Evening star., 1927-08-16
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

war IN new place ana between
unexpected enemies is reported from
Bolivia. wherein $4,000 Indians are
said to have revolted against the
whites and gone on a wild raid of
slaughter and destruction. The details
are meager and perhaps the report is
grossly exaggerated, but the possibil-
tiles of serious results cannot be
denied. It is intimated that the trou.
BILE which started in Eastern Bolivia
may spread to La Paz, the capital,
and involve other tribes numbering
hundreds Of thousands Of Indians. 1t
is questioned whether the govern.
ment's army will remain loyal to the
state, or join the fellow tribesmen al
ready on revolt, for the army Is COM
posed largely Of Indians. with a few
white officers. There We're two upris-
ings in 1920 without serious cOnse-
quences.
There are authorities who have lived
In Bolivia who differ from each other
as to what conditions there may have
led to this outbreak. In the absence
Of explanations by telegraph, 1t seems
to be anybodys guess, but here are
some of the suggestions as to the
causes-none of which is guaranteed: :
!. 1.-THE revolt is another manifesto.
ton of sympathy with SaccoVanzetti
the condemned Italian murderers and
Communists" How could the fate of
two Italians in Massachusetts cause
$4,000 Indians to rebel against their
South American government?
2. 1T Is due to Soviet propaganda
arOusing the Indians to revolt against
| their rulers" Yet the Indians of Bo-
livia, as of other countries of South
America, are organized in tribes ruled
arbitrarily by their own chiefs, heredi-
tary or elected by the members Of
the tribes. There is no conception
among them of rule of the pro
letariat, and, in their illiteracy, they
| could not comprehend Soviet con.
sideration of government. If the Com
munists have had anything to do with
the uprising, it is simply as general
| troublemakers, according to other au-
thorities.
3. Even before the conquest by
PiZarro the Incas owned land in
| separate holdings, and the present
generation holds the same individual
tracts by inheritance through the cen.
turies. They recognize only their
tribal relations and so refuse to pay
taxes on their land to the govern
| ment." But, in fact, they do pay
| taxes to the government, though the
| matter of taxation Is a real point of
| friction, and it is oontradicted that
there were such individual holdings
| prior to the Spaniards.
4. THE danger Of the revolt Is aug.
| mented by fear Of the loyalty of the
| are themselves Indians-but the gov.
ernment will use only the mestizos
(half-breeds) against the full-bloods, for
the lf-breeds. being part white in
| origin, look down on the full.blooded
| Indians and will fight them"
All agree that the revolt is not an
| ordinary South American revolution
Of the political "outs" against the
''ins." 1t Is more serious. if the press
reports are to be trusted.
X X Xxx
Who are these revolters? They are
not Incas, as the press calls them, but
are mainly Quichuas-"peaceful agri.
! culturists." The Incas were Of an
other tribe which had conquered the
| Quichuas and was ruling them when
| all were conquered by the Spaniards
under Pizarro. The small tribe of
Incas Is now extinct; only a few indi.
viduals survive and the purity of their
race Is questioned. Still more nu.
merous are the Aymaras, a tribe
largely devoted to peddling and mer-
chandizing.
All the Indians are described as
naturally docile and with well de.
veloped "inferiority complexes," which
the white ma asters take pains to cult
vate-''pa!ns" in a literal sense. for
their treatment by the whites is said
to be cruel and overbearing. yet
seldom resented unless the Indian
chances to have indulged too freely
in alcohol. He does not drink mere
whisky or brandy, but pure alcohol
with a little water. He chews cocoa
leaves continually, with a narcotic
effect. He is unbathed and infected
! with vermin and disease germs, SO
that personal contact with him ID