THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT JOSÉ PARDO
[Illustration: POST OFFICE, LIMA.]
The inauguration of Dr. José Pardo took place amid the enthusiastic
demonstrations of a people who recognized in their chosen leader a
statesman of upright character and worthy principles, well equipped to
maintain the authority of a just, liberal, and progressive government.
There was more than the jubilant celebration of a victorious party in
the festivities of that day, the nation exhibiting an affectionate pride
in the accession of their young president, who followed in the path
opened up by his illustrious father and illuminated by President
Candamo, and who thus represented the highest hopes of civil government.
Although only forty years of age at the time of his election, President
Pardo was an experienced statesman and diplomatist, having been Minister
of Foreign Affairs and President of the Council of Ministers during the
administration of President Candamo, as well as diplomatic
representative of the government on a special mission to the Court of
Spain in a previous administration. His education, which began in the
Lima Institute, a college founded by President Manuel Pardo, was
directed in accordance with the liberal ideas that governed his father’s
principles, and from the beginning it became evident that the student
would develop into the statesman. When he was graduated from the
University of San Marcos at the age of twenty-five, he held the degrees
of Doctor of Jurisprudence and Doctor of Political and Social Science.
During President Candamo’s term, Dr. Pardo successfully advocated the
settlement by arbitration of difficult questions between his country and
Bolivia, Ecuador, and Brazil; and, as president of the ministerial
council, he was the principal leader in framing important laws for the
building of railroads and for fiscal reform which were afterward
sanctioned by Congress.
When President Pardo assumed office, he proceeded, with energy and
decision, though without any ostentatious display of reform, to carry
into effect the policy which he had adopted, and which was declared in
his inaugural message. The keynote of his administration is industrial
and educational progress, and at no time in the history of Peru have its
public institutions and private enterprises been in a more advanced and
promising condition. Toleration in religion, justice in legislation, and
an earnest endeavor to promote the well-being of the country, morally
and materially, have been exemplified in the attitude of President
Pardo’s government throughout the four years that he has guided the
destinies of the nation. In foreign relations, Peru has attained a more
honored position than ever before. The nation was represented with
distinction in the Pan-American Conference at Rio de Janeiro in 1906,
and at the International Conference of the Hague in 1907. In home
government, in military matters, in the departments of justice and
public instruction, in finance, and in the development of public works
of enormous benefit to the country, the results of a wise and careful
direction of executive authority are to be seen. Education has been
reformed and established on a uniform and democratic basis, the annual
appropriation of funds for this purpose having been increased under the
present government to three times the amount formerly set aside for its
maintenance; it now amounts to nearly one-tenth of the budget. The
postal service has received especial attention, and improvements have
been made which render it one of the most efficient branches of public
administration. The reconstruction of the national navy has been
effected during the present term, the new cruisers, _Grau_ and
_Bolognesi_, which arrived in 1907 from the European shipyards, being
handsome modern battleships.
Industrial progress has been fostered and encouraged by the extension of
railways, and new lines are under construction in every part of the
republic. Commerce has increased every year and the fiscal receipts have
nearly doubled within the past four years. Foreign capitalists are
constantly making new investments in the country, the statistics showing
that twenty-nine mining and agricultural enterprises were established in
Peru in 1907, of which a great many were of foreign ownership. The
sources of national wealth have increased, partly owing to the discovery
of valuable mines of coal and petroleum and to the revival of Peru’s
guano industry, which promises to be richer in production than ever
before. The interests of agriculture have been promoted by a careful
study of its needs in the various regions; hydrographic experts have
been employed to solve the problem of irrigation in the dry sections of
the coast and artesian wells have been sunk at various points in the
northern district. The importation of thoroughbred stock, the employment
of foreign specialists in the various branches of husbandry to give
lectures on the subject, and the free and liberal distribution of
pamphlets, reports, and maps throughout the farming communities have
been among the activities of the government in behalf of agricultural
reform.
Public health receives greater consideration and attention than
formerly, Congress having voted large sums for the purpose of carrying
out sanitary works in the centres of population throughout the republic,
especially in the ports. Commissions, composed of medical men and
engineers, have undertaken the improvement of sanitary and hygienic
conditions, and this important reform is now far advanced, many cities
already enjoying its benefits.
