(1908) president diaz: hero of the americas

8/9/2019 (1908) President Diaz: Hero of the Americas

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POBFIIilODIAZTne, Ee.ov.Berator of Mexico

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PoRFiRio DiazThe Regenerator of Mexico


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These pages are sent with thecompliments of the

li?xtra National parking OInmpangCompafiia Eiupacadora Nacional Mexicaiia

OPERATING JJ^DER SPECIAL CONCESSIONS FROM THE SUPREME GOVERNMENTOF THE REPUBLIC AND SUBJECT TO ITS DIRECT OFFICIAL INSPECTION

Published by kind permissionof Pearson's Magazine.All rights reserved.


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I'liotogr.ipheil l.y Cahoni, MexicoPRESIDENT I'ORIIKIO DIAZ, THE CREATOR AND HERO OV MODERN MEXICO, AS HE WAS A FEW WEEKS AGO

AT THE AOE OF SEVENTV-SEVEN YEARS


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Pearsons MagazineVOL. XIX MARCH, 1908 NO. 3

Holographed by Percy Cox, MexicoTHE MEETING OF TWO CIVILIZATIONS IN MEXICO TO-DAY

PRESIDENT DIAZHero of the AmericasBy JAMES CREELMAN

In this remarkable article the greatest man 0} the continent speaks fully to theworld through Pearson^s Magazine. By previous arrangement Mr. Creelmanwent to Mexico and ivas received at Chapultepec Castle. He had unusual oppor-tunities for conversation with President Diaz and has brought out with great clear-ness the dramatic and impressive contrast between his stern, autocratic governmentand his stirring tribute to the democratic idea. Through Mr. Creelman the Presidentannounces his unchangeable intention to retire from poiver, and predicts a peacefulfuture for Mexico under free institutions. The story of a nation-maker.Editor.

jROM the heights of Cha-pukepec Castle Presi-dent Diaz looked downupon the venerable capi-tal of his country, spreadout on a vast plain, with aring of mountains flung upgrandly about it, and I,who had come nearly four thousand miles

from New York to see the master and hero

of modern Mexicothe inscrutable leaderin whose veins is blended the blood of theprimitive Mixtecs with that of the invadingSpaniardswatched the slender, erect form,the strong, soldierly head and commanding,but sensitive, countenance with an interestbeyond words to express.A high, wide forehead that slopes up tocrisp white hair and overhangs deep-set,dark brown eyes that search your soul, soften

Copyright, iqoS, by the Pearson Publishing; Company. All rights reserved 231


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Copyriglit, 1900, by Waite, MexicoTERRACE OF CHAPULTEPEC CASTLE, WHERE MR. CREELMAN TALKED WITH PRESIDENT DIAZ. ON THE CEILING WILL BE

NOTICED SOME OJ THE PO.MPEIAN DECORATIONS ORDERED BY THE HAPLESS EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN

into inexpressible kindliness and then dartquick side looksterrible eyes, threateningeyes, loving, confiding, humorous eyesstraight, powerful, broad and somewhatfleshy nose, whose curved nostrils lift anddilate with every emotion; huge, virile jawsthat sweep from large, flat, fine ears, set closeto the head, to the tremendous, square, fight-ing chin; a wide, firm mouth shaded by awhite mustache ; a full, short, muscularneck; wide shoulders, deep chest; a curiouslytense and rigid carriage that gives great dis-tinction to a personality suggestive of singu-lar pov,-er and dignitythat is Porfirio Diazin his seventy-eighth year, as I saw him afew weeks ago on the spot where, forty yearsbefore, he stoodwith his besieging armysurrounding the City of Mexico, and theyoung Emperor Maximilian being shot todeath in Queretaro, beyond those blue moun-tains to the north waiting grimly for thethrilling end of the last interference of Euro-pean monarchy with the republics of America.

It is the intense, magnetic something inthe wide-open, fearless, dark eyes and thesense of nervous challenge in the sensitive,spread nostrils, that seem to connect the manwith the immensity of the landscape, as someelemental force.There is not a more romantic or heroic

figure in all the world, nor one more intenselywatched by both the friends and foes of de-

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mocracy, than the soldier-statesman, whoseadventurous youth pales the pages of Dumas,and whose iron rule has converted the war-ring, ignorant, superstitious and impover-ished masses of Mexico, oppressed by cen-turies of Spanish cruelty and greed, into astrong, steady, peaceful, debt-paying andprogressive nation.

For twenty-seven years he has governedthe Mexican Republic with such power thatnational elections have become mere formali-ties. He might easily have set a crown.uponhis head.

Yet to-day, in the supremacy of his career,this astonishing manforemost figure of theAmerican hemisphere and unreadable mys-tery to students of human governmentan-nounces that he will insist on retiring fromthe Presidency at the end of his present term,so that he may see his successor peacefullyestabhshed and that, with his assistance, thepeople of the IMexican Republic may show theworld that they have entered serenely andpreparedly upon the last complete phase oftheir liberties, that the nation is emergingfrom ignorance and revolutionary passion,and that it can choose and change presidentswithout weakness or war.

It is something to come from the money-mad gambling congeries of Wall Street and inthe same week to stand on the rock of Cha-pultepec, in surroundings of almost unreal


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Photographed by Percy Cox. MexicoTHIS REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPH, MADE EXPRESSLY FOR PEARSON's MAGAZINE, SHOWS ^HE POWER COURAGE ANDENERGY ,N PRESIDENT DUZ'S COUNTENANCE. WHEN HE IS AROUSED HIS EYES OPEN WIDE AND DEEPEN IN COLORAND HIS NOSTRILS SPREAD. YET, IN SPITE OF THE TERRIFIC FORCE WHICH HE SUGGESTS AT SUCH A MOMENT,

HIS SIMPLE DIGNITY IS ALWAYS APPARENT


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THE MEXICAN NATIONAL PALACE. PRESIDENT DIAZ S OFFICE IS IN THE RIGHT-HAND CORNER. SECRETARY OF FINANCES

grandeur and loveliness, beside one who issaid to have transformed a republic into anautocracy by the absolute compulsion ofcourage and character, and to hear himspeak of democracy as the hope of mankind.

This, too, at a time when the Americansoul shudders at the mere thought of a thirdterm for any President.The President surveyed the majestic, sun-lit scene below the ancient castle and turnedaway with a smile, brushing a curtain ofscarlet trumpet-flowers and vine-like pinkgeraniums as he moved along the terracetoward the inner garden, where a fountainset among palms and flowers sparkled withwater from the spring at which Montezumaused to drink, under the mighty cypressesthat still rear their branches about the rock onwhich we stood.

" It is a mistake to suppose that the futureof democracy in Mexico has been endangered

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by the long continuance in oflice of one Presi-dent, " he said quietly. " I can say sincerelythat oflice has not corrupted my politicalideals and that I believe democracy to be theone true, just principle of government, al-though in practice it is possible only to highlydeveloped peoples."

For a moment the straight figure pausedand the brown eyes looked over the greatvalley to where snow-covered Popocatapetllifted its volcanic peak nearly eighteenthousand feet among the clouds beside thesnowy craters of Ixtaccihuatla land of deadvolcanoes, human and otherwise.

" I can lay down the Presidency of Mexicowithout a pang of regret, but I cannot ceaseto serve this country while I live," he added.The sun shone full in the President's face

but his eyes did not shrink from the ordeal.The green landscape, the smoking city, theblue tumult of mountains, the thin, exhila-


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LIMANTOUR OCCUPIES THE LEFT-HAND CORNER. THESE ARE THE TWO GREAT ADMINISTRATORS OF THE NATION

rating, scented air, seemed to stir him, andthe color came to his cheeks as he clasped hishands behind him and threw his head back-ward. His nostrils opened wide.

" You know that in the United States weare troubled about the question of electing aPresident for three terms?"He smiled and then looked grave, noddinghis head gently and pursing his lips. It ishard to describe the look of concentrated in-terest that suddenly came into his strong, in-teUigent countenance.

" Yes, yes, I know," he replied. " It is anatural sentiment of democratic peoples thattheir officials should be often changed. Iagree with that sentiment."

It seemed hard to realize that I was listen-ing to a soldier who had ruled a republic con-tinuously for more than a quarter of a centurywith a personal authority unknown to mostkings. Yet he spoke with a simple and con-

vincing manner, as one whose place wasgreat and secure beyond the need of hypoc-risy.

" It is quite true that when a man has occu-pied a powerful office for a very long time heis likely to begin to look upon it as his per-sonal property, and it is well that a free peopleshould guard themselves against the tenden-cies of individual ambition."Yet the abstract theories of democracy

and the practical, effective application ofthem are often necessarily differentthat iswhen you are seeking for the substancerather than the mere form.

" I can see no good reason why PresidentRoosevelt should not be elected agrin if amajority of the American people desire tohave him continue in office. I believe thathe has thought more of his country than ofhimself. He has done and is doing a greatwork for the United States, a work that will

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236 PRESIDENT DIAZcause him, whether he serves again or not, tobe remembered in history as one of the greatPresidents. I look upon the trusts as a greatand real power in the United States, andPresident Roosevelt has had the patriotismand courage to defy them. IMankind under-stands the meaning of his attitude and itsbearing upon th^ future. He stands beforethe world as a statesman whose victories havebeen moral victories."In my judgment the fight to restrain the

power of the trusts and keep them fromoppressing the people of the United Statesmarks one of the most important and sig-nificant periods in your history. Mr. Roose-velt has faced the crisis like a great man."There can be no doubt that Mr. Roose-

velt is a strong, pure man, a patriot whounderstands his country and loves it well.The American fear of a third term seems to

me to be without any just reason. There canbe no question of principle in the matter if amajority of the people of the United Statesapprove his policies and want him to con-tinue his work. That is the real, the vitalthingwhether a majority of the people needhim and desire him to go on."Here in Mexico we have had differentconditions. I received this Government fromthe hands of a victorious army at a time whenthe people were divided and unprepared forthe exercise of the extreme principles of dem-ocratic government. To have thrown uponthe masses the whole responsibility of gov-ernment at once would have produced condi-tions that might have discredited the cause offree government.

