one of the most popular men of Mexico, having been elected by an almost unanimous vote. Four years later he left it under a cloud of almost universal execration and contempt. Then it was that Diaz was reëlected. Then it was that he undoubtedly changed his views, and had the law of succession changed so that he could succeed himself in a constitutional manner. He occupied that high office thirtyone years, lacking a few months, or almost a generation.

ernment.

My personal opinion is that the motives actuating President Diaz were of the highest type of patriotism; he, more than ourselves, knew the needs of this people and what was best for them. In suppressing brigandage and restoring internal peace, even though he retained his position by arbitrary methods, he gave the people a needed opportunity to develop the resources of the country, to increase the education among the masses, and to devote themselves to those peaceful pursuits which are so necessary to develop the national character essential in a republican form of govIt is quite likely that in his later years, through the natural weakening of bodily and mental powers, although he was a remarkably preserved man for his age, that he may have come under the influence of unfortunate advisers, who were farming out the resources of the country for their own individual benefit. If this is so, it is an unfortunate fact and bitterly has he paid for it. Whether his retention of the office for so long a period was a really good or bad thing for the country the historian of the future will be a better judge, for we are too close to the events of his time to weigh them correctly and impassionately.

When I first visited Mexico, Diaz was at the height of his power. Railroad development was going ahead rapidly; the telegraph and the telephone were spreading over the country; new mines were being opened up, and the old ones were being worked industriously; plantations were being developed by outside capital in the tropical regions, and every indication seemed to augur well. Although I was familiar with the turmoil that had preceded this administration, it seemed to me that so many years had passed by in comparative peace and quiet, a new generation had grown up

into manhood who were not familiar with the revolutionary disturbances of the previous years, and who could not do otherwise than see the good effects of peace, that all possibility of a recurrence of such conditions had passed away. It did not seem possible that the country could again be torn by internal dissensions, with revolutionary leaders inciting the people to arms all over the republic.

The culmination of Mexico's greatness seemed to have been reached on the 15th of September, 1910, during the centennial celebration to which most foreign countries had sent special representatives. On the night of that date, President Diaz appeared on the balcony in front of the National Palace where the old bell with which Hidalgo first sounded the call to liberty is preserved. The President waved a flag, rang the bell, and shouted "Viva Mexico!" The cry of "Viva Mexico" was taken up by the crowd nearest to the President, and then by those farther away, until the great shout might have been heard all over the capital. The bells of the grand old cathedral pealed forth their loudest tones, the factory whistles shrieked, skyrockets were sent up in the air, and every noise-making device. was turned loose. In the light of later events, this wonderful celebration seems to have been a sham, or at least only on the surface. At that time a political volcano was simmering all over the republic, and was just ready to break forth into violent eruption. Less than two months from that time the first outbreak against the civil authorities occurred. A new leader came to the front with "no reëlection" and "effective suffrage" as the two catch words. It was practically the same battle cry as that of Diaz in his original campaign.

No sooner was Madero installed in the high office to which he was elevated, than the very forces which he had himself brought into existence were arrayed against him. Extravagant promises, such as free land, lower taxes, higher wages and a decreased cost of living, had been made. It was the old story of revolutions in Mexico, and some of the other Latin American countries, for the revolution had bred a race of caudillos for whom the victorious party had to pro

vide, and who rated their own deserts high. The atavic appetite for a life of adventure had again been whetted. It was an absolute impossibility for Madero, however well meaning and conscientious he may have been, to immediately carry into effect the reforms promised by him, and to provide offices for these followers which would be satisfactory to themselves. It would have required years to work out such a program. But the caudillos could not wait. The spirit of impatience overcame all self-restraint, all patriotic impulse. It would be a misuse of and slander upon the term patriot to call all of these revolutionary leaders, who have sprung up in nearly every section of Mexico, by the name of patriot. Some of them are little better than freebooters, who prefer a life of adventure and notoriety to peaceful avocations. Some of them may be honest in their views, but sadly mistaken. I would not attempt to classify the revolutionary leaders and say which of them belong to the first class, which to the second class, or which of them may be real patriots, but I feel safe in saying that more of them belong to the first class than either of the others. They are not willing to curb their personal ambitions and lust for power for the general good of the country.

