The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1924-03-07
THE HERO-STATESMAN
A. D. 1867


There. has been no greater man
among those recently living in the
world than Diaz, the hero-statesman,
father of Mexico. What other soldier
scored fourteen sieges and fifty victori-
Gus battles7 What other statesman,
having fought his way to the throne,
built a civilized nation cut of chaos?
This Spanish red Indian halfbreed
began work at the age of seven as err
rand boy in shop. At fourteen he
was earning his living as private tu-
tor while he worked through college
for the priesthood At seventeen he
was a soldier in the local militia and
saw his country overthrown by the
United States, which seized three
fOurths of all her territories. At the
age of twenty-one, Professor Diaz. In
the chair of Roman law at Oaxaca,
was working double tides as lawyers
clerk.
/ In the Mexican republic" it is a
very serious offense to vote for the
party-out-of-office, and the only way to
support the opposition is to get out
with a rifle and fight So. when Pro-
fessor Diaz voted at the next general
election, he had to fly for his life. After
several months of hard fighting, he
emerged from his first revolution as
mayor of village.
/ The villagers were naked Indians,
and found their new mayor an unex-
pected terror. He drilled them into sol
diers. marched them to his native city,
Oaxaca, captured the place by assault,
drove out a local usurper who was
making things too hot for the citizens,
and then, amid the wild rejoicings that
followed, was promoted to a captaincy
in the national guards.
| Captain Diaz explained to his nation
al guards that they were fine men, but
needed little tactical exercise. So he
took them out for gentle course OF
maneuvers. TO try their teeth on a re-
bellion which happened TO be camped
conveniently in the neighborhood.
When he had finished exercising his
men, there was no rebellion left, so he
marched them home. He had to come
home because he was dangerously
Wounded.
1t must be explained that there were
two big political parties, the ciericals
and the liberals. Diaz was scarcely
healed of his wound. when a clerical
excursion came down to steal the city.
He thrashed them sick, he chased them
until they dropped, and thrashed them
again until they scattered in helpless
panic.
The liberal president rewarded Colo
mel Diaz with a post of such eminent
danger that he had to fight for his life
through two whole years before he
could get q vacation. Then Oaxaca, TO
procure him holiday, sent up the
young soldier as member Of parlia-
ment TO the capital.
OF course, the clerical army objected
strongly to the debates Of a liberal
congress sitting in parliament at the
capital. They came and spoiled the
session by laying siege to the City Of
Mexico. Then the member for Oaxaca
was deputed to arrange with these cler-
Icals.
He left his seat in the house, gath
cred his forces and chased that clerical
army for two months. At last, dead
weary, the clericals had camped for
supper, when Diaz romped in and
thrashed them. He got that supper.
So Disguised were the clerical lead
ers that they now invited Napoleon III
to send an army of invasion. Undis-
mayed, the unfortunate liberals fought
q joint army of French and clericals,
checked them under the SHOWS of
Mount Orizaba, and so routed them
before the walls of Puebla that 1t was
nine months before they felt well
enough TO renew the attack.
In time, the French, forty thousand
strong, not to mention their clerical
allies, returned TO the assault of Pu-
ebla, and in front Of the city found
Diaz commanding an outpost. The
place was only large resthouse for
pack-trains, and when the outer gate
was carried, the French charged in
with a rush. One man remained TO de-
fend the courtyard. Colonel Diaz, with
a fieldpiece. firing shrapnel, moving
away the French in swaths until his
people rallied from their panic, charged
across the square and recovered the
lost gates.
The city held out for sixty days, but
succumbed TO famine, and the French
could not persuade such man as Diaz
to give them any Iarole. They locked
him up In tower. and his dungeon
had but little iron-barred window far
up in the walls. Diaz got through
those bars, escaped, rallied handful
of Mexicans, armed them by capturing
a French convoy camp, raised the
southern states of Mexico, and for two
years held his own against the armies
of France.
President Juarez had been driven
away into the northern desert, a fugi-
tive. the Emperor Macmillan reigned
In the capital, and Marshal Bazaine
commanded the French forces that
tried to conquer Diaz in the south. The
Mexican hero had three thousand men
and a chain of forts. Behind that
chain of forts he was busy reorganiz-
ing the. government of the southern
states, and among other details, found
ing a school for girls in his native city.