James Creelman, Porfirio Diaz
From the heights of Chapultepec Castle President Diaz looked down
upon the venerable capital of his country, spread out on a vast plain, with
a ring of mountains flung up grandly about it, and I, who had come nearly
four thousand miles from New York to see the master and hero of modern
Mexico--the inscrutable leader in whose veins is blended the blood of the
primitive Mixtecs with that of the invading Spaniards--watched the
slender, erect form, the strong, soldierly head and commanding, but
sensitive, countenance with an interest beyond words to express.
A high, wide forehead that slopes up to crisp white hair and over
hangs deep-set, dark brown eyes that search your soul, soften into
inexpressible kindliness and then dart quick side looks-terrible eyes,
threatening eyes, loving, confiding, humorous eyes--a straight, powerful,
broad and somewhat fleshy nose, whose curved nostrils lift and dilate
with every emotion; huge, virile jaws that sweep from large, flat, fine ears,
set close to the head, to the tremendous, square, fighting chin; a wide,
firm mouth shaded by a white mustache; a full, short, muscular neck; wide
shoulders, deep chest; a curiously tense and rigid carriage that gives
great distinction to a personality suggestive of singular power and dignity--
that is Porfirio Diaz in his seventy-eighth year, as I saw him a few weeks ago
on the spot where, forty years before, he stood-with his besieging army
surrounding the City of Mexico, and the young Emperor Maximilian
being shot to death in Queretaro, beyond those blue mountains to
the north--waiting grimly for the thrilling end of the last interference
of European monarchy with the republics of America.
It is the intense, magnetic something in the wide-open, fearless,
dark eyes and the sense of nervous challenge in the sensitive, spread
nostrils, that seem to connect the man with the immensity of the
landscape, as some elemental force.
There is not a more romantic or heroic figure in all the world, nor
one more intensely watched by both the friends and foes of democracy, than
the soldier-statesman, whose adventurous youth pales the pages of Dumas, and
whose iron rule has converted the warring, ignorant, superstitious and
impoverished masses of Mexico, oppressed by centuries of Spanish cruelty and
greed, into a strong, steady, peaceful, debt-paying and progressive nation.
For twenty-seven years he has governed the Mexican Republic with such
power that national elections have become mere formalities. He might easily
have set a crown upon his head.
Yet to-day, in the supremacy of his career, this astonishing man--
foremost figure of the American hemisphere and unreadable mystery
to students of human government--announces that he will insist on
retiring from the Presidency at the end of his present term, so that
he may see his successor peacefully established and that, with his
assistance, the people of the Mexican Republic may show the world
that they have entered serenely and preparedly upon the last
complete phase of their liberties, that the nation is emerging from
ignorance and revolutionary passion, and that it can choose and
change presidents without weakness or war.
It is something to come from the money-mad gambling congeries of
Wall Street and in the same week to stand on the rock of Chapultepec, in
surroundings of almost unreal grandeur and loveliness, beside one who is
said to have transformed a republic into an autocracy by the absolute
compulsion of courage and character, and to hear him speak of democracy as
the hope of mankind.
This, too, at a time when the American soul shudders at the mere
thought of a third term for any President.
The President surveyed the majestic, sunlit scene below the
ancient castle and turned away with a smile, brushing a curtain of
scarlet trumpet-flowers and vine-like pink geraniums as he moved
along the terrace toward the inner garden, where a fountain set
among palms and flowers sparkled with water from the spring at
which Montezuma used to drink, under the mighty cypresses that
still rear their branches about the rock on which we stood.
"It is a mistake to suppose that the future of democracy in Mexico
has been endangered by the long continuance in office of one President,"
he said quietly. I can say sincerely that office has not corrupted my
political ideals and that I believe democracy to be the one true, just
principle of government, although in practice it is possible only to highly
developed peoples."
For a moment the straight figure paused and the brown eyes
looked over the great valley to where snow-covered Popocatapetl
lifted its volcanic peak nearly eighteen thousand feet among the
clouds beside the snowy craters of Ixtaccihuatl--a land of dead
volcanoes, human and otherwise.
