Widowed: A Poem

436 IMPROVEMENT ERA

tended, that shows Diaz to be not only a soldier but a statesman and diplomat as well. Many of his contemporaries govern by right of succession. They execute the laws framed by parliament and legislative bodies through whom the public opinion of an intelligent constituency ex- presses its will. Whatever greatness they achieve is largely due to the fact that they do the will of the people over whom they preside. Diaz has made public opinion. Instead of becoming the incarnation of Mexican sentiment, he has made Mexican sentiment the incarnation of his own master mind. When Porfirio Diaz was declared elected president of the United States of Mexico, in 1877, the country was engaged in civil war. The Porfiristas, the name by which the supporters of Diaz were known, had taken up arms against the government of Sebas- tian Lerdo de Tejada, who, as chief justice of the supreme court, had assumed the presidency on the death of Juarez, and after des- perate fighting, in which the superior generalship of Diaz gave him the victory, he was elected president of the republic. To pacify this discordant, revolutionary element, with three men, each with an army at his command, claiming the presidency at the same time; to replenish a national treasury which had been looted by dishonest officials; to reestablish public credit abroad and start moving the wheels of industry at home, was the task which confronted Diaz when he assumed the presidency. From the day of his inauguration, it became evident that a new era had dawned upon Mexico, for his departure from the beaten path which had been traveled by his predecessors was pronounced and radical.In strong contrast to the exclusive, partisan policy of Lerdo he took the ground that he had ceased to be the representative of a party or faction, but was the chief magistrate of the . Mexican nation, and entitled to the support of every loyal citizen. He protested against the pomp and display which had characterized former administrations, insisting in the most democratic way, in occupying a private residence, when not engaged in executive duties, instead of living at the national palace as had been customary. He inaugurated reforms in the government departments, making strict economy and honesty in handling public funds imperative. He provided for the enlargement and extension of