Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-10
CONTINUED From First Page.)

titular rule. Since he was Oregon.
enemy he was the enemy of the
Agrarians Of Sonora and the north.
Obregon was elected President last
year by what purported to be a castins
OF ballots. His opponents, Serrano and
Gomez. had been safely executed. A
third and less imposing candidate, Viii
lareal, had simply been exiled. The
Gay of Obregon'S Inauguration neared
ana he was aSSaSSinated by Jose Toral
while at lunch.
With Obregon about to assume power
there were many of the Sonora men In
Mexico City at the time Among them
were two of the murdered mans closest
friends, Gen. Francisco Manzo and Col.
Ricardo Topete, president of the
Chamber of Deputies.
Some Inside History.
Obregon was shot at noon in a res
taurant outside of Mexico City. That
same afternoon Gen. Manzo, maddened
with rage and grief, selected some So
nora soldiers, from the garrison of the
capital, put them with their arms into
truck and went seeking Luis Morones.
Marones had prudently taken to cover,
where he remained some days.
Gales was Immediately importuned by
the friends of Obregon to arrest Mo-
rones and have him tried. It was thus
put, but the Sonorans wanted his life.
nothing less. They believed, with rea-
son. they said, that Obregon had been
killed for Morones, chief Of the Labor
Party of the Confederation Regional
Obreara Mexicana-the radical union
group-and member Of the cabinet.
Gales was silent on Morones. If he
"a rpl IS hi LII
leader, he refused to say so. When the
Sonorans ceased to clamor for the blood
of Morones on the intsant and agreed
to be satisfied with his Punishment,
Gales remained as firm. He brought
out again his great red herring: he
cried that the Catholic Church had led
Toral to kill Obregon. To this declara-
ton he remained steadfast, and when
Toral was convicted and sentenced to
be shot, nun, Madre Concepcione, was
convicted with him as the moral" muir
derer and sentenced to 20 years i'm
prisonment.
Denounced In Public.
The other close friend Of Obregon
who had been present on the occasion
of his death then acted. Col. Ricardo
Topete is popular man, universally
liked among the military and politicians
Of the north. He arose in the Chamber
Of Deputies, Of which he was president,
and from the tribune impeached
Morones as Obregon's murderer. For
this he had to resign the presidency OF
member.
There was bitterness In the hearts Of
the Northerners In Sonora. In Coahuila,
in Chihuahua they thought Gales had
turned against them. Nevertheless,
politics demanded that they follow him
when he raised the banner Of Obregon's
ideals as the platform for q new party,
which he did.
First there came the problem Of
selecting successor to himself in place
Of Obregon. Portes Gil was put forward
by Gales and declared elected by the
Chamber of Deputies. The Sonorans
did not believe the election had been as
honest as it appeared, and said so.
They grew cooler toward Gales.
It was then that Gales demonstrated
his skill as politician by proclaiming
q party to carry out the ideas Of Obre-
gon. He called It the Partido Revolu-
cionario Mexicana. It had no program
other than that it was to carry out the
things Obregon had stood for. There
WdS llO VI NC ACd0CA b0t ObACSOAAs 0AA4
Gales was his prophet-also president
OF the new party. Topete and the other
northern members of the old Agrarian
party fiirted with the new party.
Despite Gales reservations of ALE
glance to the ideals Of Obregon, which
were the ideas Of the north, Portes Gil
was President. Portes Gil had not
promised to follow Obregon, but had
said in his inaugural address that he
would carry forward all the policies of
the Gales regime The Northerners
were tired of those policies. which were
too liberal for them. and they were
growing bitter toward Gales, who had
tnstigated them.
Gales StiH Government.
Portes Gil was President, but Gales
was still the government.
At this point there returned from
England, where he had been Minister,
one of the Norths few favorite sons
who do not wear uniforms. He Is Gil
berto Valenzuela.
Gilberto ValenZuela Is a distinguished
lawyer, an intellectual IN the most COM
prehensive sense, and o sportsman.
When Madero rose Up with his demand
for an end to the reactionary dictator
ship of Porfirio Diaz, Valenzuela came
forward He was one Of the fine minds
which Madero used to integrate ms
intense though vague enthusiaSnS. De
Ia Huerta called Valenzuela to be his
minister Of interior, and Obregon, wnen
he became President, retained him
Valenzuela could not follow Gales when
that President embarked upon his toe
extensive, If laudable, plans. for which
the country was not yet ready. Tney
disagreed about interior affairs and
Valenzuela was sent to the Court OF St
James.
He returned then. and was imme-
diately offered the interior portfolio BY
Portes Gil. The ministry was as quickly
declined, for Gales was stu the man
who ruled.
At Obregon's Grave.
Seven months after the assassination
of Obregon the chiefs Of the Nortr
assembled to do honor to his memory
Thev. met at his grave at Huatabampo
Sonora. Valenzuela left Mexico City
and appeared at the grave OF Obregon
his first visit since his return from Eng
land to his native Sonora. Topete we.
at the grave, and civilian. who. Il
any one may claim the place, Is the
civil chief of this revolt.
This man is joss Vasconceios. q
strange figure to be a leader IN Mex
can politics, for he has won no military
glory. Vasconcelos is to Mexican pol
ftics what Woodrow Wilson was tc
those of this country, scholar, a his
torian, an educator, writer and az
educator. Once he was minister O
education.
There, then, the friends Of obregor
stood above his grave at little Husta
bampo. There were many old soldiers
and the two outstanding civilians. Val
enzuela, the lawyer and diplomat, ant
Vasconcelos. the thinker. The men Q
the wide states have powerful loyal
ties and powerful hates. Their feeling
are little shaded, unless they feel tina
a man is not worthy Of loyalty o
hatred. They had loved Obregon, ant
as they talked Of his deeds there wer
tears In their eyes.
Valenzuela, the traveller returned, VIII
xpas ar the grave of hts friend for tn