[Illustration: PATIO OF THE POST OFFICE, LIMA.]
President Pardo has been ably assisted in his administration by the
members of his cabinet, who have carried out the policy of their chief
with unfailing judgment. When elected, he selected the following
well-known statesmen to form his ministerial council: Dr. Javier Prado y
Ugarteche, Foreign Affairs; Dr. Augusto Leguia, Finance; Dr. Eulogio
Romero, Government and Home Affairs; General Muñiz, War and Marine; Dr.
Jorge Polar, Justice, Public Instruction and Worship; Dr. José Balta,
Public Works. The Minister of Public Works is also Minister of
_Fomento_, having in charge the patronage, or promotion, of public
enterprises. Under the direction of this cabinet the affairs of the
administration were conducted with eminent success, and when it was
succeeded by the present executive council, the progressive policy that
had been so well interpreted was continued, and still reigns. The
members of the cabinet at present are: Dr. Solón Polo, Foreign Affairs;
Dr. Carlos Washburn, Justice, Public Instruction and Worship; Dr. German
Schreiber, Finance; Dr. German Arenas, Government and Home Affairs;
General Juan N. Eléspuru, War and Marine; Dr. Delfin Vidalón, Fomento
and Public Works.
Dr. Solón Polo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, enjoys the distinction
of being one of the best informed statesmen of Peru regarding diplomatic
questions between his country and foreign powers. He has had large
experience in the affairs of government, and, added to this advantage,
he has the gift of diplomacy, these two factors accounting for the
prestige the Foreign Office enjoys under his administration. Since his
appointment as Foreign Minister, the question of boundaries,—which
constitutes the chief element of discord between South American
countries,—has approached nearer its final solution so far as Peru is
concerned, and friendly relations exist between that country and her
neighbors; though Chile still postpones the settlement of the Tacna and
Arica question, the plebiscite which was to have been held some years
ago not yet having taken place. The dependencies of the Foreign Office
in Europe and America have maintained the utmost concord with the
_Ministerio_, and the foreign diplomatic corps has cordially
reciprocated its friendly attitude. The Peruvian Minister to Washington,
Dr. Felipe Pardo, has been active in promoting good feeling between his
country and the United States; in conveying the invitation from the
Foreign Office to Mr. Root to visit Peru, in 1906, he did so in such
pleasing language that the great statesman referred to its gracious
character more than once, with evident appreciation.
[Illustration: THE PRESIDENT’S COACH LEAVING THE GOVERNMENT PALACE FOR
THE HOUSE OF CONGRESS.]
Dr. Carlos Washburn, the Minister of Justice, Public Instruction and
Worship, is President of the cabinet. His department supervises the
various judicial institutions, the plan of national education, and the
ecclesiastical government of the country. Dr. Washburn is a jurist of
eminent talent and has had a distinguished career in the administration
of justice. He was Judge of the Superior Court of Lima when called to
the higher post. During the present term, the department of justice has
established a superior court in Iquitos, and has instituted various
reforms. The publication of the judicial annals and the adoption of
regulations governing judicial statistics have been accomplished to
facilitate the public administration. Dr. Cavero, first vice-president
of the republic, and magistrate of the supreme court, with the
coöperation of a committee on legislative procedure, is occupied in the
preparation of a project for the reform of the penal code, a work for
which his great experience and superior knowledge particularly qualify
this learned statesman. The penitentiary and the boys’ correctional
school are conducted under the supervision of the Minister of Justice.
Improvements have been effected in both these institutions, the former
having been enlarged and modern accommodations added during the present
administration, while the latter has extended its beneficent influence
more widely than ever, giving to a class of boys most lacking in
training the advantages of learning a trade and becoming worthy
citizens. The school provides manual work for its inmates, who, as a
rule, are apt and diligent; the average “bad boy” is usually possessed
of extraordinary energy, and it is the aim of this school to direct it
to a worthy purpose. It is one of the most successful reformatories of
South America, and the work done in carpentry, tailoring, shoemaking,
and other trades is creditable to the intelligence of the boys and to
the discipline of the school authorities.
One of the most important charges of the department under Dr. Washburn’s
administration is the national education, which has made remarkable
progress. In ecclesiastical matters, as pertaining to public worship,
this ministry has rendered valuable services to the established church,
apostolic prefectures, under instructions from this office, fulfilling
the requirements of ecclesiastical authority in the various departments.
