The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1938-04-18
BIZ j. p. MCKNIGHT


cal know-it- alls wagged beads when
Lazaro Cardenas became Mexico's
president December /, 1884.
HE won't last three months
some predicted.
He will be just another tool for
Gales" said others.
They were wrong.
1t took the quiet-spoken veteran
of revolution, youngest OF all Mex
ico's constitutional presidents, just
three weeks to demonstrate that he
was running things.
Puts Revolution To Work
Three years more and he reaily
had put the Mexican revolution
work and seen far-reachlng socla
experiments under way.
Now, with the fourth year wei
started, he has run headlong int
foreign interests by Matchmaking
the Mexican oil industry.
A dark, heavy-set powerful maj
with crisp black hair and close
cropped black moustache, vigor-
GUS and full of life at Az the sol
dierly executive, who has Indiar
as we'll as Spanish blood in hi
veins, contrasts with the traditional
Mexican politician.
Taciturn, he speaks in a mono
tone, uses few eratorical tricks. II
personal habit he is almost Spar
tan. He seldom drinks, never smokes
Impatient of pomp, he has abol-
ished formal dress for official &C.
casions. He likes the rude life o.
the country and feels at home with
the villagers.
FleeS With Prisoner
At IL, Cardenas quit the tiny
school in his own village Of Jiquil-
pan, Michoacan to work in the taX
collectors office and help support
his widowed mother and six broth
ers and sisters. Later he worked il
print shop and served as town
jailer
One night he and his single pris-
oner slipped away and became sold
iers of the revolution against Huerta
At 10 he was a captain of cav
airy, rising steadily then to thu
top rank of division general Hi
got his military experience in The
field. -Four times he was near death
Then came political experience, a
governor of Michoacan, secretar,
of interior. president of the Nationa
Revolutionary party and secretar,
of war. That was the post he LET
to run for president, as protege o
Gales. Later, Gales critized him fo
radical marathon" For his pains
Gales was exiled
| Cardinals program, in its essence
is to help Mexicos 100000 Indian
and Mestizos thalf breeds, til,
forgotten men of the country, b,
revolutionary action. His pred
ecessors had such programs toe
largely on paper.
Since Cardenas came to power
he has taken over big estates, di
vided them up and distributed II
communal farm groups 35,O00,0 0l
acres of land He has built NOR,
than 5000 schools He has laid rail
ways and highways across Jungle
and mountains. He has given hun
dreds of villages and towns waite
and sanitation.
| His term does not end until 1914
but he has hurried to get every
thing done he can, despite the cost
He does not want to leave too mucl
to a successor. There's a constitu
tional provision against his succeed
ing himself, although strong men
sometimes are urged to disregard il
Even before Cardenas took owe
the oil industry, some who approves
his general detectives were asking
Isn't he going too fast?'
Huge government expenditures il
financing the business of giving tn
land back to the Indians, they sale
had strained national finances
There were expenditures too for ir
rigation, importations OF machiner
and building material and othe
matters. To get rloney, Mexico
raised tariffs from 100 to 500 pc
cent in January. to the discomfor
of United States business men.