Saber noise In Chilean history , Saber - noise or saber - rattling ( ) was an incident that took place on September 3 , 1924 , when a group of young military officers protested against the political class and the postponement of social measures by rattling their saber s within their scabbard s . The term is now applied generally to cover any indication of military aggressiveness . In a sense , strategically timed war games can serve as an explicit form of saber - rattling , in that the extent of a country ' s military muscle is put up on display for other countries ( namely , adversaries ) to see . Context . In 1924 , Chile was in the throes of an economic and political crisis . The economy , heavily dependent on the export of nitrate s , was suffering the effects of the discovery of artificial nitrates during World War I . On the other hand , Chile was politically paralyzed by a conflict between President Arturo Alessandri and the conservatively controlled congress , who refused to discuss any of the drafts that he sent them . On February 1 , 1924 , the political parties signed an agreement to change the parliamentary procedures in order to limit the censure votes ( a procedure used to force cabinet ministers to resign ) , to allow the closure of debates by simple majority and in general to eliminate all dilatory tactics , specially those dealing with the national budget . As an additional measure , they agreed to create a parliamentary stipend ( 30 . 000 pesos for the senators , 15 . 000 pesos for the deputies ) . This program was received with public outcry , mainly because it was the only law that had been produced by the governing coalition while the social measures prepared by President Alessandri had been postponed time and again . In the Army , the news were especially bitter since they had been waiting for a salary increase for a long time . " Saber noise " . On September 3 , 1924 , a group of 56 young military officers ( mostly lieutenants and sub - lieutenants coming from middle classes or working class es ) , led by Colonel Marmaduque Grove and Major Carlos Ibáñez del Campo , attended the session where the congressional salary discussion was to take place . They quietly sat in the public tribunes , and waited for the topic to be broached . At that point the president of the chamber , feeling intimidated , demanded that the public be cleared , as the discussion was to be secret . As the officers silently started to leave , they began to rattle the sabers they wore as part of their dress uniform within their scabbards , as a way to indicate their discontent with the political class in general , and in sign of support to Alessandri ' s social agenda Consequences . This event was the culmination of a process that marked the increasing desire by the military corps of a more active participation in Chilean politics . Since the 1891 Chilean Civil War , the military had been excluded although they were very dependent from all political groups for their advancement . It is also one of the events that mark the end of the so - called " Parliamentary Republic " ( 1891 - 1925 ) , also known as the " pseudo - parliamentary period " because the executive was subject to the legislative but checks and balances of executive over legislative were weakened . The very next day the same group of young military officers involved led by Colonel Marmaduque Grove and Major Carlos Ibáñez del Campo , created a " military committee " to defend themselves from possible punishments by the government . On September 5 , the " military committee " demanded that President Arturo Alessandri dismiss three of his ministers , including the minister of War and Navy Gaspar Mora ; the enactment of a labor code , the passage of an income tax law , and the improvement of the military salaries . Faced with almost open military insurrection , Alessandri had no option but to appoint General Luis Altamirano , the Army Inspector General ( Chief of the Army ) , as head of a new cabinet . On September 8 , General Altamirano appeared in front of Congress to demand the passage of eight laws , including Alessandri ' s labor code . Congress dared not to protest , and the laws , which had been languishing for years , were passed in a matter of hours . These included the Eight - hour day , suppression of child labour , clear rules for collective bargaining , legislation on occupational safety , legalization of trade unions , a law on cooperative s and the creation of courts of conciliation and labour arbitrage . At that point Alessandri felt that he had become just a pawn of the military , and , on September 9 , he resigned and requested asylum at the US Embassy . Congress refused to accept his resignation , and instead granted him a six - months constitutional leave of absence . He left the country immediately for Italy . General Altamirano assumed power as Vice President , and on the 11th , a military Junta was established to rule the country on the absence of the titular president , Alessandri .