V
If ., . vr. -
I I . - " iy'. V , '
. MlrNHfta-r of Wa,r drcctiTvj "by xn
Paul Davis Tells of His Meet
in with the Dictator and
Gives His Impression of the
" Last of the Big Indians."
Wh 0nrl Hurta tuutd n Invi
tation a (w months ago to American
nawapapar man to vlait Maxico. ona or
thoaa who accepted It was Paul Davis,
author of thla artlcla. After being ra
ealvad by the Maxlcan executive, he
contlnaad his Journey into the Interior
in order to aaa aome of the fighting
going on in the turbulent republic. Ha
got to tha front, saw battles and aklr
mUhea, and finally landed in Jail,
where ha remained noma time, In immi
nent danger of being taken out and
. ahot by fcia captor. Finally ha re
gained Bla fraadom. reached Vera Crut,
and got back to tha United States.
Thia article by him tells of his per
gonal experience with Oeneral Huerta.
By Raul Davis.
A
MAN short and atocky. with
squared, shoulders, shoulders
that hare been loaded down but
refuse to sag; a hard square
chin and, a mouth that snaps tight;
noatrlU that dilate as an Indian's
should; and then eyes that peer, that
tarch you out and bore through you
this was tha man Don Victorian
Huerta as I saw him enter the na
tional . palace In Mexico City on an
afternoon in March.
' ' A Practical Man.
With three other. Americans and half
a dosen correspondents from Europa I
had gone to Mexico on the provisional
president's invitation to report on con
ditions in his country after one year of
his sdmlnistratlon. , We had been in
the capital 10 days and had seen pub
lic buildings and bull rights, reviews
of the troopa and ruins of Aztec tem
ples, we had met fiery generals and
tablnet ministers, doughty soldiers and v
dainty senorltaa. And it was all very
good.-
But the man we wanted to meet was
Huerta. Kor months he had been fea
tured on the front page of every news
paper. He had been damned as an as
aassin and lauded as a patriot. Which,
ever he might be, there was no deny
ing he had the punch. He had shot
out of total obscurity when the spot
light discovered him standing on Ma
dero'a dead body at the end of that
10 days' fighting through the streets -of
Maxico. And tha reason why he
had emerged on top, and not soma
other politician or general, had become
apparent He has brains practical,
put-it-through brains. For a solid year
he had held' his own with all the dip
lomats of Europe and kept our state
department atanding on its head. He
had made himself the mainspring and
the whole works of this country. Villa
excepted. So we,-, wanted to meet
Huerta. '-
Huerta Elusive,
' But "the old man" is not too easy
t meet You can see him any day of
the week. In spite of dally threats
of assassination, he moves about the
streets of Mexico at will, dines in pub-
WORLD'S CAPITAL CITY
From the Lincoln Star.
WHAT would you think of a world
wide battle for the location of a
city, such as counties have been
known to wage for the location of th
county seatT Wouldn't such a battle
be a corker? , '
There has recently been organised
what Is known by its membership anl
those who are privy to its purposes
as the "World Conscience society." and
Its chief plan Is. the establishment of
a city to be recognised :aa the capital
of tha world.
S Thla project arises from the dreams
et an artist, Hendrick Christian An
derson, an American - Scandinavian
sculptor, who took up his residence in
Rome. He has been assisted In his
Idealistic ereation by some 40 sculp
tors, artists, engineers, architects and
scientists. The aim ia to create a city
wherein all International activities are
to have their home and inspiration.
- Tha promoters of this dreamy pro
ject have published an elaborate vol
lume giving the design in detail, and
in reviewing it tha monthly bulletin
' of the Pan-American union recently
aid: . -HO -y.
This proposed international city is
te be a city of light health,, wide
avenues parks, playgrounds, foun
tains, lagoons and noble buildings. It
Is to be a city without slums, a city
of efficiency, convenience and beauty.
Not only in structure, plan and equip
ment win it oe tna loeai city, out it
ls Intended to become the Intellectual,
THE
HANDS
t
H.y.-rrilj
CO
cafes, mingles with the) audience In
the theatres, and altogether live the
most democratic Ufa of any despot on
reoord. It seem, that our presenta
tion to him was to be a formal occa
sion, and such things take time In
Mexico, finally our hints became
more Insistent, and at last tha hour
was appointed and we were escorted
to the national palace.
