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Show IHUERTAA PROTEGE OF GENERAL DIAZ ! i Former President of Mexican Republic Early Recognized Possibilities Possi-bilities cf Man Who Practically Succeeoe Kim in Power. I Has Seen Hard Service, and Fron the Firct Wzz C:en P.ecogr.ized as a Ruthless and Determined Man Seemingly Knows No Quality of Mercy. Once intended by old Porfirio to be a second Diaz in Mexico, now, like his former chief, a fugitive from the wrath of his compatriots, Victoriano Huerta sees himself at sixty forced to resign the presidency of his country. Ha will, it is believed, go to Europe, where, like other Latin American presidents, he will end his days with little enjoyment save that of reminiscence. reminis-cence. Haerta was born to wealth. Unlike Diaz, who is of plebeian origin, a mongrel, mostly Indian, Huerta comes of one of the most aristocratic families fami-lies in Mexico. He was born in Chihualiua, with which state the Huertas have long been identified, in 1854., ot 1S57, reports re-ports differ. At the age of seventeen the aristocrat was appointed byoDiaz, then ruling Mexico with an iron "hand, to the military school of Chapultepec. Huerta served his four school years . passably well. He was neither at the head nor the foot of Ms class. He was graduated with honors, "being about the tenth in a class of nearly a hundred, and immediately went to join a regiment on the west coast as a second sec-ond lieutenant, of engineers. When President Diaz began "his reorganization re-organization of the Mexican army Huerta was promoted captain of engineers, engi-neers, and while holding this rank devised de-vised the plan for a Mexican general staff corps. He was an active member of the military map commission created creat-ed to draft a staff map of Mexico on a large scale, and he had charge of all the topographical work of the commis: ston, leading exploring and surveying parties over the wildest regions of the republic. President Diaz soon after began to plaoa confidence in Huerta. He believed be-lieved he saw in the lieutenant colonel of engineers, to which rank the soldier sol-dier had succeeded, traits which would make him a worthy successor in the executive chair. Huerta was placed in charge of a station in Matanzas, far removed from the capital. There plots could be easily hatched, and Diaz was loath to leave in charge any officer In whom he had not Implicit trust. Huerta was barely thirty-five when this incident occurred. One afternoon while he was riding with an escort of but three men through a mountain pass in the vicinity of his station, six or seven masked men stepped from the roadside and covered his little party. par-ty. Naturally they threw up their hands. The highwaymen proved to be members mem-bers of the band of Flores Zegaza, the bandit who kept the community on the feather edge. It was his habit to descend on the towns along the coast and levy toll whenever hunger or caprice impelled him to do so. Huerta soon stood in front of Zegaza's hut, an adobe dwelling, much dilapidated, far up the mountain. There Zegana made the proposition which was rW at all unusual in Mexico Mex-ico then, and 'hioh Is, in fact, quite th5 vogue today. He proposed that Huerta should heep him informed as to the days when the military force would be marchir.g in a direction opposite op-posite from the town. On such days Zegaza would make it a point to call, with his followers, a!" 1 collect from the natives such stores of money and clothes and food and wine and tobacco as had accumulated since the last visit. Zegaza was not at all surprised to have Hijerta accept his proposition to receive In return for the promised information in-formation a share of whatever loot fell to the bandits. Ten days later Huerta sent word to Zegaza that he would "be away from the station on the following Thursday. Promptly on Thursday the 'bandits rode Inio Matanzas, confident there would be no opposition except from the sporadic popguns of the overfright-ened overfright-ened storekeepers. As they turned Into the main street, discharging their revolvers to frighten every one away, a squad of Huerta's soldiers closed In on their rear and another squad appeared ap-peared m their front. A number of Zegaza s men were killed ifl the street. The remainder, with til bandit chief himself, surrendered. surren-dered. A w eek later Zegaza was shot In the cuartel of the prison attach"d to the station. Huerta is no drawing room soldier. He has seen much active service. In 1901 he took command of the infantry In the campaign against the Yaqui Indians. After this campaign he was again put in crarge of the general staff's topographical work in Sonora. He participated in subsequent Yaqui campaigns and also in the campaign in Yucatan against the Maya Indians. Huerta commanded all the detached government' forces in the state of Guerrero at the beginning of the Madera Ma-dera revolution. When Madero suc-ceded suc-ceded to the presidency, General Huerta was sent back into Morelos with a force to put down the Zapata rebellion. As a result of ill feeling growing out of this campaign, Huerta was recalled. Subsequently he led the army sent against Orozco, and was in command at the battle of Bachimba. For this service he was promoted to major general. In the second Felix Diaz revolution, which resulted in the overthrow of the Madero government, Huerta vas immediately im-mediately called to active command as the senior ranking general then in the capital. He escorted Madero Ma-dero from Chapultepec castle to the palace on tlie first of the ten days' fighting and was placed in entire command com-mand of the forces of the government. He directed the government troops during all the subsequent fighting, and the conduct of these operations led to severe criticism on the part of Made-ro's Made-ro's friends. Tt was charged that he did not carry out the operations with any spirit and that he disobeyed the commands of President Madero. It Is said that before be-fore Blanquet entered the city the generals had a conference at which the fate of the Maderos was sealed. Huerta was the moving spirit in the consummation of the plot that resulted result-ed in the seizure of the person ol President Madero, his brother, Gns-tave, Gns-tave, and Vice President Jose Pino Saurez. The assassinations of the Maderos and Saurez followed, and in the meantime Huerta, with the military mili-tary behind him, had been recognized as the provisional president. Huerta at once sought recognition of the United States, for it is understood in Latin-American countries that none of their presidents can hold office long without being recognized by the Amer-ican Amer-ican government. President Wilson, however, refused to treat Huerta as chief executive of Mexico. In the meantime, General Carranza, the successor of Madero in the dream of a justly governed Mexico, was win. nlng over the North. His military commander, General Villa, repeatedly defeated the federal forces. Practically Practical-ly all of the North came under the constitutionalist sway. In the South Zapata held out against Hunrta. Then the United States came down upon him, seizing the city of Vera Cruz as a result of an affront to tha Stars and Stripes. Mediation at tha instance of Argentina, Brazil and Chile followed with no satisfactory results. |