"Yet, although I got power at first fromthe army, an election was held as soon aspossible and then my authority came from

Photographed by Waite, MejtigoDIAZ, THE SOLDIER, IN THE FIELD


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Photographed by Percy CHERE ARE OLD MEXICO AND NEW MEXICO FACE TO FACE

the people. I have tried to leave the Presi-dency several times, but it has been pressedupon me and I remained in office for the sakeof the nation which trusted me. The factthat the price of Mexican securities droppedeleven points when I was ill at Cuernavaca in-dicates the kind of evidence that persuadedme to overcome my personal inclination toretfa-e to private life."We preserved the republican and demo-cratic form of government. We defended thetheory and kept it intact. Yet we adopted apatriarchal policy in the actual administra-

tion of the nation's affairs, guiding and re-straining popular tendencies, with full faiththat an enforced peace would allow educa-tion, industry and commerce to develop ele-ments of stability and unity in a naturally in-telligent, gentle and affectionate people.

" I have waited patiently for the day whenthe people of the Mexican Republic would beprepared to choose and change their govern-ment at every election without danger ofarmed revolutions and without injury to thenational credit or interference with nationalprogress. I believe that day has come."

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PhotOj^raphed by Waite, MexicoTHERE HANGS ON THE FRONT OF THE NATIONAL PALACE, THE CHURCH BELL WHICH THE PRIEST HIDALGO RANG ONTHE NIGHT OF SEPTEMBER 15TH, 1810, AS THE SIGNAL FOR THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. AT ELEVEN o'CLOCK ONEACH ANNIVERSARY NIGHT PRESIDENT DIAZ APPEARS ON A BALCONY, RINGS THIS BELL AND GIVES A CHEER FOR FREE

MEXICO. THE ABOVE PICTURE SHOWS THE SCENE AN INSTANT AFTER THE BELL IS HEARD

blanketed Indians, kneeling with their wivesand babies, holding lighted candles and flow-ers, and worshipping with a devotion that

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smote the most cynical spectator into rever-ence, the resplendent Archbishop of Mexicocelebrated mass before the altar-enclosed

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>lr|^| I f - tf itf liS-'^>- --^^l

Photographed by Waite, MexicoTHIS SHOWS THE PROCESSION PASSING THE PALACE ON THE FOLLOWING DAY

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240 PRESIDENT DIAZblanket of the pious Indian, Juan Diego, uponwhose woven surface the image of the Virginof Guadalupe appeared in 1531.We could faintly see the little chapel on thehill where the holy blanket originally hung.

"It is commonly held that true democraticinstitutions are impossible in a country whichhas no middle class, " I suggested.

President Diaz turned, with a keen look,and nodded his head.

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JAMES CREELMAN 241" In the old days we had no middle class in

Mexico because the minds of the people andtheir energies were wholly absorbed in poli-tics and war. Spanish tyranny and misgov-ernment had disorganized society. The pro-ductive activities of the nation were aban-doned in successive struggles. There wasgeneral confusion. Neither life nor propertywas safe. A middle class could not appearunder such conditions."

"General Diaz," I interrupted, "you havehad an unprecedented experience in the his-tory of republics. For thirty years the des-tinies of this nation have been in your hands,to mold them as you will; but men die, whilenations must continue to live. Do you be-lieve that Mexico can continue to exist inpeace as a republic? Are you satisfiedthat its future is assured under free institu-tions?"

It was worth while to have come fromNew York to Chapultepec Castle to see the

in our people, I fear. But the nation hasgrown and it loves liberty. Our difficultyhas been that the people do not concernthemselves enough about public mattersfor a democracy. The individual Mexicanas a rule thinks much about his ownrights and is always ready to assert them.But he does not think so much about therights of others. He thinks of his privileges,but not of his duties. Capacity for self-restraint is the basis of democratic govern-ment, and self-restraint is possible only tothose who recognize the rights of theirneighbors."The Indians, who are more than half ofour population, care little for politics. Theyare accustomed to look to those in authorityfor leadership instead of thinking for them-selves. That is a tendency they inheritedfrom the Spaniards, who taught them to re-frain from meddling in public affairs and relyon the Government for guidance.

PRESIDENT DIAZ STANDS ON THE RIGHT. BEHIND HIM HANG THE DEER KILLED BY HIM, AT THE AGE OF SEVENTY-FIVEYEARS, IN TWO DAYS' HARD HUNTING. THE SNAP-SHOT WAS MADE BY HIS SON

hero's face at that moment. Strength, patri-otism, warriorship, prophethood seemed sud-denly to shine in his brown eyes."The future of Mexico is assured," hesaid in a clear voice. "The principles ofdemocracy have not been planted very deep

' Yet I firmly believe that the principles ofdemocracy have grown and will grow inMexico.""But you have no opposition party in the

Republic, Mr. President. How can free in-stitutions flourish when there is no opposition


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242 PRESIDENT DIAZto keep the majority, or governing party, incheck?"

" It is true there is no opposition party.I have so many friends in the republic thatmy enemies seem unwilling to identify them-selves with so small a minority. I ai)preciatethe kindness of my friends and the confidenceof my country; but such absolute contidenceimposes responsibilities and duties that tireme more and more."No matter what my friends and support-ers say, I retire when my present term ofoffice ends, and I shall not serve again. Ishall be eighty years old then."My country has relied on me and it hasbeen kind to me. My friends have praisedmy merits and overlooked my faults. Butthey may not be willing to deal so generouslywith my successor and he may need my ad-vice and support; therefore I desire to l^e

advise it and forget myself in the successfulinauguration of complete democratic govern-ment in the country.

"It is enough for me that I have seen^Mexico rise among the peaceful and usefulnations. I have no desire to continue in thePresidency. This nation is ready for herultimate life of freedom. At the age ofseventy-seven years I am satisfied with robusthealth. That is one thing which neither lawnor force can create. I would not exchangeit for all the millions of your American oilking."

His ruddy skin, sparkling eyes and light,elastic step went well with his words. Forone who has endured the privations of warand imprisonment, and who to-day rises atsix o'clock in the morning, working until lateat night at the full of his powers, the physicalcondition of President Diaz, who is even now

rUESIDENT DIAZ iJlMNi, Willi HIS lllXTINi; COMPANIONS IN THE FOREST

alive when he assumes office so that I mayhelp him."He folded his arms over his deep chest andspoke with great emphasis.

" I welcome an opposition party in theMexican Repul)lic, " he said. " If it appears,I will regard it as a blessing, not as an evil.And if it can develojj power, not to exploitbut to govern, I will stand by it, sui)port it,

a notable hunter and who usually ascends thepalace stairway two steps at a time, is almostunbelievable."The railway has played a great part inthe peace of Mexico," he continued. " When

I became President at first there were onl\-two small lines, one connecting the caj)italwith Vera Cruz, the other connecting it withQueretaro. Now we have more than nine-


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Copyright by Waite. MexicoTHE MASTER OF MEXICO IN HIS OFFICIAL CHAIR


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244 PRESIDENT DIAZteen thousand miles of railways. Then wehad a slow and costly mail service, carried onby stage coaches, and the mail coach betweenthe capital and Puebla would be stopped byhighwaymen two or three times in a trip, thelast robbers to attack it generally findingnothing left to steal. Now we have a cheap,safe and fairly rapid mail service throughoutthe country with more than twenty-two hun-dred post-offices. Telegraphing was a diffi-cult thing in those times. To-day we havemore than forty-five thousand miles of tele-graph wires in operation.

" We began by making robbery punishableby death and compelling the execution ofoffenders within a few hours after they werecaught and condemned. We ordered thatwherever telegraph wires were cut and thechief officer of the district did not catch thecriminal, he should himself suffer; and incase the cutting occurred on a plantation theproprietor who failed to prevent it should behanged to the nearest telegraph pole. Thesewere military orders, remember."We were harsh. Sometimes we wereharsh to the point of cruelty. But it was all

necessary then to the life and progress of thenation. If there was cruelty, results havejustified it."The nostrils dilated and quivered. Themouth was a straight line.

" It was better that a little blood should beshed that much blood should be saved. Theblood that was shed was bad blood; the bloodthat was saved was good blood.

"Peace w^as necessary, even an enforcedpeace, that the nation might have time tothink and work. Education and industryhave carried on the task begun by the army."He moved slowly along the terrace, sweep-ing the scene below with his glances, asthough the old days were upon him againthe slaughter and victory at Puebla, themarch on ^lexico City; the visit of the statelyPrincess Salm-Salm to his lines and her vainpleadings for the life of the Emperor Maxi-milian, preparing to die at Queretaro ; thestealthy interview of jSIaximilian's priest-secretary; the pale Senora Donna LucianaArrozola de Baz, wife of Maximilian's warminister, who came out to offer the surrenderof the capital if Diaz would abandon the re-

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Photographeil by Percy OCHAPULTEPEC CASTLE


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Copyright, 1904, by Waite. MWALK IN THE SHADOW OF MONTEZUMA S OLD CYPRESSES, WHERE PRESIDENT DIAZ HAS FOR MORE THAN A QUARTER

OF A CENTURY TAKEN HIS DAILY EXERCISE AND PLANNED THE DESTINY OF HIS COUNTRY

public ; the attempts of traitorous generals,here on Chapultepec rock, to betray the youngEmperor to save themselvesall, heroines,heroes, priests and soldiers, sent back hope-less, and the lines of sharp steel, already glori-ous with the blood of the foreign oppressors,strengthened and tightened about the doomedcity. And then, the white flag flying fromthe towers of yonder gray cathedral, the endof the bastard empire and the entry of thedusty republican army, Diaz at its head, be-tween multitudes of great-hatted, blanketed,barefooted peons, weeping for gratitude.