Thla palace Is a rello of bygone days
when Spanish emperora ruled over the
land of the Aztecs. Most of its fur
nishings I found were relics, too
musty with the atmosphere of a dead -monarchy.
Brown soldiers In the blue
uniforms with red edgings of the
Twenty-ninth regiment, the backbone
of the army, guard the doors. Military
aids, secretaries, state officials, and
diplomats tread softly through Its
rooms and corridors holding-whispered
conferences behind their hands. Even
the canopies and draperies seenr to
shroud secrets. Xt Is ail very lmprea
slve and mysterious. Ton feel you rw
getting tangled up In Intrigues with '
Huerta squatting like an old spider in
the oenter f things spinning the web.
An hour rolled by. At Intervals we
advanced from corridor to ante
chamber, to a reception room, and fi
nally we were summoned to a state
apartment Here wa endured another
wait Twenty correspondents chewed
their pencils, heaving - sighs of Im
patience with swords and fixings of
their heavy dreas uniforms, and then
. tha double doors are thrown open, sev
i eral secretaries and cabinet officers
come In looking guilty as pallbearers
and enter Huerta.
Before he has taken three steps Into
the room everything has wakened up.
He wears a little brown hat pulled
down over his eyes. He has a touch
of the rolling gait of a man who haa
' spent most of his life In the saddle
and plants his heels quick and hard.
His manner ahows we are there for
business. The Introductions are run
through with In short order and he
- sizes each man up at a glanoe. We'
seat ourselves by his direction he
. even hustles a'few chairs and, sign
ing to his Interpreter, he begins to
talk.
An Excellent Talker
Two men have been pointed out to
me as "the chap who writes Huerta's
speeches for him." But nobody needs
to write speeches for Huerta. He can
speak for himself. He talks with care
ful emphasis and, to aid -our weak
Spanish, (most of mine Is In my vest
pocket dictionary.) be enunciates with
painstaking care. He hunts for Just
the right word, and when he catches
it If it tries to elude him he gives a
little grunt of approbation that Is tra-
artistic and practical International
capital of the world, a clearing house
for the various social cultural, scien- .
tlfic and political aspirations of hu
manity." It matters not to the dreamers that
the proposed city will cost in its
building a hundred million. Nobody
thinks of hundreds of millions since .
the Panama canal -was built As-designed
the city will cover some' 10
square miles of ground., and its plans
are so drawn that It can be built t
almost any spot that is accessible to
the sea. -
The International committee of or
ganisation Is to determine the site and
, location of the world capital city.
Among the" places that have been
mentioned are the Dutch coast near
The Hague, the Riviera near Cannes,
Tuervueren .near Brussels, the Mar
mora coast near Constantinople, the
New Jersey coast near Lakewood. the
Isthmus of Panama and the island of
Cuba. Many leaders la art- science,
education and world politics in the
various v countries of the civilised
world are taking an active intereat tn
the project' and the meeting of the in-
ternational - committee next year will
create world-wide interest
BJSXT SVaOAT.
Tlve fifth article by Xnrt Aram la
the series on Bnssla and Russians, en
titled "Documents Which TJnoorar Of
ficial Crimes in Bnssla,' will be pnb-
ea im TXB BVITOAT JOTTSVAA
net sranday.
OREGON ; SUNDAY JOURNAL, 'PORTLAND, -SUNDAY k
WITH HUERTA M?THE' MEXICM CAPITAL
. , , ,
9
J
ST
.1
4
PtA HAc.ow.rj
ditionally Indian. As I sit almost at
his knee he shoots s, glance at me
after each sentence and occasionally
says In English, "Understand?" I nod
"Yes" whether or no, and he goes on;
It was his own idea to bring us to
Mexico. As be rode In his car down
- the Paseo de la Reforma one . day be
turned to his stenographer, who ac
companies him practically everywhere,
and dictated the invitation. Then he
told hia cabinet about it and they, per
force, approved. So now he welcomes
as to the republic and tells us ' that
"we are there In the cause of human
ity; that Mexico Is an unknown coun
try to the rest of the world, and Is
grossly misunderstood. ' Then he has
- a mammoth map' of the republic
brought in and, pointer In hand, like
any schoolmaster. ne lines ua up and
gives us our lesson in Mexican geog
raphy. ' ' -
- But Huerta's Interest Is less in the
glorious traditions of Mexican history
(and much of it Is glorious and hair-
' raising, too.) than In the Job be has
on hand of licking the country ' Into"
, shape. And that means licking the
. rebels. On the map he points out the
.territory that Villa and Carransa hold,
taking care not to exaggerate their
- holdings. Then he tells how he -has
, been busy reorganising th army - tn
the past year, and is now ready to
.move against them and wipe them out
V "They aren't rebels,'? he explains.
