The contending forces and warring political elements of that critical
period in Chile’s history reached a climax in the struggle for
supremacy in the campaign of 1886, which resulted in the election of
Balmaceda as president. During the years intervening between the war
with Peru and Bolivia, and the inauguration of Balmaceda, Chile had
prospered wonderfully. The rich nitrate properties, acquired as the
fruits of war, were being developed and worked with foreign capital,
and were producing an enormous annual revenue. The Republic was then
in the period of its greatest prosperity, having accumulated a large
surplus in the national treasury, notwithstanding the fact that public
works, including highways, school houses, bridges, harbor improvements,
etc., were being constructed. Order and system prevailed in the
management of government affairs, and the country was in the bloom of
industrial progress and national prosperity.
Under these favorable conditions, Don Jose Manuel Balmaceda became
president. To the creation of these conditions he had contributed
much in the way of honest industry, but the full fruition of his
hopes to make of Chile an independent Republic, where every citizen,
irrespective of condition, creed or religion, might exercise his
rights without prejudice to his individual interests was never to be
realized. Not only was he destined to disappointment and ultimate
defeat, but this strong, brilliant man, the greatest in many respects
that Chile has produced, proved the rock upon which the Ship of State
foundered. His administration ended in a revolution, the tragic end
of which was the death of the president by suicide in the Argentine
Legation, in Santiago, where he sought asylum after the final success
of the revolutionists and the overthrow of the government.
It was on a constitutional question that Balmaceda clashed with
Congress, which resulted in his downfall. Under the constitution the
president must convoke Congress in regular session from June 1 to
September 1, each year; he has power to prorogue it at any time for a
term of fifty days, and he can summon it in special session whenever
he chooses. He appoints his cabinet ministers, governors of provinces,
diplomatic representatives, and five out of eleven members of the
Council of State, “Consejo de Estado.” He also appoints the judges of
the several courts, upon recommendation of the Council of State. He
approves, promulgates and takes part in the making of laws, issues
decrees, regulations, etc., which he may consider desirable for the
execution of laws. The authority thus vested in the president gives him
a power which, if abused, might become a menace to the Republic. It was
perhaps for this reason that the framers of the constitution of Chile,
apparently desiring to avoid the possibility of the concentration of
political power in the Republic, made the ministry responsible to
the legislative branch of the government instead of the executive.
Following the plan of the French Republic, legislation affecting the
general policy of the government originates with the ministry. When
Congress convenes the president outlines the administration policy in a
message calling attention to such measures as he thinks should receive
attention and consideration from the legislative bodies. Bills are
prepared by the cabinet ministers and presented to Congress. A failure
to approve by their votes any measure coming from the executive branch
is taken as a vote of lack of confidence in the administration, and
the only course left for the president is to dissolve his ministry.
The power bestowed upon Congress to overthrow ministries, and defy
the president by refusing to coöperate with the executive branch
of government, was never indulged in to any considerable extent
until Balmaceda’s time. Then the political elements opposed to the
administration policy allied their interests and exercised their power
to defeat the progressive measures presented, thereby repeatedly
rejecting the ministry. Since that time the custom of obstruction has
grown into such a gigantic abuse that it is now almost impossible for
the president of Chile to maintain a ministry for a sufficient length
of time to carry out any general plan or policy of government. In fact
it has become one of the crying evils of the country which the press
denounces vigorously and persistently. During the administration of
President German Riesco, 1901-6, ministerial changes became so frequent
that a cabinet crisis was not regarded as a matter of any interest or
consequence by the public.