On the death of Monseñor Tovar, Archbishop of Lima, Archbishop Naranjo
was appointed to the metropolitan See. The late archbishop was greatly
beloved by the nation and his death was an occasion of mourning
throughout the republic. Archbishop Naranjo, the illustrious prelate who
governs the archdiocese at present, is revered for his exemplary virtues
and highly esteemed for his scholarship.
Dr. German Schreiber, who succeeded Dr. Augusto Leguia as Minister of
Finance, is well equipped for the duties of his important office, having
had exceptional experience in financial administration previous to his
appointment to the post. This department of the government supervises
the national budget. Orders issued by the Ministers of State on the
national treasury can be paid only with a warrant drawn on the Minister
of Finance, this document showing the number of the corresponding item
in the budget, or containing the supreme decree authorizing the payment.
Each _Departamento_ keeps its own accounts, which assures regularity in
the expenses of the different prefectures. The reorganization of the
custom house service has received the especial attention of the Finance
Minister, with satisfactory results.
Under the head of Government and Home Affairs, Dr. German Arenas
supervises legislative matters, public order, political administration,
government buildings, etc., and the postal and telegraph service. The
development of industry and wealth has naturally given rise to greater
ambition among the laboring classes, and the struggle between capital
and labor has brought about occasional _huelgas_, or “strikes,” in the
larger cities; but the authorities have been able to avoid any violent
attacks on property, and public tranquillity has been easily restored.
The police system, reorganized and reinforced by a large number of
mounted troops, is better prepared than ever before to maintain respect
for the law.
[Illustration: MONUMENT TO BOLOGNESI.]
The modern improvements made in the postal service by the present
executive have been demanded as the result of a remarkable increase in
correspondence passing through the various post offices of the country.
During the past year, the general post office has increased its capacity
and new branches have been established in numerous districts of all the
Departamentos of the republic. Great obstacles have been overcome in
placing the post office on the present high plane of efficiency. The
vast extent of territory traversed by mountain ranges and cut by immense
cañons has made the question of postal delivery an exceptionally hard
problem to the government, as the expenses of maintaining the service
were formerly far in excess of the receipts. Owing to the expansion of
trade, the increase of population, and the careful attention lately
given to this branch of the administration, the post office has shown a
surplus of receipts over expenditures during the past three years. Peru
is a member of the Universal Postal Union, and its relations with the
post offices of foreign countries are maintained with great credit to
its government. The issue of post office orders and the service of
parcels post have been established between Peru and the United States,
England, and Bolivia, arrangements being under way to extend these
advantages to Italy, Japan, and Chile.
The telegraph service extends from one end of Peru to the other, the
capital being united by wire with the most remote departments of the
republic. The system covers more than three thousand miles of telegraph
wires. The first line in Peru was constructed by private enterprise in
1864 between Lima and Callao, the government assuming the administration
of the public telegraphs in 1875. The national wires connect at the
boundary line with those of neighboring republics, making a general
South American system.
The Minister of War and Marine, General Juan N. Eléspuru, is a
distinguished soldier and statesman, universally admired for his
military talent and the noble qualities of his character. His
administration is devoted especially to those matters which tend to the
elevation of the army, and particularly to its education. Civil as well
as military instruction is provided in the quartel, and the standard of
training in the military schools is higher than it has ever been. The
French military commission, engaged in 1896 to reorganize the army,
under the direct authority of the War Office, has accomplished an
important work, with the entire approval of the government. The head of
the commission, Brigadier-general Pablo Clement, is chief of the general
staff and is consulted on all matters relating to the instruction and
organization of the army. One of the captains of the commission has
charge of the Military High School, and another, of the Military
Academy, in Chorillos. The latter, created for the technical and
practical instruction of commissioned and non-commissioned officers
destined to serve in the army, has been most important in increasing the
efficiency of the military service. Annexed to the Military Academy is a
school of musketry for technical instruction in the use of portable
arms. The preparatory school and the school of application afford
instruction for beginners.
[Illustration: THE WAR ARSENAL, LIMA.]
[Illustration: INFANTRY UNIFORM, PERUVIAN ARMY.]