" And which do you regard as the greatestforce for peace, the army or the school-house ? " I asked.The soldier's face flushed slightly and thesplendid white head was held a little higher.

" You speak of the present time ? ""Yes.""The schoolhouse. There can be no

doubt of that. I want to see educationthroughout the Republic carried on by the na-tional Government. I hope to see it before Idie. It is important that all citizens of a re-public should receive the same training, sothat their ideals and methods may be har-monized and the national unity intensified.When men read alike and think alike theyare more likely to act alike.""And you believe that the vast Indian

population of Mexico is capable of high de-velopment ? "

" I do. The Indians are gentle and theyare grateful, all except the Yacquis and someof the Myas. They have the traditions of anancient civilization of their own. They areto be found among the lawyers, engineers,physicians, army officers and other profes-sional men."

Over the city drifted the smoke of manyfactories.

" It is better than cannon smoke, " I said." Yes," he rephed, " and yet there are timeswhen cannon smoke is not such a bad thing.

The toiling poor of my country have risen upto support me, but I cannot forget what mycomrades in arms and their children havebeen to me in my severest ordeals."There were actually tears in the veteran's

eyes."That," I said, pointing to a hideously

modern bull-ring near tlie castle, " is the onlysurviving Spanish institution to be seen inthis landscape.""You have not noticed the pawnshops,"he exclaimed. "Spain brought to us herpawn-shops, as well as her bull-rings."The terrace on which the great Americanstood still bears the ugly Pompeian decora-tions which the doomed Emperor Maximil-ian and the beautiful Empress Carlotta

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HALL IN MEXICO CITY WHERE THE FAMOUS CALENDAR AND SACRIFICIAL STONES STAND AMONG THE AZTEC SCULPTURES

caused to be painted to gratify their Austriantastes. The patriot who crushed the im-perial invader, and in whose blood is to befound the tide ripple of Spanish ancestr)' anda native American civilization whose ancientmonuments are still the wonder of the con-tinent, will not have the gaudy memorials ofthe crowned adventurer against whom hefought, and whose bribes he scorned, alteredor even touched.Below us, and reaching from the castlegardens to the city, was the wide and beauti-

ful boulevard which the young Empress Car-lotta gave to Mexico, she who went madwhile pleading with the Pope to save herhusband after Napoleon III deserted him,and who to-day, a gray-haired woman, isstill shut up in a Belgian castle.Here in the carriage-way is a monument to

Guatemoc, the last of the Montezumas,erected by President Diaz. There is anequestrian monument to Carlos IV, thelargest bronze casting in the world, whosemaker killed himself when he realized thatthe horse and its imperial rider were withoutstirrups.

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Away to the right, among the trees of Co-yoacan, is the garden in which Cortesstrangled his wife and the spot on which heroasted the feet of Guatemoc in a vain at-tempt to make the monarch reveal the hidingplace of the Aztec treasures.

Still farther away in the valley is the pic-turesque house and garden of Alvarado,Cortes's cruel captain, which was the home ofan Aztec chief before the Spaniards came, andis now occupied by Mrs. Nutall, the charm-ing California woman who is searching outthe mystery of the original Americans in themajestic ruins of Mexico.To the left is the road over which Cortesand his cut-throats retreated from Monte-zuma's capital, when the Aztecs rose upagainst his murderous oppression, and thestill living tree under which he wept on the"Dismal Night" as he saw his defeatedforces file before him.And throughout the valley moves a won-derful system of electric cars, for eventhe crumbling house of Cortes is lit byelectricity, and an electric elevator runsthrough the shaft in Chapultepec hill by


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JAMES CREELMAN 247which the Montezumas used to escape fromenemies.

It is hard to remember that this wonderfulplain was once a lake and that the Aztecsbuilt their great city on piles, with cause-ways to the mainland. President Diaz boreda tunnel through the eastern mountains andthe Valley of Mexico is now drained to thesea through a system of canals and sewers thatcost more than twelve millicni dollars.

" Is there a real foundation for the Pan-American movement? Is there an Ameri-can idea that can bind the peoples of thishemisphere together and distinguish themfrom the rest of the world ? "The President listened to the question andsmiled. Only a few weeks before, the Ameri-can Secretary of State had been the guest ofMexico, lodged in Chapultepec Castle like aking, with its hill turned into a fairyland, andthe nation, from President to peon, exertingitself to show that, in all the American repub-lics he had visited, none could ecjual the landof the Montezumas in the grandeur of itswelcome."There is an American sentiment and

it is growing," said the President. "Butit is useless to deny a distinct feeling ofdistrust, a fear of territorial absorption,which interferes with a closer union ofthe American republics. Just as the Guate-

malans and other peoples of Central Amer-ica seem to fear absorption by Mexico,so there are Mexicans who fear absorp-tion by the United States. I do not sharethis fear. I have full confidence in theintentions of the American Government,yet "with a sudden twinkling of the eyes"popular sentiment changes and govern-ments change and we cannot always tellwhat the future may bring."The work done by the Bureau of theAmerican Republics at Washington is agood one and it has a great field of usefulness.It deserves hearty support. All that isneeded is that the peoples of the Americannations shall know one another better. TheBureau of the American Republics is doinga great deal in that direction."He spoke with marked confidence of thePan-American usefulness of the Bureauunder the management of Director Barrett.

" It is important that the leading menof the hemisphere should visit one another'scountries. The visit of Secretary Rootto Mexico and the words he spoke herehave already been fruitful. Ignorant Mex-icans have been led to think that theirenemies live on the other side of our northernfrontier. But when they see a distinguishedAmerican statesman and Cabinet officerlike Mr. Root entertained in Mexico, and

Photographed by Waite from paintingTHE TORTURE OF THE LAST OF THE MONTEZUMAS BY CORTES. THIS PICTURE APPEALS POWERFULLY TO THE AZTEC

PEONS WHO CROWD THE NATIONAL ART GALLERIES OF MEXICO


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248 PRESIDENT DIAZlearn the words of friendship and respecthe spoke, they cannot be misled again.Let the leaders of the Americas see moreof one another and the Pan-American ideawill grow rapidly, as the republics under-stand that they have nothing to fear andmuch to hope for from one another.""And the Monroe Doctrine?"

"Limited to a particular purpose theMonroe Doctrine deserves and will receivethe support of all the American republics.But as a vague general claim of power bythe United States, a claim easily associatedwith armed intervention in Cuba,it is a cause of profound suspicion.There is no good reason why theMonroe Doctrine should not bemade a general American doctrine,rather than a mere national policyof the United States. The Ameri-can nations might bind themselvesfor self-defense, and each nationagree to furnish its proportion ofmeans in case of war. Theymight even provide a penalty fora failure to fulfil the agreement.Such a Monroe Doctrine wouldmake each nation feel that its na-tional self-respect and sovereigndignity was not compromised, andwould secure the American repub-lics forever against monarchicalinvasion or conquest."

" How does the present tend-ency of national sentiment in theUnited States strike you at thisdistance, Mr. President ? You haveas the leader of the Alexican peoplestudied us for more than thirtyyears.How strong he seemed, howfrank, simple and sane, as he stood

there in the sunlight on the groundwhere civilization began in theWestern Worldhe whose boy-ish arm was too weak to serveMexico when she was stripped ofhalf her territory by Americanbayonetshe who since that un-happy day has trodden fifty battle-fields and has defended his countryagainst all enemies, internal or ex-ternal !"The people of the UnitedStates are distinguished by publicspirit," he said. "They have asingular love of country. I meet

thousands of Americans every year, and Ifind them to be, as a rule, intelligent workersand men of great energy of character. Buttheir strongest characteristic is love of coun-trv. In my opinion, when war comes thisspirit will change into a military spirit.

" In taking the Philippines and othercolonies you have set your flag far fromyour shores. That means a great navy.I have no doubt that if President Roose-velt remains in office four years more,the American navy will equal the Britishnavy in power.

Copyright, 1904, by Waite, MexicoA PIOUS PEASANT WOMAN ASCENDING THE SACRED HILL OF AMECA-MECA, WEARING A CROWN OF THORNS. THE CROWD IS SOFTENINGHER PENANCE EY THROWING SHAWLS AND BLANKETS UNDER HER

BLEEDING KNEES


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Copyright, 1904, by Waite, MexicoONE OF THE RELIGIOUS SPECTACLES WHICH STIR THE BLANKETED PEONS OF MEXICO

" But, Mr. President, Cuba is to be givenbuck to its people, and it is well understoodin the United States that the people of thePhilippines will receive their political andterritorial independence as soon as theyare fitted to govern themselves.Listening soberly and with an expres-sionless face, he looked toward the snowyvolcanoes, beyond which lay the sceneof the bloody struggle in which he smashedforever the power of Europe in Mexicanaffairs and made imperialism a word ofcontempt among his countrymen.

" When the United States gives inde-pendence to Cuba and the Philippines,"he said slowly and with some show of feeling,"she will take her place at the head ofthe nations and all fear or distrust will dis-appear from the American republics."

It is impossible to convey an accurateidea of the gravity and earnestness withwhich the President spoke.

" While you hold the Philippines you willbe compelled not only to keep a great navy,but your army will increase in size."

" We are trying to make American schoolteachers take the place of soldiers in thePhilippines," I ventured.