"I can lay down the Presidency of Mexico without a pang of
regret, but I cannot cease to 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, the
blue tumult of mountains, the thin, exhilarating, scented air, seemed
to stir him, and the color came to his cheeks as he clasped his hands
behind him and threw his head backward. His nostrils opened wide.
"You know that in the United States we are troubled about the
question of electing a President for three terms?"
He smiled and then looked grave, nodding his head gently and pursing
his lips. It is hard to describe the look of concentrated interest that
suddenly came into his strong, intelligent countenance.
"Yes, yes, I know," he replied. "It is a natural sentiment of democratic
peoples that their officials should be often changed. I agree with that
sentiment."
It seemed hard to realize that I was listening to a soldier who had
ruled a republic continuously for more than a quarter of a century
with a personal authority unknown to most kings. Yet he spoke with
a simple and convincing manner, as one whose place was great and
secure beyond the need of hypocrisy.
"It is quite true that when a man has occupied a powerful office for a
very long time he is likely to begin to look upon it as his personal property,
and it is well that a free people should guard themselves against the
tendencies of individual ambition.
"Yet the abstract theories of democracy and the practical, effective
application of them are often necessarily different--that is when
you are seeking for the substance rather than the mere form.
"I can see no good reason why President Roosevelt should not be
elected again if a majority of the American people desire to have
him continue in office. I believe that he has thought more of his
country than of himself. He has done and is doing a great work for
the United States, a work that will cause him, whether he serves
again or not, to be remembered in history as one of the great Presi-
dents. I look upon the trusts as a great and real power in the United
States, and President Roosevelt has had the patriotism and courage
to defy them. Mankind understands the meaning of his attitude and
its bearing upon the future. He stands before the world as a states-
man whose victories have been moral victories. ...
"Here in Mexico we have had different conditions. I received
this Government from the hands of a victorious army at a time when
the people were divided and unprepared for the exercise of the
extreme principles of democratic government. To have thrown upon
the masses the whole responsibility of government at once would
have produced conditions that might have discredited the cause of
free government.
"Yet, although I got power at first from the army, an election was
held as soon as possible and then my authority came from the
people. I have tried to leave the Presidency several times, but it has
been pressed upon me and I remained in office for the sake of the
nation which trusted me. The fact that the price of Mexican securities
dropped eleven points when I was ill at Cuernavaca indicates
the kind of evidence that persuaded me to overcome my personal
inclination to retire to private life.
"We preserved the republican and democratic form of government. We
defended the theory and kept it intact. Yet we adopted a patriarchal policy
in the actual administration of the nation's affairs, guiding and restraining
popular tendencies, with full faith that an enforced peace would allow
education, industry and commerce to develop elements of stability and unity
in a naturally intelligent, gentle and affectionate people.
"I have waited patiently for the day when the people of the
Mexican Republic would be prepared to choose and change their
government at every election without danger of armed revolutions
and without injury to the national credit or interference with national
progress. I believe that day has come. ...
"In the old days we had no middle class in Mexico because the
minds of the people and their energies were wholly absorbed in
politics and war. Spanish tyranny and misgovernment had disorganized society.
The productive activities of the nation were abandoned
in successive struggles. There was general confusion. Neither life
nor property was safe. A middle class could not appear under such
conditions."
"General Diaz," I interrupted, "you have had an unprecedented
experience in the history of republics. For thirty years the destinies
of this nation have been in your hands, to mold them as you will;
but men die, while nations must continue to live. Do you believe
that Mexico can continue to exist in peace as a republic? Are you
satisfied that its future is assured under free institutions?"
It was worth while to have come from New York to Chapultepec
Castle to see the hero's face at that moment. Strength, patriotism,
warriorship, prophethood seemed suddenly to shine in his brown
eyes.