"They are band It a.- They -are fight
ing for loot not for liberty. They
pillage, murder, violate women they
are entirely beyond the pale of civili
zation and will be dealt with accord--lngly,".
- - ,
Huerta lg not to be caught napplnjg.
He Is shrewd and he is .witty. :
, vHow much money," ' X naked him,
., . -
i,
it.
"will you need to conduct your cam
paign against these bandits?''
"Thirty cents apiece Jor ropes to
bang them." he flashed back.
"And how long will it take to rid
the country of them?" I persisted. He
had been bluffing a bit about the
strength of his army. Now there was .
the glint of a laugh in bis eye aa he
explained bis answer must, not be R
en too seriously and he said: "How
old la God?"
We were at liberty to go anywhere
through the country that we chose,
he told us, promising that all our ques
tions would be answered frankly, that
military escorts would be provided If .
we wished to go to tpe front and that 1
he and the whole machinery of gov
ernment were at our disposal. After
this expansive Invitation he led us
to the banquet table and there cor- '
reeled my pronunciation of "Salut!"
the Spanish equivalent j of "Here's
luck!" to be pronounced over your '
cognac cognac not cocktails, begins
' every spread in Mexico. -
' . Capacity for; Brandy
Huerta. drinks enough cognac to '
.make any American's hair curl, but :
the stories of his drunken rampage
are wild. It may be that he can't
drink enough to bowl him over. His
.capacity for cognac is the admiration
and despair of his followers. But no
'one1 ever sees him unsteady on his
legs, or hears him talk with a thick ;
-tongue. . " - , i.--
, That his head has seldom been bad-
y fuddled during the past year and a
half is proved by the fact that It la '
.still on his shoulders. When Huerta
took office on Madera's downfall, .he
could scarcely count on the support of y
any. one In the republic. The people i
MORNING, JUNE 28, 1911
'is
FHOTO
v
CO
14
rs
M. Mn avto
were dazed by th volcanie erup
tion that had splintered the moun
tain of their government. Huerta kept
his head. Sycophants crowded in, but
men of force and Influence held aloof,
and there were plots against him, in
evitable conspiracies. Some plotters
were exterminated, others banished,
and the fear of him went forth
through the land.
About the fit of the year when
the tide seemed to be turning some
what in his favor some influential
men began to warm up to him and
others were squeezed Into an appear
ance of support But the middle and
lower classes hate and in Tfhispers re
vile him.- Two hundred thousand men
have been impressed into his armies to
be butchered in this desolating war.
And the Mexicans see that it la hia
political fight not theirs. They have
nothing to gain, everything to lose
Even in tha army among, the offi
cers trained in Chapultepec Academy,
Mexico's West Point, hatred of Huerta
has been growing, though fighting is
tn business of their lives. Sitting on
gun-carriages . at San Pedro -waiting
for the next assault of the rebels, three
of thefae young officers tol4 me at dif
ferent times , that their country was
being driven to destruction.
And Huerta is the driver. He grabbed
the reins of government and has held
on like Krira death. He seems to hyp
notise his cabinet officers and all who
come in contact with him, such Is the
force of his dominant personality. The
fear of him has gone throughout the
state. He has become more than a
man ' to the- imaginative Mexican. He
is an evil Jin whose eye sees in the
dark and spies out treachery. This 1.
why - no assassin's - ballet has yet
- found him. Several bold attempts- have
v.
