A STRENUOUS ELECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 108, 27 October 1911, Page 3

A STRENUOUS ELECTION.

BULLETS INSTEAD OF BALLOT. San Francisco, September 2fl. What has been asserted to be the first "free" election the Republic of Mexico has ever had is taking on more and more the aspect of a. free-for-all fight, in which bullets are taking the place of ballots, and clubs and swords are looked upon as more potent persuaders than oratory. Serious disorders have marked almost every appearance of the leading candi-' date for the Presidency—Francisco Ma- | dero, the revolutionary chief, and General Bernardo Beyes. Madero and his ! followers arc accusing of using thuggery and kindred methods, and on this account Congress has been petitioned by Reyes to postpone the election. The Reyists say the Government has not been able to restore order, and that the rioting and bloodshed will increase from now until the election, so that when the polls open none but followers of Madero will be guaranteed a free ballot. As in the days of Diaz, it is said, voting will be classed among dangerous occupations.

Responsibility for the disorders so far reported is not; however, confined to the Madcro party. An affair shedding a characteristic light on electioneering in | Mexico is reported from Moridia, in Yucatan. Eight, men were killed and 10 injured as an incident of the demonstration tendered by the town of Macro. A trainload of excursionists going into the city to join in the demonstration was fired upon by State guards, and on account of the crowded condition of the carriages almost eevry bullet hit a passenger. The soldiers say the excursionists were to blame. They were almost all intoxicated, it is said, and when they saw the guards, begun firing, killing a child. There were undoubtedly political motives behind the clash, however, and during Madero's entire sta)- in the town there were manifestations against him. At Vera Cruz the revolutionary leader was also treated cavalierly, being roughly hustled by a mob on his arrival there, while stones were thrown jat his party. The crowd surged about him so fiercely that, the accounts say, ! he "lost both his dignity and his temper." The candidate was literally tossed into an automobile, and men and boys clambered on the footboards, springs, and even roof. In a speech that night Madero accused General Reyes of criminal acts, and said he hoped his opponent would be forced to leave the country.

As in the (lavs of Diaz, the shadow of Hie military is over the eleetion. At Torreon feeling runs so high that the Oovernment has despatched 1000 troops there to preserve order. Since he was mobbed and robbed in the streets of Mexico City, (lencral Reyes has made but few public appearances. A big Reyes demonstration was planned to be held in the town of Juarez, close to the American border, but the Mailerists turned out in such force that the supporters of Reyes took cover. The town resounded with cries of "Down with Reyes!" and "Death to Reyes!" Other accounts tell of riots in many towns throughout the Republic, occasioned by causes other than visits by the candidates. In one place the exhibition of a pHure of General Reyes by a major in the army started a fight, during which the major's uniform was torn from his body, while he was compelled to take refuge in an American restaurant.

Madcro is strongly opposed to the postponement of the election, but inasmuch as Congress contains many men representing the old regime he has some fears that Reyes's request may be granted. The revolutionary leader is constantly reminding the'people that he alone is responsible for the overthrow of Diaz, and asserts that Reyes is trying to rob him of the fruits of victory. Madero appears to have lost ground because Jose Pino Suarez, the Governor of Yucatan, and an intensely unpopular official, has been nominated to run with him for Vice-President.