"The future of Mexico is assured," he said in a clear voice. "The
principles of democracy have not been planted very deep in our
people, I fear. But the nation has grown and it loves liberty. Our
difficulty has been that the people do not concern themselves
enough about public matters for a democracy. The individual Mexican as a
rule thinks much about his own rights and is always ready
to assert them. But he does not think so much about the rights of
others. He thinks of his privileges, but not of his duties. Capacity
for self-restraint is the basis of democratic government, and self-
restraint is possible only to those who recognize the rights of their
neighbors.
"The Indians, who are more than half of our population, care
little for politics. They are accustomed to look to those in authority
for leadership instead of thinking for themselves. That is a tendency
they inherited from the Spaniards, who taught them to refrain from
meddling in public affairs and rely on the Government for guidance.
"Yet I firmly believe that the principles of democracy have grown
and will grow in Mexico."
"But you have no opposition party in the Republic, Mr. President.
How can free institutions flourish when there is no opposition to
keep the majority, or governing party, in check?"
"It is true there is no opposition party. I have so many friends in
the republic that my enemies seem unwilling to identify themselves
with so small a minority. I appreciate the kindness of my friends
and the confidence of my country; but such absolute confidence imposes
responsibilities and duties that tire me more and more.
"No matter what my friends and supporters say, I retire when my
present term of office ends, and I shall not serve again. I shall be
eighty years old then.
"My country has relied on me and it has been kind to me. My
friends have praised my merits and overlooked my faults. But they
may not be willing to deal so generously with my successor and he
may need my advice and support; therefore I desire to be alive
when he assumes office so that I may help him."
He folded his arms over his deep chest and spoke with great
emphasis.
"I welcome an opposition party in the Mexican Republic," he
said. "If it appears, I will regard it as a blessing, not as an evil. And
if it can develop power, not to exploit but to govern, I will stand
by it, support it, advise it and forget myself in the successful inauguration
of complete democratic government in the country.
"It is enough for me that I have seen Mexico rise among the
peaceful and useful nations. I have no desire to continue in the
Presidency. This nation is ready for her ultimate life of freedom. At
the age of seventy-seven years I am satisfied with robust health.
That is one thing which neither law nor force can create. I would
not exchange it for all the millions of your American oil king."
His ruddy skin, sparkling eyes and light, elastic step went well
with his words. For one who has endured the privations of war and
imprisonment, and who to-day rises at six o'clock in the morning,
working until late at night at the full of his powers, the physical
condition of President Diaz, who is even now a notable hunter and
who usually ascends the palace stairway two steps at a time is
almost unbelievable.
"The railway has played a great part in the peace of Mexico," he
continued. "When I became President at first there were only two
small lines, one connecting the capital with Vera Cruz, the other
connecting it with Queretaro. Now we have more than nineteen
thousand miles of railways. Then we had a slow and costly mail
service, carried on by stage coaches, and the mail coach between
the capital and Puebla would be stopped by highwaymen two or
three times in a trip, the last robbers to attack it generally finding
nothing left to steal. Now we have a cheap, safe and fairly rapid
mail service throughout the country with more than twenty-two
hundred post-offices. Telegraphing was a difficult thing in those
times. To-day we have more than forty-five thousand miles of telegraph
wires in operation.
"We began by making robbery punishable by death and compelling the
execution of offenders within a few hours after they were caught and
condemned. We ordered that wherever telegraph wires were cut and the chief
officer of the district did not catch the criminal, he should himself suffer;
and in case the cutting occurred on a plantation the proprietor who failed to
prevent it should be hanged to the nearest telegraph pole. These were military
orders, remember.
"We were harsh. Sometimes we were harsh to the point of
cruelty. But it was all necessary then to the life and progress of the
nation. If there was cruelty, results have justified it."
The nostrils dilated and quivered. The mouth was a straight line.
"It was better that a little blood should be shed that much blood
should be saved. The blood that was shed was bad blood; the blood
that was saved was good blood.
"Peace was necessary, even an enforced peace, that the nation
might have time to think and work. Education and industry have
carried on the task begun by the army." . . .
"And which do you regard as the greatest force for peace, the
army or the schoolhouse?" I asked.