" I appreciate that, but I feel satisfied thatin the end the people of the Philippines willgain more than the people of the UnitedStates and that the sooner you give up yourAsiatic possessions the better it will be from

every point of view. No matter how gener-ous you may be, the people you govern willalways consider themselves a conqueredpeople."There was a pause. A flock of pigeons

wheeled about the castle. From the citycame the muffled sound of church bells."Men are more or less the same all overthe world," he continued. "Nations are likemen. They must be studied and their mo-tives understood. A just government is sim-ply the collective ambitions of a people ex-pressed in practical form.

" It all comes down to a study of the indi-vidual. It is the same in all countries.The individual who supports his govern-ment in peace or war has some personalmotive. The ambition may be good orbad, but it is, at the bottom, personal ambi-tion. The beginning of true government isthe discovery of that motive, and states-manship should seek, not to extinguishbut to regulate individual ambition. I havetried to follow that rule in dealing with mycountrymen, who are naturally a gentle,affectionate people, following their heartsoftener than their heads. I have tried tounderstand what the individual wants. Evenin his worship of God a man expects somereturn, and how can a human governmentexpect to find anything higher in its units ?

" In my youth I had a stern experiencethat taught me many things. When I com

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25 PRESIDENT DIAZmanded two companies of soldiers there wasa time when for six months I had neitheradvice, instructions nor support from myGovernment. I had to think for myself. Ihad to be the Government myself. I foundmen to be the same then as I have foundthem since. I believed in democratic prin-ciples then and I believe in them yet, althoughconditions have compelled stern measures tosecure peaceand the devel-opment whichmust precedeabsolutely freegovernment.Mere politicaltheories will notcreate a freenation."Experienceconvinces me

that progressivegovernmentshould seek togratify individ-ual ambition asfar as possible,but that it mustpossess an ex-tinguisher, to beused wisely andfirmly when in-dividual ambi-tion burns toobrightly for thegeneral good.""And thetrust question,Mr. President ?How is a coun-try like Mexico,with such vastnatural re-sources awaitingdevelopment, to protect itself against theoppressions of such alliances of wealth andindustrial combination as have grown up inyour nearest neighbor, the United States ?

" We welcome and protect the capital andenergy of the whole world in this country.We have a field for investors that perhapscannot be found elsewhere. But, while weare just and generous to all, we are seeing toit that no enterprise shall be an injury to ourpeople.

" For instance, we passed a law providingthat no owner of oil-producing lands should

Photographed by Waite from paintinj;

BEKITO JUAREZ, A PURE ZAPOTEC INDIAN, WHO INAUGURATED THE" REFORMS " IN MEXICO AND WAS THE COUNTRY'S FIRSTCONSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENT

have the right to sell them to any other personwithout the consent of the Government. Notthat we objected to the operation of our oilfields by your American oil king, but that wewere determined that our oil wells shouldnot be suppressed in order to prevent com-petition and keep up the price of Americanoil."There are some things which govern-

ments do nottalk about, be-cause each casemust be dealtwith on its ownmerits, but theMexican Re-public will useits powers topreserve to itspeople a justshare of itswealth. Wehave main-tained free andfair conditionsin Mexico thusfar, and I be-lieve we canmaintain themfor the future.

" Our invita-tion to the in-vestors of theworld is not tobe found in idlepromises, but inthe way we treatthem when theycome amongus."And so I leftthe master of

modern ]\Iexicoamong theflowers and memories of the heights of Cha-pultepec.

The Spanish-Indian boy who was to makethe plundered and degraded ^lexican nationa challenge to the statesmen, and a confusionto the political doctrinaires of the world, wasborn seventy-seven years ago in the town ofOaxaca, among the mountains of south-western JMexico.That same valley gave birth to Benito

Juarez, the pure-blooded Zapotec Indian


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Copyriii'ht, 1904, by \\EVEP.Y-DAY SCENE IN THE PLAZA FRONTING TaE SPLENDID CATHEDRAL OF MEXICO

lawyer and patriot, "the man in the blackcoat," who was the first constitutional presi-dent of the Republic.

Porfirio Diaz was the descendant of Span-iards who married women of the Mixtec race,an industrious, intelligent, and honest peoplewhose history is lost in the myths of aborigi-nal America.He was the son of an inn-keeper. An in-stitution of learning now stands memoriallyon the site of his birth. Three years after hewas born his father died of cholera and hisSpanish-Mixtec mother was left alone tosupport her six children.When the grown boy wanted shoes, hewatched a shoemaker, borrowed tools, andmade them himself. When he wanted a gunhe took a rusty musket-barrel and the lock ofa pistol, and constructed a reliable weaponwith his own hands. So, too, he learned tomake furniture for his mother's house.He made things then, as he afterwardmade the Mexican nation, by the sheer forceof moral initiative, self-reliance and practicalindustry. He asked no one for anything thathe could get for himself.Go from one end to the other of Mexico's767,005 square miles, on which more than15,000,000 persons live to-day, and you willsee everywhere evidence of this masterfulgenius. You turn from battlefields toschools, from schools to railways, factories,

mines and banks, and the wonder is that oneman can mean so much to any nation, andthat nation an American republic next in im-portance to the United States and its nearestneighbor.

MORELOS, THE FIGHTING PRIEST WHO HELPED TO FREEMEXICO FROM SPAIN


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Photographed by Waite, MexicoMEXICAN INDIANS IN DANCING DRESS AT THE HOLY FEAST OF GUADALUPE

He found Mexico bankrupt, divided, in-fested with bandits, a prey to a thousandforms of briber}'. To-day life and propertyare safe from frontier to frontier of the repub-lic.

After spending scores of miUions of dollarson harbor improvements, drainage works andother vast engineering projects, and payingoff portions of the public debtto say noth-ing of putting the national finances on a goldbasisthe nation has a surplus of $72,000,-000 in its treasurythis, in spite of the im-mense government subsidies which have di-rectly and indirectly produced 19,000 milesof railways.When he became President, Mexico'syearly foreign trade amounted to $36,111,600in all. To-day her commerce with othernations reaches the enormous sum of $481,-363,388, with a balance of trade in her favorof $14,636,612.There were only three banks in the coun-try when President Diaz first assumed power,and they had a small capital, loaning at enor-mous and constantly changing rates

252

To-day there are thirty-four charteredbanks alone, whose total assets amount tonearly $700,000,000, with a combined capitalstock of $158,100,000.He has changed an irregular and ineffec-tive pretense of public instruction, which had4,850 schools and about 163,000 pupils, intoa splendid system of compulsory education,which already has more than 12,000 schools,with an attendance of perhaps a millionpupils; schools that not only train the chil-dren of the Republic, but reach into the pris-ons, military barracks and charitable institu-tions.And from one end of the country to the otherwith $800,000,000 (gold) of American capi-tal alone investedit is the invariable testi-mony of both foreign and native investorsthat the Government is honestly administeredand that business enterprises are dealt withfairly, intelligently, and without the slightestsuggestion of blackmail, where before all wascorruption, ojjpression and confusion.The slender, dark-eyed Oaxacan boy, withthe Spanish-Mixtec blood in his veins, who


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JAMES CR.EELMAN 253was to do these wonderful things for hiscountry, and change Mexico from a weak-ness and a shame to an honor and a strengthamong the American nations, could not fore-see the mighty part he was to play in history.He wandered much as a child among theruins of ]\Iitla, those vast remains of a nativecivilization that reaches back beyond Cortes,beyond the Maytlower pilgrims, beyondColumbus, beyond even the Aztecs, to a timewhen the Zapotecs and Mixtecs reared theircourts and altars, lived their theocratic andsocialistic lives out on their own continentand dreamed not of the Spaniards who wereto come with dogmatic theology and gun-powder.Here among the extinct altars of his aborig-

inal American ancestors he learned to lovehis native soil with a love and strength thathas thrilled into life the national spirit cower-ing under the blanketed, barefooted igno-rance of Mexico, made a man capable ofstanding erect out of the gentle, starved,beaten Mexican peon, and set the Republicamong nations to be respected and trusted.

It is difficult to realize that the white-haired President with whom I walked andtalked at Chapultepec Castle in December

the hero and leader of his peopleis thePorfirio Diaz who played among the ruins ofMitla, destined by his poor mother to be apriest.

No man may say how old are the peoplewho were yet to be made a nation by Diaz.Before the birth of Christ Mexico had

cities, temples, courts and laws. Her sculp-tures, her potteries, her gardens and her gold,silver and copper mines are ancient beyondhuman knowledge.

In Yucatan and in Oaxaca are the remainsof wonderful buildings made by the originalAmerican civilizers. Not far from the Cityof Mexico is the mighty pyramid of Cholula,larger than any pyramid in Egypt, on thesummit of which stood the rich temple ofQuetzalcoatl, the "fair god." About thispyramid, now a desolation, Cortes, the con-queror, counted four hundred temple towersbefore Spanish Christianity laid the city wasteand destroyed its records. Yet the scien-tists who are to-day digging around the pyra-mid say that it was old and its origin unknowneven before the ancient Aztecs discovered theplain of Cholula.

