12 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



March 1, 1913- 



now Russia is far more friendly to- 

 wards Servia than towards Bulgaria, 

 and it seems inevitable that Roumania 

 will forsake the Tiiple Alliance for 

 closer understanding with Russia. In 

 European military circles, by the way, 

 the opinion is held that, judgmg by the 

 results of the present war, the Bul- 

 garian army is a much less formidable 

 one on modern lines than that of 

 Servia. 



Revolution in IVIexico. 



As long as General Diaz was Presi- 

 dent of Mexico, the country was tran- 

 quil. That iron-handed dictator had a 

 drastic way with insurgents and their 

 like. With his deposition Mexico en- 

 tered into a new phase reminiscent, 

 indeed, of the pre-Diaz regime, where 

 e\'ery so-called presidential election was 

 the occasion of a civil war. Signer 

 Madero became President a year ago 

 after he had carried through a success- 

 ful revolution, and expelled the aged 

 Diaz. His rule, although he had the 

 whole-hearted support of Mr. Taft's 

 Government, has been much broken 

 by local disturbances, and ere long the 

 expected happens, and he is deposed. 

 The leaders in the movement which 

 caused his fall were Felix Diaz, nephew 

 of the ex-President, and General Reyes. 

 The latter, some nine years ago, be- 

 came too popular and powerful a man 

 to suit Porfirio Diaz, who practically 

 banished him to be Governor of a dis- 

 tant state. He was shot in the street 

 fighting between the President's troops 

 and the followers of Felix Diaz. To 

 him succeeded General Huerta, the 

 head of the Federal Forces. He it was 

 who made victory certain for the in- 

 surgents, and arrested Madero. Huerta 

 proclaimed himself provisional Presi- 

 dent, but will hatdh' retain the post 

 long. The actual occupant of the 

 Presidential chair is, however, a small 

 matter, compared with the view the 



United States may have to take of the 

 whole question. No American desires 

 to annex Mexico ; he does not want 

 another Philippines hung round his 

 neck. But American business interests 

 are very great in Mexico, and very un- 

 willingly the States may be compelled 

 to intervene with armed force. If she 

 does she will have her hands full, be- 

 cause, although each faction in the 

 Latin republic hates the others, they 

 all hate and fear their big sister in 

 the north still more. It is to be hoped,. 

 for the sake of peace in America, that 

 some man strong enough to take a per- 

 manent seat in the Presidential chair 

 speedily appears. Mexico does not 



seem ripe yet to be ruled on Constitu- 

 tional lines — a dictatorship appears in- 

 evitable. The whole country is seeth- 

 ing with unrest, and is over-run witlx 

 guerilla bands. 



The Death of Madero. 



That the deposed President should 

 have been shot is deplorable. It is 

 stated that friends tried to rescue iiim 

 en route to the prison, where he was 

 being conveyed at the suggestion 

 of the United States Minister, and that 

 he and the \'ice-President, Suarez, lost 

 their lives in the fracas. Although his 

 disappearance will, no doubt, be wel- 

 comed by Huerta and his friends, it 

 is improbable that the ex-President was 

 murdered by their orders. The United 

 States can hardly interfere on the 

 ground that those in power executed 

 him without a fair trial, as President 

 Taft had threatened to do if such ac- 

 tion had taken place. His death will 

 not endanger the relations of the two 

 countries, as it was, or can be made 

 to appear to have been, accidental. 

 Madero had a remarkable career. He 

 was a dreamer, a clever soldier, a law- 

 yer, and a successful cotton grower, 

 a millionaire and a spiritualist. He 

 ever dreamed dreams for the regenera- 