The soldier's face flushed slightly and the splendid 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
education throughout the Republic carried on by the national Government. I
hope to see it before I die. It is important that all citizens .of a republic
should receive the same training, so that their ideals and methods may be
harmonized and the national unity intensified. When men read alike and think
alike they are more likely to act alike."
"And you believe that the vast Indian population of Mexico is
capable of high development?"
"I do. The Indians are gentle and they are grateful, all except the
Yacquis and some of the Mayas. They have the traditions of an
ancient civilization of their own. They are to be found among the
lawyers, engineers, physicians, army officers and other professional
men.
Over the city drifted the smoke of many factories.
"It is better than cannon smoke," I said.
"Yes," he replied, "and yet there are times when cannon smoke is
not such a bad thing. The toiling poor of my country have risen up
to support me, but I cannot forget what my comrades in arms and
their children have been 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 the
castle, "is the only surviving Spanish institution to be seen in this
landscape."
"You-have not noticed the pawnshops," he exclaimed. Spain
brought to us her pawn-shops, as well as her bull-rings." . . .
There are nineteen thousand miles of railways operated in Mexico,
nearly all with American managers, engineers and conductors, and one has
only to ride on the Mexican Central system or to enjoy the trains de luxe
of the National Line to realize the high transportation standards of the
country.
So determined is President Diaz to prevent his country from falling
into the hands of the trusts that the Government is taking over and merging
in one corporation, with the majority stock in the Nation's hands, the
Mexican Central, National and Inter-oceanic lines-so that, with this mighty
trunk system of transportation beyond the reach of private control, industry,
agriculture, commerce and passenger traffic will be safe from oppression.
This merger of ten thousand miles of railways into a single company,
with $113,000,000 of the stock, a clear majority, in the Government's hands,
is the answer of President Diaz and his brilliant Secretary of Finances to
the prediction that Mexico may some day find herself helplessly in the grip
of a railway trust.
Curiously enough, the leading American railway officials representing
the lines which are to be merged and controlled by the Government spoke to me
with great enthusiasm of the plan as a distinct forward step, desirable alike
for shippers and passengers and for private investors in the roads.
Two-thirds of the railways of Mexico are owned by Americans,
who have invested about $300,000,000 in them profitably.
As it is, freight and passenger rates are fixed by the Government,
and not a time table can be made or changed without official
approval.
It may surprise a few Americans to know that the first-class
passenger rate in Mexico is only two and two-fifths cents a mile,
while the second-class rate, which covers at least one-half of the
whole passenger traffic of the country, is only one cent and one-fifth
a mile--these figures being in terms of gold, to afford a comparison
with American rates.
I have been privately assured by the principal American officers
and investors of the larger lines that railway enterprises in Mexico
are encouraged, dealt with on their merits and are wholly free from
blackmail, direct or indirect. ...
More than $1,200,000,000 of foreign capital has been invested in
Mexico since President Diaz put system and stability into the nation.
Capital for railways, mines, factories and plantations has been
pouring in at the rate of $200,000,000 a year. In six months the
Government sold more than a million acres of land.
In spite of what has already been done, there is still room for the
investment of billions of dollars in the mines and industries of the
Republic.
Americans and other foreigners interested in mines, real estate,
factories, railways and other enterprises have privately assured me,
not once, but many times, that, under Diaz, conditions for invest-
ment in Mexico are fairer and quite as reliable as in the most highly
developed European countries. The President declares that these
conditions will continue after his death or retirement.
Since Diaz assumed power, the revenues of the Government have
increased from about $15,000,000 to more than $115,000,000, and
yet taxes have been steadily reduced.
When the price of silver was cut in two, President Diaz was
advised that his country could never pay its national debt, which
was doubled by the change in values. He was urged to repudiate a
part of the debt. The President denounced the advice as foolishness
as well as dishonesty, and it is a fact that some of the greatest
officers of the government went for years without their salaries that
Mexico might be able to meet her financial obligations dollar for
dollar.