A TYPICAL MEXICAN PEON AND THE MAGUEY PLANT WHICH FURNISHES PULQUE, HE INTOXICATING CURSE OFTHE REPUBLIC


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Copyright by Percy Cox, MexicoTHIS VIEW, OVERLOOKING AMECAMECA, GIVES A GOOD IDEA OF THE GRANDEUR OF MEXICAN LANDSCAPES. IT SHOWSTHE RIGHT OF IXTACCIHUATL THE VICTORIOUS AMERICAN ARMY FORCED ITS WAY INTO THE VALLEY OF MEXICO, IN

CASTLE WITHWhen the heathen King Penda was fight-

ing to maintain the religion cf Woden againstthe religion of Christ in England, and whenTheodore I was Bishop of Rome, the Toltecrace reigned in Mexico. The Aztecs ap-peared in the twelfth century when Richardthe Lion-hearted was attempting to rescue theHoly Sepulcher from the Saracens. Theysettled in the Valley of Mexico and built theircapital on piles in the middle of a shallowlake, now the City of Mexico.The empire of the Montezumas began, itis said, about the year 1460, and whenCortes, the murderous and greedy Spanishinvader, landed among the Aztecs, Monte-zuma II was on the throne. The death ofthat generous and amiable monarch by thearrows of his own warriors when Cortes com-pelled him to appear before his infuriatedpeople in the hope of quieting them ; the tor-ture and death of Guatemoc, his royal succes-sor and last of the Montezumas; the de-struction of the native temples and records

254

by Christian Spainthese were incidents inthat great and thrilling spectacle of an entirecivilization extinguished by force.Throughout Mexico to-day you may see

millions and millions of the descendants ofthe ancient Mexicans, in gaudy blankets, pre-posterously wide and tall hats, trousers sotight that you wonder how they are removed,sandaled or bare feeta brown-skinned,straight-haired people, with large black eyesand indolent ways, an affectionate, gentle,polite, grateful people.

It is enough to bring tears to the eyes of anAmerican to see these wronged peons, theirwives and children, poor, patient, eager to beloved, responding instantly to every kind wordor look, clinging to religion with a simpleearnestness that adds a new holiness to thecrumbling Christian shrines of their country;to see humble men and women everywhereholding hands, caressingly, even on the high-ways; to see the poor constantly giving to thepoor; to see the solemn pride of the most


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THE TWO DEAD VOLCANOESIXTACCIHUATL, TO THE LEFT ; POPOCATAPETL, TO THE RIGHT. THROUGH A PASS ON1847. THIS IS PART OF THE SCENE SPREAD BEFORE MR. CREELMAN WHEN HE WALKED THE TERRACE OF CHAPULTEPECPRESIDENT DIAZ

wretched outcast when he speaks of Mexicanindependenceand to think of the threehundred years of unspeakable horror throughwhich their ancestors passed under Spanishdomination, robbed, tortured and degradedalmost to the level of beasts.There are fifty-five native tongues inMexico and, even now, great multitudes

speak only the Aztec language.And to these original Americans, Por-firio Diaz is something less than a god,something more than a man. If he hasshed blood freely, if he has governed withan iron hand, if he has seemed to deny thedemocratic principles for which he foughton the field, if he has retained office whenhe yearned for retirement, it was principallyfor the sake of the down-trodden peons;that through long peace, industry and ed-ucation, even though the conditions wereimposed by armed force, the trampled andstripped heirs of the first American civil-ization, the real children of its soil, might

rise and remain forever a free and enlight-ened peoplefor, after all, when everyvote in the IVIexican Republic is cast andcounted the country will be ruled by itsaboriginal inhabitants.Again and again during my talks with

President Diaz in December he expressedhis confidence in the ultimate rise of thesewonderful tribes to the highest plane ofcivilization. He seemed to tower up witha new dignity when he spoke of them.His plan for nationalizing education isborn of faith in them and their future.

Yet, in spite of the lovable and improv-able qualities of the aboriginals, when yousee them everywhere loafing in the sunlightagainst their little adobe huts^nert, con-tent, procrastinating, lazyit seems a mir-acle that one man could have changed themost corrupt, confused and helpless countryon earth into modern Mexico. Perhapsit was this very transformation that con-firmed the master of the nation in his dem-

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Photographed by VVaite, MexicoTHE BEAUTIFUL AND STATELY YOUNG WIFE OF FRESIDENT DIAZ

ocratic principles and makes him look con-fidently to the final complete rule of thecommon people.With the downfall of tlie Aztec empirethe Spanish monks swept away everyvestige of original civilization, and the an-nihilation of the great native temple on

256

the spot where the present cathedral standsin the City of Mexico was merely a singleevent in a fierce vandalism that lost to theworld the key to one of its oldest and mostinteresting civilizations.

It is not necessary to tell the appallingstory of three hundred years of Spanish


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ffoZPhotographed by Waite, Mexico

THE POWERFUL AND SUGGESTIVE PROFILE OF MEXICO's GREAT PRESIDENT

viceroys in Mexico. They stripped theland and enslaved the people. With thereign of Phillip IIhe whose religiousbigotry made the Netherlands revolt; hewho sent the Armada against Englandthe dread Inquisition was established inMexico, and as recently as 1815 hereticswere publicly burned to death on the groundwhere now you may walk in the capital

among flowers and trees to the sound ofa military band.

Before the Spaniards came the natives cutthe hearts out of Hving human sacrifices intheir worship of the gods, but the Christi-anity that followed Cortes seemed at timesto trample the very souls out of its victims.

Dominican, Franciscan and Carmelitemonks overran the country. The monastic

257


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JAMES CREELMAN 259ties, massacred prisoners, tried to crush theTexan revolution, was captured by theTexans and released, lost a leg in defendingVera Cruz against the French and had thelimb buried with royal pomp; was twice exiledand twice recalled^ and was again driven intoexile by a revolution, only to return and diein obscurity. It was this many-sided but

Photographed by T. L. Clarke, MexicoMAJOR PORFIRIO DIAZ, JR., SON OF PRESIDENT DIAZ. HEIS AN ARCHITECT-ENGINEER AND HAS DISTINGUISHED

HIMSELF AS A SCIENTIFIC FARMER

unprincipled soldier who commanded in thedisastrous war with the United States.

While his country was gradually wreckedby successive wars and political intrigues,until bandits took possession of its highwaysand its blackmailing, perfidious officials werethe scandal of the age, young Porfijio Diazwas studying in a Roman Catholic seminaryin Oaxaca.The news that an American army had in-vaded Mexico set his soul on fire. Hewalked two hundred and fifty miles acrossthe rough country to the capital to offer him-self as a soldier. But it was too late; Mexicohad already surrendered nearly half of herterritory to the conquering Americans.

The boy went back to his mother with anew look in his face. His godfather, theBishop of Oaxaca, told him that he was to bea priest. He refused to accept the decision.He had made up his mind to be a soldier. Aterrible scene followed, but he withstood thereproaches of his mother and the bishop.

In that hour the seed of modern Mexicowas germinating unconsciously in the heartand brain of the Spanish-Mixtec lad of seven-teen years.Having renounced the career of a priest, he

studied law and, in time, was able to earn histuition fees by taking law pupils.Through one of his professors, Don Mar-

cos Perez, he met Benito Juarez, the illus-trious Indian lawyer, then governor of theState of Oaxaca. Juarez, who was to beginthe work of Mexican reform completed and

porfirio diaz the third. he is the son of thepresident's son


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mmmVIADUCT OF METLAC, BETWEEN MEXICO CITY AND VERA CRUZ. AN EXAMPLE OF IMPORTANT ENGINEERING WORK

WHICH IS TO BE SEEN THROUGHOUT MODERN MEXICO

unified by Diaz,took much no-tice of the youthand had him ap-pointed Hbrarianof the college.These two arethe greatestnames in Mex-ican history.Suddenly DonMarcos Perez

was arrested andconfined in theturret of the localConvent of SantoDomingo as aconspiratoragainst the dicta-torship of SantaAnna. Thatkind of thingusually ended man ignominiousdeath.

It was impor-tant that the pris-

260

PRESIDENT DIAZ PRESENTINi; THE NATIONAL FLAG TO AMEXICAN BATTALION

oner shouldhave means ofcommunication.His life dependedon it.Young Diazdid not desert hisbenefactor. Withhis brother hescaled the wallsof the convent atnight, swungfrom a rope infront of the pris-oner's window,talked with him,escaped the dic-tator's sentinels,and twice re-turned to repeatthe thrilling ad-venture. Thereis nothing in fic-tion more excit-ing than the taleof these threenights, when the

1


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JAMES CREELMAN 261future President of Mexico, hung on the endof a rope, planned in the darkness, almostwithin arm's-reach of the sentries, the safetyof the Mexican patriot who had been hisfriend.

I thought of the pale youth swinging in the

dais where the professors were tremblinglywriting their names in favor of the dictator,and asked to be excused from voting.He was taunted with cowardice. Withoutanother word he went to the opposition book,where none had dared to write, and recorded

o^^^S^^^

GUANAJUATO, THE WONDERFUL AND PICTURESQUE OLD CITY WHERE SO MUCH AMERICAN MONEY IS INVESTEDIN MINING

midnight air fifty-three years ago, when I sawhim looking down from Chapultepec Castle inhis old age, the maker of his nation, the mostinteresting and impressive figure of his time.The revolt against Santa Anna's tyranniesin 1854 was led by General Alvarez, a pureIndian, who had fought for independenceagainst Spain. The dictator audaciouslycalled for a popular vote to sustain him.