The army consists of six battalions of infantry; a regiment of mountain
artillery, a group of field artillery, and a group of artillery of
sappers and miners; and six squadrons of cavalry, including the
president’s escort. The various auxiliary corps include the general
commissary of the army, the ordnance store, the military health
department, and a supreme military and naval council. The infantry arms
are Mauser rifles of seventy-five millimeters calibre; the cavalry and
mountain artillery carry the carbine of the same model, the artillery
having also field batteries formed of the latest Schneider-Canet guns.
Military service is obligatory on all Peruvians between nineteen and
fifty years of age, excepting directors of public schools, college
professors and all who hold a diploma, exercising a liberal profession.
The organization of the reserves and their mobilization is regulated by
the establishment in each Department of battalions of sappers,
consisting of four hundred and forty-eight men, and, in eleven
Departments, of cavalry squadrons of one hundred and sixty-nine men.
Peruvians from thirty-five to fifty years of age form the national
guard. By the well-regulated system of conscription in force, Peru will
have in a few years, in addition to its well-drilled army, a host of
instructed reserves, requiring only a few drills to transform them into
able soldiers. The republic is divided into four military zones, the
capitals being Piura in the northern, Lima in the central, Arequipa in
the southern, and Iquitos in the eastern zone. These districts are
subdivided into eleven commands, composed of twenty-two departments and
colonies. Under the direction of the army authorities, troops of mounted
police, numbering two thousand two hundred men, serve in each
department.
The navy, which, like the army, is a dependency of the War Office, has
now three cruisers and three transports, and its reconstruction has been
accompanied by the organization of a Naval School, under the direction
of an officer of the French Navy. In this institution students are given
the professional, theoretical, and military instruction necessary to
qualify them as midshipmen, three years’ service qualifying for the rank
of sub-lieutenant. On board the training ship _Constitucion_, civil,
professional, naval, and military instruction is provided, after which
the _practicante_ passes to the vessels of the squadron, wherein he
serves for five years. At present three Peruvian midshipmen are
completing their practical instruction on board United States warships,
and seven are gaining experience in the Royal Spanish Navy.
[Illustration: MR. ROOT AT THE NATIONAL CLUB, LIMA.]
The progressive policy of President Pardo’s government is nowhere more
conspicuously seen than in the Department of Public Works. The minister,
Dr. Delfin Vidalón, last year published the report of his office in a
volume of six hundred pages, every line of which bore reference to
important industrial, commercial, or benevolent reforms in the numerous
sections subject to his administration. In the direction of Fomento,
which includes all matters relating to agriculture, mines, immigration,
and various industries, as well as benevolent institutions, the amount
of labor accomplished is phenomenal. Public works have been carried out
on a vast scale, and in accordance with the most modern ideas. Railways,
port works, and irrigation have occupied the best engineers of the
government. Sanitation and hygiene, an important charge of this office,
have received especial attention. The wireless telegraph, or radiograph,
has been installed in the Amazon region, and successful experiments have
been made in the use of this method of transmitting messages across the
virgin forests of the tropics. A German company has successfully
established radiographic communication from Puerto Bermudez on the river
Pichis to Masisea on the Ucayali, this being the first attempt ever made
to cross a territory densely covered by tropical vegetation. Two
stations have been built, of three towers, each one hundred and fifty
feet in height. The system is now being extended to Iquitos on the
Amazon River. The question of public health is recognized by the
government as of paramount importance to the well-being of the state,
and the Department of Public Health has recently been made a dependency
of the Ministry of Fomento. It is divided into two sections, hygiene and
demography, and has the supervision of sanitary corps, vaccination, and
all lazarettos of the republic. The sanitary corps have charge of the
inspection of the ports,—the maritime sanitary defence being governed by
regulations of the sanitary police, in accordance with the International
Sanitary Convention held in Washington,—and sanitary stations are
established at Paita, Ilo, and Callao. By this new organization, the
means of guarding the health of the community is greatly simplified.
Vaccination is obligatory in Peru. Sanitary inspection governs railway
as well as steamboat traffic. The results are better health conditions
in all the cities.
[Illustration: THE CENTRAL MARKET, LIMA.]