The cities shine with electric lights and are noisy with electric
trolley cars; English is taught in the public schools of the great
Federal District; the public treasury is full and overflowing and
the national debt decreasing; there are nearly seventy thousand
foreigners living contentedly and prosperously in the Republic--
more Americans than Spaniards; Mexico has three times as large a
population to the square mile as Canada; public affairs have developed
strong men like Jose Yves Limantour, the great Secretary of Finances, one of
the most distinguished of living financiers; Vice-president Corral, who is
also Secretary of the Interior; Ignacio Mariscal, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, and Enrique Creel, the brilliant Ambassador at Washington.
And it is a land of beauty beyond compare. Its mountains and
valleys, its great plateaus, its indescribably rich and varied foliage,
its ever blooming and abundant flowers, its fruits, its skies, its marvelous
climate, its old villages, cathedrals, churches, convents--there is nothing
quite like Mexico in the world for variety and loveliness. But it is the
gentle, trustful, grateful Indian, with his unbelievable hat and many-colored
blanket, the eldest child of America, that wins the heart out of you. After
traveling all over the world, the American who visits Mexico for the first
time wonders how it happened that he never understood what a fascinating
country of romance he left at his own door.
It is the hour of growth, strength and peace which convinces
Porfirio Diaz that he has almost finished his task on the American
continent.
Yet you see no man in a priest's attire in this Catholic country.
You see no religious processions. The Church is silent save within
her own walls. This is a land where I have seen the most profound
religious emotion, the most solemn religious spectacles--from the
blanketed peons kneeling for hours in cathedrals, the men carrying
their household goods, the women suckling their babies, to that
indescribable host of Indians on their knees at the shrine of the Virgin
of Guadalupe.
I asked President Diaz about it while we paced the terrace of
Chapultepec Castle.
He bowed his white head for a moment and then lifted it high,
his dark eyes looking straight into mine.
"We allow no priest to vote, we allow no priest to hold public
office, we allow no priest to wear a distinctive dress in public, we
allow no religious processions in the streets," he said. "When we
made those laws we were not fighting against religion, but against
idolatry. We intend that the humblest Mexican shall be so far freed
from the past that he can stand upright and unafraid in the presence of
any human being. I have no hostility to religion; on the contrary, in spite
of all past experience, I firmly believe that there can be no true national
progress in any country or any time without real religion.'
Such is Porfirio Diaz, the foremost man of the American hemisphere. What
he has done, almost alone and in such a few years, for a people disorganized
and degraded by war, lawlessness and comic opera polities, is the great
inspiration of Pan-Americanism, the hope of the Latin-American republics.
Whether you see him at Chapultepec Castle, or in his office in
the National Palace, or in the exquisite drawing-room of his modest
home in the city, with his young, beautiful wife and his children
and grandchildren by his first wife about him, or surrounded by
troops, his breast covered with decorations conferred by great nations,
he is always the same-simple, direct and full of the dignity
of conscious power.
In spite of the iron government he has given to Mexico, in spite
of a continuance in office that has caused men to say that he has
converted a republic into an autocracy, it is impossible to look into
his face when he speaks of the principle of popular sovereignty
without believing that even now he would take up arms and shed
his blood in defense of it.
Only a few weeks ago Secretary of State Root summed up President Diaz
when he said:
It has seemed to me that of all the men now living, General Porfirio
Diaz, of Mexico, was best worth seeing. Whether one considers the
adventurous, daring, chivalric incidents of his early career; whether
one considers the vast work of government which his wisdom and
courage and commanding character accomplished; whether one considers
his singularly attractive personality, no one lives to-day that I
would rather see than President Diaz. If I were a poet I would write
poetic eulogies. If I were a musician I would compose triumphal
marches. If I were a Mexican I should feel that the steadfast loyalty
of a lifetime could not be too much in return for the blessings that
he had brought to my country. As I am neither poet, musician nor
Mexican, but only an American who loves justice and liberty and hopes
to see their reign among mankind progress and strengthen and become
perpetual, I look to Porfirio Diaz, the President of Mexico, as one
of the great men to be held up for the hero-worship of mankind.
