12
ZELAYA
The Despot and Dicta
tor of Nicaragua.
r
-rVii iCARAGFA was called by |
u its Spanish conquerors Mo
ha,llu,<fd's Paradise, writes
Thomas 11. Dawley in the
New York Times. It was
a land where the native
liven without toil —a land of eternal
summer, producing much with little
labor. Neither did the people goto
war, but under the despotic rule of
Jose Santos Zelaya all this was
changed. The poor Indian has had to
hustle. And not only has the poor In
dian had to hustle, but his ladino mas
ter. who always exploited him as well,
for the despot .lose Santos Zelaya
must have wealth, and he made his
subjects, whether ladino or Indian,
shopkeeper or merchant, hustle to get
It.and ii for no other reason the peo
ple hated him.
For 10 years this despot has ruled
the country with a rod of iron. Those
who would not submit to his rule, or
even demurred, had to die or get out.
It is said that 10,000 of his people
Imve been driven into exile, but this is
undoubtedly an exaggeration, as the
total population of the entire coun
try does not exceed half a million, and
less than a third of this belonging to
what is known as the ladino or creole
element. The rest are Indians, pure
and simple. They never leave the
country.
While a great deal has been said
against Zelaya as a man, there is one
thing that cannot be said against him
and which his enemies never have at
tempted to say against him, and that
Is that he is not a brave man. It usu
ally takes a brave tnan to rule any
one of the turbulent Latin American
t<o called republic.
Hia/ of Mexico b'-gan his career as
a soldier and a revolutionist, and so
did hi- compeer, J. Ruflno Barrios of
Guatemala. Castro of Venezuela,
while not a soldier, began his career
sis a fighter and a leader. With a band
of poorly armed cow herders from his
native mountains he raided a few bor
dering towna and fought his way on
to Caracas, where he lauded himself
in the presidential chair.
I'.ut Zelaya differed from these in
that he began bis career as the gentie-
Tnanly son of a planter. He had little
rise to do than ride over the vast es
tate belonging to hi.-, father. He was
sent to school at the capital and given
all the education that his masters
could supply. Extravagant in his
tastes, lie drew 011 the old man's
purse strings, leaving the plantation
frequently for the town, where he was
the leader among a gathering of young
men of about his own age and circum
stances. For amusement they paraded
the streets of the town at night,
twanging the guitar strings and sing
ing love songs to their sweethearts.
Had Zelaya been content with this
amusement he might have succeeded
to the ownership of his fathers es
tate and have passed the remainder of
his days in quiet, comfort, for his
country was quietly, yet strongly,
ruled by the conservative President
Oharmora, his party having been in
power since the final defeat of the
American filibuster Walker, who had
landed on the coast with his sfi immor
tals and fought his way to the presi
dency.
Zelaya told his young friends and
compatriots that he did not approve
of the conservative rule. His talks
became speeches; he grew bolder.and
denounced the government openly,
with the result that he was thrown
out. in other words, he was exiled.
Jle sought refuge in Guatemala, then
ruled by .i. Ilullno Barrios, the first of
the stern liberal rulers of the Portfirio
Diaz type.
No country was ever more complete
ly organized und§r a military rule than
was the liitle republic of Guatemala
at that time. Barrios had not only re
organized a very much dilapidated
army, but he had virtually created a
V w one. lb 1 had stationed garrisons
in all the little towns, strung his
country with a network of telegraph
wires, ordered his local commandants
to report by wire to the uational capi
tal daily at sundown that all was well,
and thus he had established peace in
his country and put an end to revolu
tion that was lasting.
In this army of Barrios, Zelaya, the
exile from Nicaragua, sought and ob
tained service. Commissioned only a
lieutenant, for Barrios was frugal with
his commissions, he was soon given a
place 011 the president's staff, where
he took full advantage of the opportu
nities given him to study the "old
man's" method of governing a would
be troublesome republic.