The four years during which President Pardo has governed Peru have been
marked by events of the greatest significance, not only in the history
of that republic but in the annals of South American politics. The visit
of Secretary Root of the United States in 1906 and the passing of the
great Atlantic Squadron in 1908, are incidents that deserve to be
recorded. Especially is this true as regards Peru. The visit of
Secretary Root was more than a part of the programme carried out by that
distinguished statesman in his tour of South America. It was, as he
himself expressed it, when responding to the spontaneous and generous
welcome given him by the Peruvian people, the renewal of an old,
constant, and cordial friendship between the Peruvian people and their
cousins of the United States. He said: “I have come here, not to look
for new friends, but to salute the old ones; not to initiate any new
policy, but to follow up the old and honored course; and on coming to
South America, responding to the invitations from the different
countries, going down by the eastern coast and coming up by the western,
to pass by Peru without stopping here would make my trip as incomplete
as a representation of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ without the appearance of
Hamlet on the stage.” This frank expression of friendship was genuinely
appreciated, as it showed that the warm sentiments which found voice in
President Pardo’s address of welcome were thoroughly reciprocated.
Nothing could have been more pleasing to Mr. Root than the following
words, from the president’s speech: “These sentiments of sympathy and
admiration shone forth at the dawn of Independence, because the founders
of the Great Republic pointed out to our ancestors the way that led to
freedom; and they have been gaining strength since the first days of our
autonomic existence, owing to the bond which the admirable foresight of
another great statesman of your country extended over this American
land.”
[Illustration: PERUVIAN MARINES.]
Mr. Root’s visit to Peru was an occasion of great interest to the North
American statesman, who had an opportunity to become acquainted with the
various important institutions of the country. A special session of the
Senate, under the presidency of Dr. Manuel Barrios, was held to receive
Mr. Root. On the day preceding his visit to the Senate, Secretary Root
was elected an honorary member of the Faculty of Political and
Administrative Sciences of the University, founded by President Pardo’s
father. This impressive ceremony was performed in the presence of the
entire University, presided over by its president, Dr. Villarán, and the
Deans of the Faculties, and attended by the President of the Republic,
the Cabinet Ministers, and the Military Staff of his Excellency. To a
statesman and scholar of Mr. Root’s experience and knowledge, it was
both a pleasure and a profit to receive the many gracious assurances of
appreciation which were extended to him in Peru; and in return, the
Peruvian people had the satisfaction of learning the opinion of an
eminent foreigner regarding their political and educational advancement.
Mr. Root found the evidences of progress most creditable to the nation,
and said that the difference between the country to-day and what it was
a generation ago was as great as the difference marked by centuries in
the history of European countries. The cordial relations existing
between the two countries, more firmly united than ever by the visit of
Secretary Root, were still further strengthened when the American
Squadron arrived at Callao. Its officers and crew were received by the
citizens of that port and of the capital with the heartiest
demonstrations of welcome. The entertainment of the fleet devolved upon
the Foreign Office, and Dr. Polo interpreted the wishes of the president
and of the nation by extending to Admiral Evans and his officers every
courtesy and attention that an appreciative host could bestow on a
welcome guest.
The secret of the sympathy existing between Peru and the United States
lies largely in the similarity of the national ideals, which in both
countries are centred in liberal principles of civil government. The
Civil party which elected President Pardo stands for the most
progressive politics of Peru. The illustrious statesman who presides
over its councils at present, Dr. Augusto Leguia, has just received the
highest proof of the nation’s esteem for his genius and patriotism, in
the announcement of his election to succeed Dr. Pardo as President of
Peru. The election took place in May, 1908, and the successful candidate
is to be inaugurated on the 24th of September, 1908. The president-elect
is one of Peru’s greatest men, his name being especially identified, as
Finance Minister, with the successful financial operations of the
present government during the first three years of Dr. Pardo’s term; his
knowledge of all that pertains to this important branch of the
government is unequalled by that of any other Peruvian statesman. A
gentleman of distinguished family and most attractive personality, as
well as a statesman of extraordinary ability, Dr. Leguia is a worthy
successor of President Pardo, who by his admirable qualities of mind and
heart has endeared himself to all Peruvians and won the respect and
esteem of all foreigners in his country.
[Illustration: THE PERUVIAN IRONCLAD _GRAU_, IN THE HARBOR OF CALLAO.]
[Illustration: THE UNVEILING OF BOLOGNESI’S STATUE IN LIMA.]