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Show . ! DIAZ AS A MAN OF DESTINY. I ; "If ever a man was a living proof that our fates : are predestined."' said a mining man from Mexico, . "it is President Diaz. '- ' r "He was born at 11 o'clock at night on Septem- . : . ber l.. This is the anniversary moment of Mex- . j ican independence, although September 16 i3 cele- I ; brated as the national holiday. ' ; f "The revolutionary conspirators had agreed on ' September 16 for the outbreak and were to open ths I ball at the ringing of a bell on the plaza of Guana- ; j; juato. But Hidalgo, the Mexican Washington, ' ; learned that their plans were known, so he rang tin i bell and started things going at 11 o'clock on Sep- i I tember 15. ' I j "That was in 1810. Diaz was born September 13, 1 18:50. j : "That is a matter of common knowledge and su- I : f perstition in Mexico. What is not generally known y j is that every one of his many children, legitimate ; and illegitimate, was born either on September 13 or on the anniversary of one of his big military o? political victories. I have it from a member of tht Diaz household that there is not a single exception to this rule. . j "Every year on September 15 the people gather j on the plaza in the City of Mexico. Diaz comes out ; oh a balcony above them sharply at 11 and rings the : j old Mexican independence bell, which has been i brought up to the capital. That is the signal for be- ginning the independence celebration. "Diaz, you know, considers himself a mar. of des- ; tiny. His life has been one long fight against en- f emies. intrigues, secret plots, open rebellion. . "He has beaten them all and established a good government where there had been only tvranny or chaos for ".00 years. They say that he has grown superstitious about it all. believing that he is under a lucky star, and that ho takes these coincidences of birth as a mark of heavenly favor." ! ' i .- . |