Year: 1878




culiar phase of Mexican diplomacy and the
relations of the government of Porfirio Diaz
with the government of the United States.
That the Mexican President should indulge
himself in the luxury Of what the German
Chancellor once called ''a reptile fund VIII
perhaps surprise only that supplemented
portion of the public which does not know
with how little wisdom the world is govern
ed but even that part of the public will
probably be less surprised to learn that
this great man indulges himself in that
way than to find how economically he man
ages to take this indulgence. 1t appears
that he allows to his principal agent,
charged with the great duty of making pub
lie opinion in this country through the
newspapers, the sum of three hundred and
| fifty dollars month, from which fact it
might at first glance be judged
that an intimate acquaintance with
the press was not one of his strong
| points, or else that he did not
want to bribe it very m uch. He even con-
descends to specifically state, over his own
autograph, that the sum aforesaid is to be
so divided that two hundred and fifty dol
lars of it shall be for the salary ofhis agent,
and one hundred dollars for the expense Of
procuring the insertion in newspapers
of articles that shall convince the
American people of the greatness,
tranquility and prosperity Of the
Mexican Republic, and especially Of
the good intentions Of its government.
He is not merely determined to convince
people on this side the Rio Grande that all
the disturbance on the border is gotten up
by the ''rascally' government at Washing
ton, but he is prepared to give hundred
dollars q month for it, How similar is
greatness in all ages! One cannot contem-
plate this head Of the Mexican nation
specifying what he must have for his hun
dred dollars without thought of Prussia's
great Fritz laundering at all the world for
extravaganza and cutting down everybody's
salary.


But then there are other channels for the
Mexican reptile fund besides that by which
this hundred dollars q month drifted away
for two months in succession. One man is
put down for q sum that must have shaken
the Mexican treasury to its foundation
the sum, namely, Of three thousand dollars.
1t even appears probable that he got the
money, though whether he got it all
at once or fifty cents at time is
not exhibited in the chronicle. That he
had it, however, seems to follow almost
necessarily from the fact that he has ac-
tualy printed in clear type and on good
paper that gorgeous account Of the Mexican
Republic which he contracted to write, and
which is to correct the erroneous opinions
entertained by the outside world. He has
printed-argal, he had money; for the
printers lost oil faith in promises in the
first month Of the crisis. But the Presi-
dent of Mexico must bo yet greatly in
debt to this author; for what are
three thousand dollars by comparison with
the services he has rendered? Has he not
written Cox's minority report on the border
troubles? He says he has, and if he has
ten thousand dollars would be cheap for
the labor. Ia fact, to stand disclosed be-
fore the world as the author Of q report by
Cox, with the jokes thrown in, to accept
the moral responsibility for it, would
be to purchase Golconda itself at too
| high price for man sensitive on
the subject of logic and style. 1t is to be
hoped the Mexican dictator will not attempt
| to apply the rules of his pitiful economy in
q case like this. Let him not plead the pov-
erty of his government. Has he not the
money TO squander on Ministers and Con-
| suls and persons Of that sort, and shall he
| deny it to the makers and keepers of pub
lie opinion in this country? If he has the
satisfaction Of framing by the hands of his
employees the reports submitted to the Con-
gress of the United States he should pay
roundly for it. Let there be no cheap re-
ports 1t does not become the dignity of a
great nation to have them.


In the light of the disclosures of this cor
respondence the public will be better able
than it was to judge of the value of some
opinions that have obtained extensive cur
rency in regard to our relations with our
neighbors and in regard to the achieve
ments of thieves on the one side and good
soldiers on the other in the Rio Grande
| country. Credible reports have been
made from time to time to the effect
that cattle was stolen by somebody
from some one and as there was
not much cattle owned in that part
of the world except on our side the river, it
did not seem violent presumption that
the cattle were stolen from our side by
thieves whose home was on the other side.
1t was the easier to believe this because it
is recognized that cattle stealing is one of
the primitive occupations of humanity, and
the humanity of the Mexican frontier is
distinctly of primitive type; and
further, because it is only possible to
steal cattle from where cattle are, it
seemed pre-eminently probable that our
fr,ptiarsmen did not rob tha Mexican