It meant death or imprisonment to voteagainst Santa Anna. In Oaxaca the dicta-tor's troops and cannon were drawn up inthe plaza where the votes were recorded.The professors of the law instituteDiazwas now a professorwere commanded tovote as a body for Santa Anna.The young professor, now only twenty-four years old, went to the scarlet-covered

his vote openly for General Alvarez, leader ofthe revolution against Santa Anna.In the uproar which followed this daringact Diaz disappeared in the crowd, and, bythe time his arrest was ordered, he hadmounted a horse, and, rifle in hand, he rodedown all who opposed him, reaching thetown of Mixteca, where he put himself at thehead of barefooted peons armed to overthrowthe dictatorship, and scattered the troops sentto pursue him.That was Porfirio Diaz at the age of

twenty-four years.After the fall of Santa Anna, General

Alvarez became President, and he appointedJuarez minister of justice and ecclesiasticalrelations. Juarez drafted a law subjectingsoldiers and the clergy to civil trial. This


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262 PRESIDENT DIAZaroused the clericals to opposition and the young captain, then twenty-seven yearschurch preached resistance. General Al- old, was hit in the side by a bullet, whichvarez resigned and Ignacio Comonfort made a large hole. He fell, but a momentformed a pro\a-sional government,announcing thatthe clergy mustsubmit to the laws.There was aclerical revolt inPuebla, which waspromptly sup-pressed, and thecost of the opera-tion was defrayedby a governmentsale of church prop-erty.The war betweenthe Church and theRepublic had be-gun, and it did notend until the soil ofMexico was wetwith blood.The Republicforbade church cor-porations to possesslands, except whatwere actually nec-essary for churchpurposes, and di-rected the sale ofall other churchlands. Then aconstitution abol-ishing all ecclesias-tical or militar}'privileges, provid-ing for universalinstruction andguaranteeing free-dom of speech andof the press, theright of petitionand association andthe bearing ofarms, was adopted.This was the causeof a great civil war.Diaz became a

captain in the Na-tional Guard, andin July, 1857, he led

Copyright, 1904, by Waite, MexicoMONUMENT TO GUATEMOC, THE LAST OF THE MONTEZUMAS,TORTURED AND MURDERED BY CORTES, WHICH PRESIDENT

DIAZ CAUSED TO BE ERECTED IN MEXICO CITY

later, white-facedand with bloodstreaming from hisside, he rose andthrew himself intothe fight with hischeering soldiersuntil the battle waswon. Nearly twovears afterward anAmerican navalsurgeon removedthis bullet.

WTiile still suffer-ing from his woundhe was called uponto help to recoverhis native town,Oaxaca, from thefierce revolutionaryleader, Co bos.With a squad ofmen he led a des-perate attempt tobreak into theenemy's position.Later on, when hiswound had re-opened and he wastoo ill to buckle asword about him,his courage andleadership won thebloody fight forpossession ofOaxaca.

Comonfort, hav-ing proclaimed thenew constitution,had declared him-self dictator, andthen fled to theUnited States.

Juarez becamePresident, pledginghimself to main-tain the constitu-tion and to workfor the destructionof the politicalpower of the

an attack on the clerical and conservative rev- Church and the confiscation of its vast prop-olutionists near the village of Ixcapa. The erties. The clericals and conservatives es-battle became a hand-to-hand fight. The tablished General ]Miramon as President in


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Copyriglit, 1904, by Waite, iMexico Photographed from painting in MuseumTHE EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN

Mexico Citythe handsome, courtly Mira-mon who was afterward executed by theside of the Emperor MaximiHan.War raged throughout IMexico. Themarks of this terrific struggle are visibleeverywhere to-day.

It was a war in which priests appeared,crucifixes in hand, at the head of chargingtroops; a war in which the curse of theChurch was thundered from hundreds ofaltars; a war in which the treasures ofcenturies were roughly stripped from walls,altars and sacristies, armed peon patriotsroughly breaking into dim interiors gleam-ing with gold, silver, jewels, priceless oldcarvings, embroideries, painted and sculp-tured Christs and Madonnas, gilded saints,robes encrusted with gems, shrines beautifuland soft with the dust and tarnish of ages

and tons of solid silver altar railings, goldvessels, embroideries woven of preciousmetals and all manner of costly accoutre-ments were melted down to pay the costof soldiers.

Diaz had become governor of a stateand military commander of a district.He had the rank of colonel.The United States recognized PresidentJuarez; but the enemy had him besiegedin Vera Cruz, where he issued a procla-mation confiscating the lands of the Church,followed by proclamations secularizing mar-riages and guaranteeing religious toleration.Even against the whole force of the Churchand its political allies, against ecclesiastical

anathemas and against the accumulatedinfluence of tradition, added to a desperatesoldiery, backed by an intelligent aristoc-

263


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264 PRESIDENT DIAZracy, the black-coated Indian Presidentand his army won steadily.When the capital had been taken andJuarez was seated in authority, Diaz wentback to Oaxacaand was electedto the Congress.

General Mar-quez, a remorse-less slaughtererof prisoners, suc-ceeded to theplace of Mira-mon, and he ad-vanced with histroops to attackthe capital. Whenthe firing washeard Diaz aroseand asked theCongress to lethim join theforces of the Re-public.The youngcolonel, by anight attack, ledby him in person,defeated Mar-quez, capturingseven guns andseven or eighthundred pris-oners. Thatmade him a gen-eral.

It is useless torecount all thebattles of Diaz.The record showsthat he servedMexico as asoldier for fifty-four years.

liance and sent an allied fleet to the Mexicancoast.The Republic was exhausted and the

allies were permitted to land and occupyVera Cruz.Then the weakmind of Napo-

leon III took fire,and he dreamedof conquest.Presently he sentan agent, DonJuan Almonte, topropose a Mexi-can empire underthe suzerainty ofFrance, whereatSpain and Eng-land indignantlywithdrew theirforces.At once theFrench pro-

claimed a mili-tary dictatorshipunder Almonte,and a Frencharmy marchedinland. Diaz'sbrother was thefirst Mexicanwounded in thisadvance.

Copyright, 1901, by Waite, M..

In 1862 Presi-dent Juarez sus-pended paymenton Mexican gov-ernment l)onds.There was nomoney. Warhad emptied the national treasury.

England, France, and Spain demandedpayment for their bondholders and, failingto get more than promises, formed an al-

TheregreatfoughtCity of

was abattleat thePuebla.

A TYPICAL TEHUANTEPEC BEAUTY

Diaz was secondin commandunder GeneralZ a r a g o s a . Al-though the Mexi-cans were out-numbered threeto one, they in-flicted a terribledefeat upon theinvaders, andDiaz is the mostslashing, heroicfigure in the storyo f t h a t day'sfighting. Mexico

celebrates the victory of May 5th as one ofher great national anniversaries.

Nearly a year later the French, with agreatly increased army, besieged Puebla,


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JAMES CREELMAN 265and, after weeks of fighting, sometimes fromhouse to house and hand to handwith Diazthrilling his comrades by his desperate cour-age and brilliant methodsthe city wasstarved into surrender.Diaz was made prisoner, refused to givehis parole and, with a peon's blanket cover-

ing his uniform, managed by a clever ruse toescape, visit President Juarez in Mexico City

Civil War prevented the United States fromresisting a direct violation of the Monroe Doc-trine.

Maximilian, who was young, handsomeand much of a dreamer, set up a resplen-dent court under the influence of the girlishbut intensely ambitious Empress Carlotta.But he continued to enforce the reformlaws of Juarez, and that cost him much

^a^ ^-i - .4.Photograplitil by Lc\CHRISTMAS BOOTHS AROUND THE BEAUTIFUL ALAMEDA, IN MEXICO CITY, WHERE, NINETY-THREE YEARS AGO, THE

INQUISITION PUBLICLY BURNED HERETICS

and accept command of the eastern army ofthe Republic, just before Juarez abandonedthe capital to the invaders.When the French had entered the capitalthe imperial crown of jSIexico was offered tothe Archduke Maximilian, a brother of thepresent Emperor of Austria. The youngprince and his beautiful young wife, Car-lotta, were escorted across the ocean byFrench and Austrian warships and werecrowned Emperor and Empress in the Cathe-dral of Mexico, That was in 1863, when the

of the clerical support. He also executedseveral Mexican generals, including Diaz'sbrother. The Republicans never acknowl-edged the Empire, but continued to lookto President Juarez, who retired, first,to San Luis Potosi, and then to Mon-terey.Hard pressed, Juarez crossed into theUnited States. The Emperor then issued a

proclamation declaring that all persons inarms against his Government were banditsand would be shot on captisre. It was under


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266 PRESIDENT DIAZthis shameful decree that Maximilian exe-cuted the Mexican generals.Napoleon had sent Field-Marshal Bazaine

to support Maximilian in Mexico with some-thing like forty thousand French bayonets.

greatest adversities will ever cause me towaver. . . .

Neither by myself, nor by the distinguishedpersonnel of the army, nor by the towns ofthis extensive part of the Republic, can the pos-sibility of an understanding with the foreign

Copyright, 1905. hy Wane. .MexicoHERE YOU HAVE THE ORDINARY SCENE AT A MEXICAN RAILW'AV STATION

Bazaine recognized in Diaz the most danger-ous and intelligent of his enemies, and on hisadvice Maximilian tried to win the patriotgeneral over to his cause. He even per-suaded General Uraga, an old and belovedcommander under whom Diaz had served,to write to him a seductive letter. Diazanswered in brotherly terms, but scorned theproposal, writing:When a Alexican presented himself to me

with the proposals of Luis [Uraga's messen-ger], I ought to have brought him to trialaccording to law, and not to have sent you inreply anything more than the sentence and anotification of the death of your envoy. Butthe great friendship you invoke, the respect Ihave for you, and the memories of happierdays, which bind me to you and to that mutualfriend, relax all m}^ energy and convert it intothe weakness of returning him to you safe andsound, without a single word of odious re-crimination.The test to which i ou have submitted meis a very grave one, because your name andfriendship constitute the only influence (ifthere be one) capable of forcing me to denyall my past, and to tear with my own handsthe beautiful flag, emblem of the liberties andindependence of Mexico. As I have beenable to withstanc^ this test, 3'ou may believethat neither the crudest disillusions nor the

invasion be thought of, resolved as we are tofight without truce, to conquer, or to die in thechallenge, to bequeath to the generation thatsucceeds us the same free and sovereign Re-public which we inherited from our fathers.