During the first years of Balmaceda’s administration, Chile enjoyed an
era of golden prosperity and national progress. Numerous reforms were
proposed, which had for their purpose the improvement of the government
service. One project was to prohibit senators and deputies from having
an interest in any public contract; another that neither the president
nor any cabinet minister should appoint a near relative to office
unless the person possessed the necessary qualifications for the
position. Believing himself secure in the performance of his duties and
the administration of government affairs, President Balmaceda prepared
to utilize a portion of the large income from the nitrate fields in the
construction of public works. He contracted for the building of new
lines of railway in the central and southern provinces at a cost of
$30,000,000; built schools and colleges in every city in the Republic,
amounting to $10,000,000 in value; ordered the construction of three
modern warships and two torpedo boats in Europe. He also continued and
completed the work of constructing a government dry dock at Talcahuano;
armed and equipped the army with modern rifles and munitions of war,
and improved the coast defenses, to which were added new modern
batteries at Talcahuano and Iquique.
The questions affecting the prerogatives of the members of Congress
and cabinet ministers, together with the extravagant policy of the
administration caused much political agitation and exciting debate
in the Senate and House of Deputies. The constant attack of the
clerical party, the bitter denunciations of the press, added to the
conservative opposition finally created dissension among the liberals,
who had elected and until then supported the president. Charges of
usurpation of power and dictatorship were made against Balmaceda,
and the political situation became such that a revolt was imminent.
Various ministries had been rejected by Congress because of the policy
pursued in erecting costly public works instead of employing the
government revenues in reducing the foreign debt and redeeming the
paper currency, and the president found himself in the embarrassing
situation of having entered upon a policy of extensive government
improvement and industrial development without the support of Congress.
An extraordinary session was called for the purpose of providing
government revenues. Other measures were taken up by Congress and the
appropriation bill deferred until the president should recede from his
arbitrary position. Balmaceda refused to compromise, and the ministry
again resigned. He then appointed a new cabinet in harmony with his
views and declared the session closed, maintaining that Congress when
called in extraordinary session for the express purpose of passing
an appropriation bill had no constitutional authority to go into the
consideration of other measures. In explaining his action he said:
“Congress by the express terms of the constitution has no more right to
dictate to me what ministers I shall appoint than it has to advise what
food I shall eat or clothes I shall wear.”
The Constitutional Advisory Committee was convened and as a result
of its deliberations the president was advised to again convene
Congress in extraordinary session. Balmaceda hesitated, fearing that
Congress if again convened might declare the office of president
vacant. While he and his ministers deliberated, the Constitutional
Committee arrogated to itself the authority to call an extra session.
The opposition was rapidly securing support from various political
elements throughout the country and by popular sympathy among the
people. The dictatorial attitude of the administration aroused intense
feeling and there was a clamor for the deposition of the alleged
dictator. Realizing that summary action was necessary to maintain
his power and aggressive policy, the president issued a manifesto on
January 1, 1891, declaring his intention to exercise his constitutional
powers and functions,--to stand by the strict letter of the law. He
declared that he had nothing to do with the effete provisions of the
constitution, nor with new theories of parliamentary government until
they were enacted into law. He maintained that under the constitution
the appropriation bill passed by the previous Congress held good
until another was passed. The supreme court declared the acts of the
president unconstitutional. He ignored the court. This assumption of
authority on the part of the executive was contrary to precedent and to
republican ideas, even if constitutional, and the cry of “dictator” was
raised. Thus the machinery of government was disabled, and while the
Ship of State lay stranded upon the rock of party politics, Congress
declared the country in revolution, and the tempest of war struck the
Republic on January 7, 1891, when the navy, under command of Señor
Don Jorge Montt went over to the revolutionists. The squadron sailed
for the north with the presiding officers of the Senate and House of
Deputies on board, and a floating Congress was established.
The Congress which declared Balmaceda deposed, empowered Don Jorge
Montt to assume provisional command, and a junta was organized on
board the warship _Blanco Encalada_, composed of Señor Montt, Don
Waldo Silva, vice-president of the Senate and Don Ramon Barros Luco,
president of the Chamber of Deputies.
The revolution started by Balmaceda’s manifesto of January 1, 1891, was
apparently poorly prepared to cope with the government. The insurgents
had no military organization, no arms or munitions of war. The junta
proceeded north and took possession of the provinces of Tarapaca,
Atacama and Antofagasta, which include the rich nitrate fields and
wealth producing mineral territory of Chile, the revenues from which
were employed in purchasing arms, provisions and equipment for an army.