His Rule of Fear Fast Ending
Drinks Heavily, But Is Rare
ly Intoxicated Transacts
Business in His Automobile.
been made on his life. Once In the
Cafe Coluna Roma a congressman
walked up to his table and fired point
blank at him, having concealed hi ,
revolver in his napkin. Huerta was -not
scratched. Other plots have been
laid to shoot him In the dark. But
his very fearlessness protects him.
Even today, when half Mexico City is
waiting only for some one to lead the
mob and drag him to hi doom, no
on has the courage to take the first
atep. r ,
. The first entry In the autobiography
of Don Victorian Huerta will read
that he waa bom an Indian. And the
last entry In that book should be: "He
died an Indian." First, last and all
the time, Huerta is an Indian. There
are 16,000.000 people in Mexico. Twelve
millions are Indians, nearly half of
them full-blood. Huerta is the laat
"big chief" th world will ever se.
In the Army Forty Years
He' himself wa trained in Chapul
tepeo Academy. He was born of poor
parents tn a little village near Oua
aalajara. but he attracted the atten
tion of soma military men by Ms
alertness and at 1 was sent to the
military school, where he ws grad
uated from the engineer course with
honors after sevan years. For 40
years he progressed In the army step
by step. Then suddenly he saw his '
chance to become the boes of the
country and he Jumped for it
There are stories of the million he
haa shipped abroad and placed to hi
private account in Pari. They would
be hard to prove. Millions have been
scarce tn Mexico during the past two
years. Most people believe that the
old man wouldn't overlook a, change
to get the coin, but he has been a
fairly busy individual during hi 'un
in offlce.0 By an accident I learned
that he haa a rainy-day fund in bills
and gold to the extent of several hun
dred thousand dollars even "the old
man" himself doesn't know how much
stored away In his safe.
He haa lltle time to spend in
riotous living. If he were playing the
game for money alone be would have
slipped out before this. Now at the
first sign he makes of fading away the
wolves will be hard after him. Huerta
la greedy of power. He brook no in
terference and will risk no rival.
Gen. Mondragon, a really capable mlli
tsry man, was minister of war during
the first months of his administration.
The war portfolio is the most ticklish
In the cabinet. Huerta grew uneasy
about Mondragon. He gave a banquet
for him. When th time for the
toasts arrived Huerta arose and an
nounced that he was feeling very
trlste that evening very melancholy
indeed. His dear friend Gen. Mon
dragon was leaving for Paris tomor
row. "Why a you mistake, your excel
lency," Mondragon protested. "I am
not leaving for Paris."
"Yes, my dear general; yes. you are.
An important mission," Huerta in
sisted. "But I am not prepared." persisted
the general, floundering for excuses.
"I have no trunks; nc "
"Don't worry. I'll send your trunks,"
snapped Huerta, and to make It plain
that he waa in earnest Huerta sent
around 80 fat trunks to the Mondragon
residence early next morning. Mon
dragon packed the trunks and Huerta
went to the station and bade him an
WORDS WE MISPRONOUNCE
From the Kansas City Star. .
ARE either and neither pronounced
"eether" and "neether" or "eye
ther" and "neyther"? This ques
tion, much disputed. Is answered in
favor of "eether" and "neether" by Ju
lian W. Abernathy in a useful little
book entitled "Correct Pronunciation."
Not a single modern dictionary gives
"eyether" the preference, says the lit
tle book, and goes on to quote Rich-'
ard Grant White, who says "eyether"
is an affectation and a second - rate
British affectation at that Which
should hold the "eyether" advocates
for a while.
And now about the word vase. It's
pronounced "vace." whether it comes
from the 10-cent store or Tiffany's.
"Vase" Is wrong, says the book, and
"vaws" is vulgar. Another tally for
us old-faahloned folks.
Perhaps you've been confused by
hearing people talk about' "rice" and
finding out afterward that they meant
the noun "rise." Well, they were
wrong, too. A straw rote of the beat
modern dictionaries hands the prefer
ence to "rise" as the proper pronuncia
tion. Another word that Is frequently
mispronounced Is depot It should be
."deep," not--depoo" or "daypo." .
, Our old friend Jean Valjean. of
coarse, is . properly "Zahn Valxahn."
and the great state of Kansas is pro
nounced as though the first were ax.
The folks who Insist on making It soft
are all to the bad.
- J. Plerpont Morgan is a" "fin nan
seer." -not a "fynanaeer."