After that letter, written when Diaz wasthirty-four years old, when the head of hisGovernment was a fugitive, when France andAustria were supporting ISIaximilian, andwhen the Emperor and his distinguishedFrench field marshal were ready to honor thesoldier to whom they stretched alluringhands, is it any wonder that, during the longyears of his power, with the Republic at hisfeet and all opposition dissolved, not oncehas he been tempted to place a crown on hishead and that now, at the summit of his au-thority and glory, he offers himself to thetwentieth century and to all the centuriesafter, as a witness for democracy, a prophetof the ultimate virtue and capacity of hispeople ?

Bazaine assembled an army and movedagainst Diaz at Oaxaca. The marshal com-manded in person in the attack upon thepatriot he had failed to corrupt. For weeksbesieged and besiegers fought daily and the


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JAMES CREELMAN 267town was constantly vuider artillery fire. Butat last, after losing more than two-thirds ofhis soldiers, and when all food and ammuni-tion were exhausted, Diaz went on foot atnight to Bazaine and surrendered Oaxaca.

fined, but before he could finish the workhe was moved to another convent, his cellwas deprived of light and his guards weredoubled.

During his long imprisonment one of his

Photugraplied l.y I'm v ( mx Mixi,..VENDERS OF TAMALES AND TORTILLAS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ANNOY RAILWAY PASSENGERS.

BEYOND THE RAILTHEY CANNOT GO

The marshal said he was glad that Diazrealized his error"it was criminal to takeup arms against one's sovereign."Diaz lifted his head and looked his con-

queror straight in the eyes." I will not join, nor even acknowledge, the

Empire," he answered. " I am just as hos-tile to it as I have been at the cannon'smouth. But further resistance is impossibleand further sacrifice useless, as I have neithermen nor arms."Then followed a long imprisonment. Diazonce more refused to give his word that hewould not take up arms again for the Repub-lic. The Emperor sent messages of warn-ing. The Erench even threatened death toobdurate prisoners. Diaz said frankly thatif he could escape he would take the fieldagainst the Empire.The prisoner spent four or five monthsdigging a subterranean tunnel from thecell of the convent in which he was con-

old generals, who had entered Maximilian'sservice, came to his cell and said that theEmperor wished to see him and that the im-perial carriage was in waiting to take himinto the imperial presence. The Emperordesired to give Diaz command of a great partof his army.The prisoner listened coldly and then,drawing himself to his full height, he said:

"I have no objection to such a meeting.But I will not go in the imperial carriage.The commander of your forces has the rightto have me brought before him, but only ashis prisoner, and if he is to see me he mustsee me in the ranks of his prisoners."

It was a fitting answer by the hero of theAmericas to the crowned adventurer. Maxi-milian never forgot it.

It is an extraordinary proof of the energy,courage and resourcefulness of this manthat, in spite of the fact that his prison wasguarded with unusual vigilance and that a


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268 PRESIDENT DIAZsentry entered his cell every hourfor hemade no secret of his intention to gain hisfreedomhe contrived by a subterfuge todraw away the attention of his guards andmanaged to escape alone. Here is his ownstory of that dramatic night:"Late at night on the 20th, I rolled into asmall ball three ropes which I had surrepti-tiously obtained to assist me in my escape,putting another into my kit-bag along witha dagger, perfectly pointed and sharpenedthe only weapon at my disposal.

"After the bell had sounded for silencein the prison I went out upon an open bal-

and onto the roof. Then I untied therope by which I had ascended, and tookpossession of the three that I had previouslyflung up.

" My' walk across the roofs to the cornerof San Roque, the point I had chosen formy descent to the street, was very danger-ous. Opposite me was the roof of a church,at such a height that it overlooked the wholeof the convent. Here a sentinel was postedwhose duty it was to watch the conventprison. Before I had made many stepsI came to a part of the roof where therewere many windings, for each of the con-

Copyright, 1906, by Waite, Mexico

JOSfi YVES LIMANTOUR, THE DISTINGUISHED MEXICAN SECRETARY OF FINANCES, WHOSE BRILLIANT POLICIES HAVEATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF THE FINANCIERS OF ALL COUNTRIES

cony near the roofs. It overlooked aninner courtyard of the convent. In thisplace the coming or going of a prisonerwould attract little attention from thesentinels, for it was commonly used by usall for exercise."The night was particularly dark, butthe stars shone clearly overhead.

" I took with me the ropes, wrappedin a gray cloth. Once assured that no-body was about, I flung them up ontothe adjacent roof. Then I threw my lastrope over a projecting stone gutter aboveme, which seemed very strong, and securedit with difficulty. The light was too feebleto enable me to see the gutter well.

"I tested the strength of my support,and feeling satisfied, climbed up the rope

vent cells was built within a semi-circulararch and corridors ran between theserows of arches. Threading my way alongand taking advantage of every bit of shelter,crawling at times on hands and knees,I moved slowly in the direction of thesentinel, while seeking the point fromwhich to effect my descent."There were two sides of the courtyard

square to be traversed. Often I had tostop and carefully explore the groundover which I moved, for many loose piecesof tiles and glass were strewn about theroof, which cracked and made noises undermy feet. Moreover, frequent flashes ofsheet lightning illuminated the sky, and atany moment might have disclosed my where-abouts.


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JAMES CREELMAN 269"At last I came to the protection of a wall

where the sentinel on the church parapetcould no longer see me unless he stoopeddown very low. I walked steadily alongand rested, pausing to ascertain if any alarmhad been raised. Here I was in greatdanger, for the stonework sloped and itssurface was very slippery after the heavy

"Almost breathless, I reached the roofof the chaplain's house, just as a youngman who lived there entered by the door.He probably came from the theater, for hewas gaily humming an air. I waited untilhe had reached his room. Shortly after-ward he came out with a lighted taper, andactually walked in the direction where I

PRESIDENT DIAZ IN HIS PRIVATE CABINET

rains. At one moment my feet slippedhelplessly toward some window panes, whichcould have offered but little resistance; infact I almost fell to the depths below."To get up to the street of San Roque,where I hoped to descend, I had to pass apart of the convent which was used as thechaplain's house. The man had only ashort time before denounced some politicalprisoners who, in an ill-fated effort to es-cape, had cut a passage toward this dwell-ing. In consequence of this denuncia-tion they were the next day taken out andshot.

"I needed, therefore, to be very carefulnot to rouse him.

was crouching. Fortunately I was wellconcealed. After an interval, he went backto the house; probably it was only a fewminutes, but minutes seemed hours to mein such circumstances. When I thought hehad been a sufficient time in his room tohave got into bed, perhaps to have fallenasleep, I crept onto the roof, and walkedfrom there to San Roque corner, which atlast I reached.

"Exactly at this corner of the roof, thereis a stone statue of San Vicente Ferrer,which I had intended to make use of insecuring my rope. Unfortunately, the sainttottered when I touched him. However,I thought he probably had an iron support


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THE CENTRAL FIGURE, IN CIVILIAN DRESS, IS PRESIDENT DIAZ, WHO IS WATCHING THE TRIALSOF NEW MEXICAN CANNON

somewhere to keep him up; but for greatersafety I secured the rope only round thebase of the pedestal, which formed the angleof the building and seemed strong enoughto bear any weight."I was afraid if I descended straight

into the street at this corner, I might beseen by some passer-by in the act of climbingdown mv rope. I therefore determined togo down by the side of the house away fromthe main street, which gave me the advan-tage of some shadow. Alas, ])y the timeI reached the second floor my feet missedtheir grip on the side wall, and slippingdown on the garden side I landed in a pig-sty."My dagger first fell from my belt anddropped among the porkers. Then I tum-bled in among them. Alarmed at this in-trusion, the pigs set up such a squealing thatif any one had run to see what was the matterI should have been discovered at once. Ihid again as soon as I recovered my feet, buthad to wait until the pigs were pacified beforeventuring to move away from the garden.Then to reach the street I climbed a low wall.I had to beat a retreat quickly, for a gen-darme was just passing on his rounds and ex-amining the fastenings of the door below me.

270

When he had gone I dropped into the streetand breathed freely once more."Sweating and almost exhausted withfatigue, I hurried to the house where I ex-pected to find my horse, my servant, and aguide [Diaz had previously managed tocommunicate with these allies], and reachedthe place without further mishap.

" Once I was safely inside the house, thethree of us looked to the loading of our pis-tols, mounted our horses and, after avoidinga cavalry patrol, left the city. I was almostcertain that we should be stopped at the gateby the guard, and I fully intended to fight myway out, but fortunately the gate was open.There was a light within the lodge and a sad-dled horse waiting outside."We went through at full trot, and onceout of the city, to gain time we broke into afull gallop."

Hardly had Diaz begun to organize andfight a series of desperate battles when a mes-senger from Maximilian came to say that theEmperor was willing to place himself in thehands of the Liberals, and to intimate that ifDiaz would change his allegiance he might becommander-in-chief of the armies of the Em-pire. He sent back word that his one object


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JAMES CREELMAN 271was to make the Emperor his prisoner and Then the capital surrendered and Juarez,subiect him to the law of the Republic. the Indian President, returned to find the

Again and again he swept the imperial flag of the Republic flying above a sea offorces beforehim.Then the closeof the Civil Warleft the UnitedStates free to de-fend the MonroeDoctrine, Na-poleon waswarned by theAmerican Gov-ernment that hisarmed interfer-ence in the affairsof the continentwould no longerbe tolerated, andhe withdrew histroops, leavingMaximilianalone in Mexico.The wholeworld knows howthe EmpressCarlotta went toEurope to begassistance for herhusband, howNapoleon turnedhis back on her,how she visitedthe Vatican andwent mad whilepleading with thePope and howshe was shut upin a Belgiancastle where shestill lives, as yetignorant of Max-imilian's death.Diaz tookPuebla after ter-rible slaughter,and while he wasbesieging theCity of Mexico,Maximilian wascaptured in Queretaro by General Escobedo,was condemned by a court martial for hisbarbarous decree ordering Mexican soldiersto be slain as bandits and was, with histwo generals, Miramon and Mejia, shot todeath.