Barrios, the strong man of Central
America, had his life's ambition ever
before him, and that was the unifica
tion of the five Central American re
publics. It was this ambition that led
to bis undoing, for one bright morning
in February, 1885, a proclamation ap
peared nailed upon the door of the
capitol, and upon the doors of the
cabiklos, or town halls, throughout the
republic announcing that he had uni
ted the five republics, and lor fear
that some of them or all of them
might see fit to disunite he was at the
head of an army of:! 0,000 well-discip
lined troops marching to the first and
strongest one of them, San Salvador.
It is said that a similar proclamation
appeared on that same morning on
the breakfast table of each of the
presidents of each of the other four
republics informing them that they
had been united, or annexed, as they
claimed.
However, marching with Barrios at
the head of that, army of 30,0ut), the
grandest army Central America had
ever seen, was the young lieutenant
and exile. Jose Santos Zelaya. But
Salvador did not propose to be either
united or annexed, and liarrios, the
greatest president undoubtedly whom
any of those turbulent little republics
have ever known, rode to his death,
fie fell upon the plains of Chalchuapa,
mortally wounded, in the very act of
leading his army to victory.
Young Zelaya was not only a stanch
admirer of old Barrios, as he is affec
tionately remembered, but he believed
in him and his methods of government.
As he rode by the side of him to that
fatal battlefield of Chalchuapa he ex
pected to continue with him across
Salvador and Honduras into his own
country, where he would see the prin
ciple for which he had stood and for
which he had been exiled, thoroughly
established. But with the fall of Bar
rios the army which he was leading
(led. Zelaya returned to Guatemala,
where he received a promotion for
bravery on the field, and there he con
tinued in the army of Guatemala until
the opportune moment arrived, when
he threw up his commission and dis
appeared.
It was in the early '9os that he re
appeared in his own country leading
a band of insurgents against the gov
ernment. He met with success flora
the very commencement of his cam
paign, and it was not (ong before he
landed in that ultiinat goal of All
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1909.
successful revolutionary leaders, the
presidential chair.
There is an old saying in Central
America to the effect that in dealing
with your Inferiors you must hold
out a piece of bread to them In 0110
hand while you grasp a club in the
other. This is very much 1 lie principle
upon which Zelaya has maintained his
rule in Nicaragua. He offers his people
bread with one hand, and when they
are not satisfied they get the club.
When one sees the tatterdemalion
soldiers of these Ceutvr.l American
armies for the first time not oMj is
he inclined to laugh, but he entertains
grave doubts of their efficiency as sol
diers, yet it is only with such soldiers
as these that, the satrap maintains his
despotism. Strange to say that the
men who make up the rank and file of
these armies are not warlike.
They are usually harmless, peace
able fellows, if let alone, and their
greatest desire is to be let alone. But
they are not let alone. They are sim
ply picked up, corralled or captured as
the case may be, and given to under
stand that they have got to obey, and
it is this understanding that makes
them good soldiers.
They are not supposed to know, and
do not know, anything about politics,
or it' called upon to fight, what they
are to fight for. They know who their
chiefs or officers are—who the presi
dent is. and as long as this president
is alive, and the officers who command
them stay with them, they will fight
to the end, and it is this military
strength that keeps the despot in pow
er in face of all the hatred and opposi
tion which may be brought against
him.
Ze'.aya learned the power of this
stupid military force as an officer in
the army of Guatemala under Barrios,
and he has made good use of it, al
though he has not succeeded in per
fecting its use so thoroughly as old
man Barrios did, for he has had many
revolutions to contend with and put
down during his 1G years of power.
Some say that this is because Zela
ya is neither as stroug a man or as
clever a man as Barrios. Barrios be
gan his rule by having a dozen dis
turbers of the public peace and se
curity taken out in the public plaza
and shot. That ended the matter.
There were no more disturbers of the
public peace and security, and I here
were no more public executions. But
Zelaya, it seems, has had to keep up
the execution of his fellow-citizens all
along throughout his 10 years of occu
pation bf the presidential chair.
As to his having converted the Mo
hammed's Paradise into a country of
comparative activity there can be 110
doubt, in this respect he lias done
precisely what Barrios did in Guate
mala.