. Th Renaissance Is pronounced "rn-
ecwcC -bwo
all but tearful farewell. He likes
Mondragon, but he likes to be sure of
him. . -k
"Th old man" haa had enough
troubles abroad during hi reign, but
thy have been nothing compared to
his troubles at home. He not only
has to us one y. nd occasionally
a foot, for his cabinet but he has to
be on the Job In every department all
the time.' And the worst of his
troubles is money. How he ha man
aged to aquees through a year and
a half with hi credit cut off and the
revolution growing bigger wvery day
is a mystery even to the financiers
closest to the throne. His creditors
have been barking around him every
day.
Once he called them all up to the
palace, those with large accounts.
They were shuffled from room to
room and the gloom deepened. Finally
! "the" old man" burst in on them. For
SO minute he abused them for their
greed. "Money!" h yelled. "You
want money! Well, the government
has money. There! And there!" and
from every pocket he pulled out hand-'
fuls of gold coin and threw it around
the room. "Now. go home! And come
back tomorrow. KIsa your families
'good-bye and com back to collect
your bllla"
The American automobile man who
told me of thla scene went back the
next day. And be got his money.
0.000. But "the old man;' bluffed
a lot of them out There Is no trick
he is not ready to turn to. te win.
One of the best thing be does is
to keep out of reach when he doesn't ,
want some one to find him. Much of
his official busineis Is transacted in
his limousine, and the limousine keeps ,
moving. Almost every morning he
drives out to Chapultepec park and. In .
the shadow of the old castle and the
giant trees, h oalls his ehjefs Into
conference and lays down the law.
Face to face with htm 1 could
scarcely believe that he was over 00.
His vitality is enormous. He is a
two-handed talker, ahort gripping
hands they are, and he makea Jabs
with his fist to drive his point home.
The thing that grows on you 1 th
capacity of the man. When all hi
resource are exhausted 'he ha will
power to go on. It is this power of
personality that la holding the rem
nants of his forces together todsy.
As you watch him you wonder why
he has not become the idol of the
populace. He has the magnetism and
the dominance that ought to catch
them in pHa of themselves- And the
reason probably la that there isn't any
populace in Mexico. By this I mean
the people at large know they have no
voice in the government Oovernment
to them spells oppression. They are
dumb, driven things. And Huerta is, a
driver. He ergeka the whip s'hd
rounds up 'the men. "More cannon
meat," they say aa a squad of volun
teers goes marching down the street
under the rifles of soldiers who have
been broken to the wheel.
The days of despots In Mexico sre
probably numbered. What sort of
despot Huerta would hare proved had
he got control is now beside the mark.
He has played the game. He has not
overlooked a trick. He Is losing be
cause the world is too strong for him.
But he has made a great one-man
fight, and stands out as one of the
most fascinating figures that has ever
stepped out on the world's stage to
play a leading part
esans," accent on th last syllable, not
Renaysans, and Salome get her last
syllable pronaunced.
Poets are filled with the divine "af
flaytua." not th divine, "afflaatus."
The ruler of Japan la the mikado,
with the recent on the second syllabi,
as all serious minded students of Gil
bert and Sullivan know, and never the
Mlckadoo.
Gibberish Is pronounced with a hard
g. and not Jtbberlsh." and the word
flaccid is "flakald "not "flasid."
Amateur is "amaturr," not "ama
toor" or "amachoor."
The Antipodes Australia, you know
are pronounced "antipodeez."
When the winds soughs through tha
branches It "sows,"' never "suffs."
A faucet is a "fawcet" not a "fas
set" These sre only a few examples. The
book contains 2000 word which ar
commonly mispronounced and 800
proper names which are frequently Im
properly spoken. A little study of it
will enable you to bawl out almost
any one of your friends frequently,
besides tending to improve your own
vocabulary.
"Careless and slipshod enunciation
among presumably cultured people,"
the author says. "Is - probably more
common in the United States than in
any other country in the world. A
Frenchman is proud of Ws speech and
treats It as a fine art. while an Amer
ican regards his speech with indiffer
ence or contempt"
Probably he ia right, as he Is a Ph. ,
D. : and the author of a book ea Amer
ican literature. , - ' ,