Photographed by CarniichaelHIDALGO, THE PRIEST-PATRIOT WHO LED THE FIRST GREATREVOLT AGAINST SPAIN AND DIED A MARTYR TO THE CAUSE

OF FREEDOM

Diaz's bayonets.Diaz himselfsoon retired tobecome a farmer.

Later on thesoldier took thefield againstJuarez on theground that hehad failed tocarry out prom-ised reforms.Juarez died andwas succeeded byLerdo, who at-tempted to sup-press the Diazrevolution byconcentrating alarge army. Diazretired to theUnited States,sailed in disguisefor the south ofMexico fromNew Orleans,was recognizedat Tampico,leaped into thesea, was pursuedand captured inthe water, butescaped again.

Following isthe tale as writtenby one of Diaz'sold officers:

While at Tam-pico the steamerCity of Havanatook on boardG o vernmenttroops who weregoing to VeraCruz, amongwhom were sev-eral officers whorecognized h i mat once, as theywere the same

men whom General Diaz had but recently de-feated and made prisoners at the capture ofMatamoras. It was useless for the mysteriouspassenger to attempt to avoid the inquisitiveeyes of his fellow travelers and to refrain fromappearing at the table.From the very first he realized that he had


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272 PRESIDENT DIAZbeen discovered and was being closely watched,and as unexpected bad weather was delayingthe loading of the vessel and her departure tosea, he suspected they would seize and shoothim. Rather than run this danger, he decidedto make his escape and trust his life to thedangers of the sea and the sharks. To makematters even more difficult, the steamer wasanchored a long distance from the entrance tothe port. However, his mind was made up.He divestedhimself of hisclothes, andwithout otherweapons than adagger withwhich to defendhimself againstthe attacks ofsharks, let him-self into the seaover the ship'sside. He did notprovide himselfwith even a lifebuoy, so as to beless conspicuousa mark for anyone who mightsee him and openfire on him inthe water.As it happened,he was seenimmediately, be-cause he waswatched veryclosely, and thecry of "mano v e rboard''warned him thathe was discov-ered and wouldbe pursued. Verysoon after, heheard the soundof one of theship's boatswhich had beenlowered.Then commenced a terrible race ; a man hunt,witnessed by hundreds of spectators, in whichthe destinies of the nation trembled in the bal-ance. The exciting chase was v/atched by thepassengers of the Haz'aiia and the crews oftwo vessels, one American and the other fromCampeche, both of which were anchored nearthe spot.

Assistance was proffered to him from theCampeche boat while he was swimming pasther, but he would not accept it.With all the strength of his powerful lungsand with the skill and daring of an expertswimmer he clove his way steadily through thewater, but in an effort to throw his pursuersoff his track lost his bearings, and instead ofmaking for the shore, changed his direction bymistake and made for the open sea.At length, though General Diaz was swim-ming strongly, his powers began to fail him.

Photographed by Harris & Ewing, WashingtonDAVID E. THOMPSON, THE ABLE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR TO

MEXICO, ONE OF PRESIDENT DIAZ's OLD FRIENDS

and after swimming round and round in a vainendeavor to find the right direction, he wasforced to abandon the attempt and was draggedinto the boat. There he lay on the bottom ofthe ship's pinnace, completel\' worn out by hissuperhuman efforts and the amount of seawater which he had swallowed, on account ofthe rough choppy weather, but not unconscious,as some have said. When they were near theship's side the postal agent, Gutierrez Zamora,threw him a shirt

to put on, as hewas naked.After he had

been brought onboard. Lieuten-ant-colonel Ar-royo, command-ing PresidentLerdo's troops, atonce attemptedto take charge ofthe prisoner andtry him by courtmartial, and thusobtain his pro-motion to therank of generalin reward for hisdiligence andzeal ; but thedauntless swim-m e r protestedagainst thiscourse of action,and, taking hispistol from underthe mattress inhis state roomw here it washidden, calledupon the captainof the ship tooft'er him theprotection of theAmerican flag,under which theHavana and hercrew were sail-ing.Lieutenant-colonel Arro3'0 was all for exe-

cuting General Diaz without further ceremony,as thereby he was assured of his promotion tothe rank of general, whereas, if he merely tookhim along prisoner, the Government would notconsider this as any particular service, and pro-motion would be held from him, as had oc-curred in the case of Teran, who had beentaken prisoner and not executed on the spot.The captain of the ship listened to GeneralDiaz's requests, and his aid was the more will-ingly given as between him and the prisonerthere had passed certain Masonic signs. More-over, the American sailor was greatly im-pressed with the daring and courage of a manwho had risked his life in such a plucky man-ner.

It was arranged that he should be left underguard, but was considered at the same time asbeing on American soil, and the captain stated


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JAMES CREELMAN 273he would not give him up until they reachedVera Cruz. However, he tried to disarm him,whereat General Diaz declared that he wouldonly use his pistol in self-defence, but thatthey would have to kill him before he wouldallow any one to deprive him of his onlyweapon.The captain ordered that the guard of anofficer and five soldiers which had been placedat the door of General Diaz's cabin should bewithdrawn ; but Ar-royo, with the idea ofhis promotion still up-permost, made a pre-tence of putting aguard to watch thestore of ammunition,and in this way con-tinued to keep a closewatch on the man helooked upon as hisprisoner.The following nightwas intensely darkand the fact that astorm was brewingmade all circum-stances favorableaccordingly GeneralDiaz determined tomake another attemptat escape, despite thefact that the captainhad offered to trans-fer him to an Ameri-can man-of-war an-chored near Tampico,an opportunity he didnot care to avail him-self of as it would havedelayed his plans.He cleverly managed to slip into the cabin ofthe purser, whose name was Coney, and toldhim of his plans. This officer, who was a goodfriend, endeavored to dissuade him from hisdetermination and eventually suggested anotherway out of the difficulty.

General Diaz agreed to follow his advice. Alife buoy was thrown into the sea so as tomake the government soldiers think he hadjumped overboard. Meanwhile, the prisonerhid himself in the cabin, not under a sofa ascommon rumor has it, but in a small locker.This ruse proved to be entirely successful, as,soon afterward, the disappearance of the pris-oner was noticed, and his captors rushed to theside of the ship and commenced eagerly scan-ning the sea in the hopes of catching sight ofhim. What they did find, however, was the lifebuoy, and, as this was covered with greatpatches of bright red iron-rust which lookedexactly like blood, it was surmised that thefugitive in trying to gain the shore had beeneaten up by sharks.However, as an additional precaution. Gen-eral Alonso Flores had troops posted all alongthe beach, so as to capture the prisoner shouldhe succeed in reaching the shore.Meanwhile, General Diaz was undergoing in-describable torments, cramped as he was within

SEBASTIAN CAMACHO, PRESIDENT NATIONAL BANK OFMEXICO, AND FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT, MEXICAN NA-

TIONAL PACKING CO.

the narrow limits of that tiny cabin locker, orcupboard. He could not stand upright, norwas he able to sit down, and had, besides, tokeep his legs wide apart, so that the smalldoors of the locker could be shut. To add tothe trying situation. Purser Coney, as a matterof policy and in order to disarm all suspicion,invited the Lerdist officers into his cabin, wherethey would often spend hours chatting andplaying at cards. One of them who was sit-ting in front of thecupboard every nowand then tilted his

chair back, thus press-ing the flaps of thedoor against the un-fortunate man hiddenwithin, who sufferedagonies while it lasted.In this manner sevenendless days of tor-mert were passed ona diet of ship's bis-cuits and water, untilt b e vessel reachedVera Cruz, where thedangers and difficul-ties of escape becamemore serious. Thetask before him wasto escape from theship without fallinginto the hands of theLerdist troops, whowere continually onthe lookout for him.

Colonel Juan En-riquez, who was thenchief of the coastguard service at VeraCruz, managed tosmuggle in to him a dilapidated sailor's suitand a very old pair of boots and at the same

time sent him word to say that a rowboat incharge of a man whom he would recognize bycertain signals would come alongside for him.When the ship commenced to unload balesof cotton and the barges came alongside, hisboat also appeared among them, and then theman, who every one supposed had been eatenby the sharks of Tampico, made his escape.Once in the south, his power grew and his

army won victory after victory. In Novem-ber, 1876, with twelve thousand soldiers hetriumphantly rode into the capital. A fewweeks later he was elected President.With the exception of four years1880 to

1884, when General Gonzalez was elected be-cause the constitution, afterward amended,forbade the reelection of a PresidentDiazhas been President ever since, and he will re-main at the head of the nation till he dies orchooses to retire.

Now the soldier became the statesman.


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274 PRESIDENT DIAZHe held the turbulent masses still. He maderevolution an impossibility. He organized apolice system that swept away the bandits.He built schools. He punished corruption,and made it known that a concession grantedby Mexico would never be repudiated. Hecaused the national finances to be organizedand the national revenues collected andspent honestly and intelligently. He beganretrenchments bycutting his ownsalary from $30,000to $15,000. Hemade a nation ofMexico, a nationwhose laws andwhose pledgesmeant something.

It had been pro-posed that no rail-road should bepermitted betweenMexico and theUnited States. TheRepublic was to besaved from futureinvasion by an in-tervening wilder-ness. Against thebitterest opposition,and in the teeth ofaccusations againsthis loyalty to theRepublic, Diaz wel-comed the greattrunk railways builtby American capi-tal, and had gener-ous subsidiesgranted to them.That was the policy which Diaz set against

the cowardly cry, "Between the strong andthe weak let there be a desert."The Harriman interests are now buildingtwo immense railway lines through the west-ern y)art of Mexico,

(1908) president diaz: hero of the americas

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