He has shaken the Indian out of his
lethargic state and made him work or
go into the army, or both. With liis
labor he has strung telegraph lines all
over the country, herded cattle and
planted coffee, and whenever his army
needed strengthening or there was a
revolution on hand he has had him
brought in as a volunteer soldier or
recruit and putin the army.
On the other hand, the merchants,
planters and business men of 'the
country have had to increase their
earnings as best they could and pay
bim oftimes arbitrary tribute or tax
ation.
As an example of his methods in
this respect, during an invasion of the
country by a large force of revolution
ists from Costa Rica, he kept a care
ful account ol all expenditures in put
ting down tile revolution, at the same
IVERNMENT PALACE, MANAGUA, THE CAPITAL OF NICARAGUA.
time keeping tab on all the merchants,
capitalists and planters who were In
sympathy with or aided and abetted
the revolution in any way. He then,
after having put down the revolution,
drew upon each one of these sympa
thizers for a specific amount, accord
ing to his capital, to defray the ex
pense of putting down the revolution.
It is frequently stated, and with a
good deal of truth, that there Is never
more than one political party in Cen
tral America, and that is the party in
power. But as a matter of fact, there
is and always has been been two well
defined political parties. There are
tjie conservatives on one side and the
liberals on the other. The reason fol
ks being stated that there Is only one
political party is the fact that which
ever party is in power maintains its
despotic sway to such an extent that
no opposition does show itself in any
form whatsoever. Sometimes there is
a pretense of having an election, but
such an election is more than a farce
for, should any misguided element of
the population or section of the coun
try be beguiled into believing that
they were going to be allowed to vote
sure enough and put up a candidate in
opposition to the government program,
Ihe uniortunate candidate would be
surely taken out and shot.
Zelaya's predominating characteris
tic is his courage. He is absolutely
fearless, and that is one reason why
he Is more thoroughly hated than any
one of the other Central American
satraps. The other reason is, like that
of his preceptor, old Barrios of (!uate
mala, his one ambition has been to
unite the live republics tinder one
government, with himself, of course,
at its head. Various have been his
schemes and projects to accomplish
this end. At one time fomenting a rev
olution in Salvador, he has failed in
that, direction. At another time he suc
ceeded in placing Davila in the presi
dential chair of Honduras with the
understanding that Davila would unite-
Honduras to Nicaragua, only to have
Davila tell him togo to the devil after
ids seat was safely secured, and Costa
Rica has always been a thorn in his
[ side because he couldn't got up any
I revolution there, in which something
| might accrue to his benefit or to his
! ]iet scheme. For .these reasons Zelaya
has come to be? known as the mischief
maker of Central America.
Compared with some of tlie other
j rulers who are or who have been in
j the limelight, he in undoubtedly the
! boldest and bravest of them all, with
| the single exception, perhaps, of Cas-
I tro of Venezuela. But he is a different
I type of man from Castro, who was of
I low origin and as vicious as he was
low. Zelaya is educated, and ho is
very much of a gentleman in his man
ner and personal appearance, while
Castro was not only ignorant, but he
was a personification of the brute in
human form.
On the other hand, there is the
present ruler of Guatemala, Cabrera,
who is a rare exception to them all,
for he is a despicable coward main
tained in power by a host of satelites,
who cajole him and flatter hiin, mak
ing him believe that he is the greatest
man on earth, while they, as a mat
ter of fact, hold the reins of a despot
ism as arbitrary, cruel, and corrupt as
that of Nero, who fiddled while Home
was burning.
AVOIDS DANGER FROM GERMS
Theater Doorkeeper Careful to
Cleanse Fingers While Hand
ling Tickets.
"1 use a wet sponge at all times
when taking tickets," said a certain
theater doorkeeper of St. Louis, "be
cause of al! men in the world the
ticket taker is most exposed to con
tagious disease. When you stop to
figure on the thousands of tickets I
handle every year—perhaps one for
every person in St. Louis —you can
I readily see what a great chance there
j is of germs coming to me with the
j tickets. The idea of using a sponge
after every ticket was brought to my
j attention by a very prominent physi
j cian of St. Louis some time ago. He
| stopped on his way into the show one
i night and said: 'Come up to my of
j flee to-morrow, I want to show you
j something that you will not regret.'
