
old man in his seventies, who has
spent many years in the Latin-Amer-
lean school of politics This aspersion |
on his honor filled him with "fervent
and righteous indignation" as he eX-
pressed it. He rounded up 200 OF the /
noisiest followers OF Carias and locked /
them in jail A storm OF disapproval
arose and
Enter the Banana!
Enter the banana II you have read !
O. Henry you know how many thous- !
ands OF tons OF that unsteady famous
fruit Honduras sends to the United !
States every year in the vessels OF the |
United Fruit Company, an American |
organization. Such things as the Ca
rias- Gutierrez squabble made tn
American banana growers tremble.
They, too, were filled with righteous
indignation. Another revolution meant
banana shortage-why should not
all Americans face the danger? A
protest flashed to Washington.
Another banana shortage! eN-
claimed Secretary Hughes, in effect. |
Never! We must protect our nation
als-and our bananas"
Away sailed the battleships.
"Civis Romanus sum, murmured |
the banana grower contentedly; being |