From this paper, it will appear that, in my opinion, the troubles in Mexico are of long standing. Nearly everything complained of by the Mexicans themselves, and that are criticised by people of other nations, can be traced either to the effect of heredity or environment. The land question, of which complaint is made so frequently, was inherited. The greater part of Mexico was parceled out by Cortez to his followers, and that which was not given by him was donated by the Spanish Crown to favorites. Many of the descendants of those original settlers still occupy these lands. The estate of General Terrazas in Chihuahua would make a commonwealth as large as the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined, with a small farm of a million acres besides. The Zuloaga family own a hacienda which is thirty-five miles wide, nearly a hundred miles long, and includes about two million acres. On these great haciendas the proprietors still live a patriarchal existence

with thousands of peons attached to the estates. One hacienda controls twenty thousand peons, an army in themselves.

The owners of these great estates, like all owners of special privileges, cling to their inheritance with the grip of death, and they will do anything rather than yield one jot or one tittle of the prerogatives which have been in their families for generations. Some seven thousand families, out of a population of fifteen million, own the entire landed surface of Mexico, according to the best reports that I am able to find. This shows that it has never been a land of homesteaders, such as we have in the United States, for had the land been parceled out as it has been with us, with tens of thousands of families who have an actual interest in the soil, the political conditions in Mexico would never have reached or remained in the state that they have.

Mexico has never had the advantage of foreign immigration, and there are very few non-Spanish speaking whites in Mexico, with the exception of English, Americans, and Germans, who have gone there not for the purpose of making homes for themselves and their families, but for the purpose of exploiting some one or another of the natural resources of the country, and doing it frequently at the expense of the Mexicans themselves. This condition can be blamed upon Spain, for she forbade people of other nations to come to the country. The official corruption which has been criticised a great deal, and for which there is undoubtedly considerable reason, was the result of Spanish misrule, for it was the Spanish overlords who introduced and developed this system of government. When you know that there are districts in Spain today where scarcely 10 per cent of the inhabitants have mastered the art of reading and writing, it is not surprising to learn that after three centuries of the rule of Spanish governors and viceroys, 95 per cent of the people in Mexico still remained in profound ignorance. Learning for the masses was regarded as prejudicial by those representatives and misrepresentatives of the home government. Although conditions are not ideal yet, the percentage of ignorance has been greatly reduced.

Mexico likewise had the good fortune, as well as misfor

THE JOURNAL OF RACE DEVELOPMENT, VOL. 4, NO. 3, 1914

tune, to have a large indigenous population. This native population furnished the labor necessary to develop the country which the Conquistadores were unwilling to do themselves. They were reduced to a condition of practical slavery. When slavery was abolished, peonage was established. The nature of these peons, who constitute almost 80 per cent of the entire population of Mexico, is such that they have formed a compact and inert mass. They have been non-resisting as a rule, and are content when their simple bodily wants are supplied. It has been an easier matter for the hacendados to get up a body of followers who would fight for them from the ranks of their peons. The peon is one of the greatest problems of Mexico, and it will take a long time to develop the best that is in him.

For the future of Mexico, I have great hopes. Conditions are better today than they were a half century ago. Just when the turn of the balance will come, I would not venture to predict, but I do feel safe in saying that it will come eventually. The inherited misfortunes of the Mexico of today will sooner or later pass away. Europe at one time went through similar conditions. Out of the troublous times of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, nations emerged which had been strengthened by the lessons of adversity learned in the internecine struggles of that period. This is probably the final transition-the dawn of a new era. The paroxysms now shaking the country in rebellions and treacheries, which have so shocked the world, mean the recovery of Mexico ultimately to peace and prosperity. Unrest and change are conditions in every country today, and with both sexes. These conditions have but added to those elements of unrest peculiar to our neighbor across the Rio Grande. A strong man must arise, perhaps another Diaz, at least a leader of enough force of character to draw the people to him and awe any opposing chieftains who may wish to create trouble for his own personal aggrandisement. Intervention should not even be thought of by the United States. From a standpoint of dollars and cents it would be cheaper for Uncle Sam to reimburse all losses sustained