"Wondering what in the world it
j was hp iiad to show me, I called 011
j bim, and he then took a bunch of
! tickets from bis d< sk and under the
i microscope showed me that 1 receive
hundreds of little germs with every
piece of cat-board, and that any of
j them are apt to contain germs of a
! type to cause consumption, skin trou
-1 ble or a half hundred other tilings.
This fixed me. I thanked liini, bought
a sponge and have used it faithfully
over since. Hach time that 1 touch
a ticket I wash off my finger by rub
bing it across the wet sponge. It
isn't much bother and it has undoubt
edly lessened my chances of dis
sease."
"The average person is In too much
of a hurry to take the time to secure
protection against these apparent dan
gers," said a well-known bacteriologist
of St. Louis, "but it pays in every
sense of the word. The cashier should
keep a small sponge on hand at all
times over which she could draw her
fingers every time they come in con
tact. with the picket or coin from *
patron. It finally comes mechanic
ally."
The Mean Man.
Wife (crossly)—" Well, have your
own way, and then you'll be satis*
fied." Husband—"l'm not so certain
about that. I had my own way when
I married you, but I'm not satisfied." —
Judge.
SIXTY-FIRST CONGRESS MEETS
Speaker Calls the House to Order and Is Ap
plauded by Friends and Enemies Alike.
Vice-President Sherman Presides Over the Senate—Nu
merous Bills Designed to Carry Out President Taft's
Policies Are Introducd in Both Houses.
By EDWARD B. CLARK.
Washington. Dec. 6.—The Sixty
first. congress of the United States
met at noon to-day for the first day
of its first regular session, with Vice-
President Sherman in the chair of the
senate, and Speaker Joseph G. Can
non in the chair in the House. While
this congressional gathering is the
first regular session, it is the second
session in reality, for congress met in
extraordinary session last spring at
the call of President Taft to consider
the matter of a revision of the tariff.
Some interest was lacking in the
proceedings of the first day in the
capitol because at the beginning of
the extraordinary session in March
last the speaker of the House was
elected. Moreover, before the extra
ordinary session was ended, Speaker
Cannon appointed all the committees
which are to take legislation under
consideration for the next two win
ters. The appointment of the commit
tees ended the campaign on the part
of the members for choice chairman
ships and, if the chairmanships were
not forthcoming, for seats in the more
important subsidiary bodies of the
112 fous.
Ready for Work at Once.
The members have had time to get
over jealousies and rivalries and so
is that, so far as committee work is con
concerned, the House not only is
ready to proceed at once to consider
legislation, hut most of the members
have brought themselves into a frame
of mind to do what they are called
upon to do without regard to their
past feelings of disappoinment and
perhaps, anger.
As is always the case 011 the open
ing day of congress, admission to the
House and Senate galleries was by
card and only those fortunate enough
to know senators and representatives
sufficiently well to secure admission
tickets were allowed to witness the
proceedings.
Galleries Are Crowded.
The galleries of both House and
Senate were jammed with people. All
classes of Washington society were
represented in the throng of visitors.
The diplomatic gallery in the House
and in the Senate as well, was filled
to its fullest capacity with ambassa
dors, ministers, attaches and tho la
dies of the different legations. Mem
bers of the families of the president
and of the vice-president of the United
States occupied seats in the executive
galleries; and tlie cabinet and judici
ary and army and navy circles were
well represented.
By a rule which was adopted not
long ago, flowers are barred from the
floor of the House excepting when
they are to be used as a tribute to the
memory of some deceased member.
The result cf this rule is that now on
the opening days of congress the
desks of the members are bare of
floral decorations. In the old days
Vice-President Sherman.
both House and Senate were turned
into conservatories for t''«- time of the
opening proceedings.
At sharp noon Speaker Cannon
called the House to order and asked
the chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden,
to offer prayer. In his prayer which
was in a sense a Thanksgiving offer
ering, the chaplain referred to the •
prosperity of the country, the oppor
tunities of the present and the bright
hopes and promises of the future.
Absentees Are Few.
As soon as the prayer was ended
the clerk of the House called the roll
of membership by states and it was
found that there were only a few ab
sentees. The roll call ended the read
iug clerk of the Senate who had ap
peared in the House was recognized,
and he announced that the Upper
House had passed a resolution to in
form the House of Representatives
that a quorum of the Senate being as
sembled, that body was ready to pro
ceed to business. The House also
was told that the Senate had appoint
ed a committee to join a House com
mittee to inform the president of the
United States that a quorum of each
house was present and that congress
was ready to receive any communica
tion that he "may be pleased to
make." On receipt of this message
from the Senate, Speaker Caniiou ap
pointed a committee to join a like
committee ol' the Senate to wait upon
the president. The members of the
body directed to notify Mr. Taft that
the House was in session were by the
appointment of the speaker, the Re
publican leader, Sereno E. Payne, anil
the Democratic leader, Champ Clark.
The lirst day in the House as usual
brought out hundreds of legislative
measures in bill form, all of which
were read by their title only and then
referred to the proper committees, lr
was evident from the tone of the bills
introduced that some scores of rep
resentatives were anxious to father
measures which had been recommend
ed by President Taft as being neces
sary to carry out proposed policies
of progression. The bills ranged from
those intended to correct alleged ex
isting evils in interstate commerce tr>
those to give increases of pensions to
veterans of the civil war.
Applause Greets Speaker Cannon.
If Speaker Cannon anticipales any
particular trouble with the "Insur
gents" of the House at the coming ses-
Speaker Joseph G. Cannon.
sion. he gave no evidence of it when
he took the chair as presiding officer.
He was greeted with great applause
from the galleries and from the floor
of the House, many of the Democrats
and insurgents joining in the demon
stration, though in either case pos
sibly the hand-clapping was given as
an evidence of regard for the office
of speaker, rather than as evidence of
any overweaning affection lor tho
speaker himself.
With the committees ready to begin
work, the House will settle down to
its winter's business at once. No bills
will be passed immediately because
all measures must be considered in
committee, and (he meetings of the
committees will be held daily from
now until the Christmas holidays and
some of the more important House
bodies will sit during the recess.
When congress reassembles in Janu
ary many of the committees will be
ready to report bills, and the debates
of the winter will begin.
Opening of the Senate.
Vice-President Sherman called the
Senate to order at noon. Rev. Ed
ward Everett Male, the chaplain of
the Senate, having died during the
summer recess, his place as chaplain,
temporarily, was taken by a local
clergyman who offered prayer. In the
Senate the roll was called and it was
found that nearly all the senators
were in their seats. The resolutions
were adopted to the effect that com
mittees he appointed to inform the
House and the president that the Sen
ate had assembled and was ready to
begin tlie business of the session. As
was the case in Uie House many bills
were introduced for consideration dur
ing the winter by senators who, like
the representatives, desire to have a
hand in forwarding administration pol
icies.
After a comparatively short session
"in the open," the galleries were
cleared and the Senate went into ex
ecutive session behind closed doors
for the purpose of considering nomin
ations for office sent to the Cpper
House by President Taft.
Tests of Diamonds.
Most persons are obliged, in the
purchase of a diamond, to rely im
plicitly upon the word of the man who
sells the stone. While many years of
observation and experience are needed
to become an expert with respect
to the value and purity of diamonds,
yet there are certain extremely sim
ple tests capable of being made by the
most inexperienced.
One is by means of a needle hole
pricked through a piece of ordinary
cardboard. Looking through the stone
tested at the cardboard, one will see
two holes if the diamond be spurious
—only one if the gem be genuine. The
reason for this is that an imitation
diamond will give a double refraction,
the real stone but one refraction.
It is claimed that there is 110 acid
having any perceptible effect upon a
genuine diamond. Hydrofluoric acid
will, if dropped upon a stone made of
g'ass, corrode it, but upon the bona
fide stone it will have no effect at all.
Harper's Weekly.