They also had possession of the majority of the naval squadron. By the
middle of the year 1891 the government had 45,000 troops in the field,
four thousand of which were cavalry. The revolutionists had only about
twelve thousand soldiers, which encouraged the sanguine Balmaceda to
believe that he could easily suppress the uprising.
Congressional elections were held in May, and a majority of the members
elected were in sympathy with the administration. In June presidential
electors were chosen, and they selected as the candidate for president
Don Claudio Vicuña, who was Balmaceda’s choice for his successor. Señor
Vicuña, who was of an old and distinguished family, was declared
duly elected president on July 25, 1891, but the final success of the
insurgents prevented him from ever taking his seat.
As the struggle continued the revolutionary cause gained strength and
reinforcements from various sources. The superior skill of the military
officer directing the opposition forces made itself manifest, and the
position of Balmaceda and his government became daily more and more
menaced with dissolution and overthrow. On August 20, ten thousand
revolutionary troops were disembarked at Quintero, a few miles from
Valparaiso, and on the following day a decisive battle was fought, at
Concon, situated at the mouth of the Aconcagua River, resulting in the
defeat of the government forces. This crushing defeat, in which about
2,500 of the government troops were killed, practically caused the fall
of Balmaceda. He made a strenuous and brave effort to recover from the
disaster, but the railway communication having been destroyed, it was
impossible to send reserve troops from the south, where they had been
stationed, in time to save the situation.
After the battle of Concon the opposition forces advanced upon
Valparaiso, and two days later endeavored to capture Fort Callao, at
Viña del Mar, a beautiful suburban place six miles from Valparaiso.
The fortress, which commands the bay of Valparaiso, the valley and
surrounding heights, being equipped with modern guns, and well-nigh
impregnable, resisted the attack of both warships and artillery, and a
repulse prevented a direct advance upon Valparaiso, the objective point
of the Congressional army. Retiring from Viña del Mar, Generals Canto
and Korner, commanding the revolutionary forces, fell back to Salto, a
few miles distant, where they destroyed a railway bridge spanning the
river, thus cutting off communication with Santiago, and preventing
the possibility of Balmaceda forwarding troops from the capital.
Making a detour of some thirty miles, the revolutionists endeavored
to approach Valparaiso from the south, but encountered the government
forces, under command of Generals Barbosa and Alzerreca, occupying a
formidable position upon the hills near Placilla, a few miles from the
city of Valparaiso. This was on August 27th. On the 30th the election
of Señor Claudio Vicuña would be formally ratified by the Senate, and
he would become president. It was important to the revolutionists to
force a decisive engagement and overthrow Balmaceda before the newly
elected president should take his seat. Before daylight on the morning
of the 28th, under cover of the darkness and protection of the hills,
the revolutionists got into position to give battle without being seen
by the government forces. Early in the morning as the advancing army
was crossing an open plain Balmaceda’s troops opened an artillery fire
upon it, and the battle of Placilla, the final and decisive engagement
in the revolution, was begun. The opposition forces numbered about
twelve thousand and the government, nine thousand. The former, flushed
with success and inspired with the hope of final victory, fought
like demons, while the latter, discouraged and disheartened with
failure, menaced with disaster and annihilation, showed lack of order,
discipline, and courage manifested and displayed on previous occasions.
Some companies even deserted and joined the enemy during the battle.
After a few hours’ terrific fighting, in which more than a thousand men
were killed and a greater number wounded, on the government side, the
Balmaceda army was put to rout. The victorious forces which had lost
five hundred killed and over a thousand wounded, pursued the fleeing
remnants of the routed army, driving many of them into the quebrades
(ravines), where they were unmercifully slaughtered. Generals Barbosa
and Alzerreca were both killed in the engagement. On the evening of
the 28th, Valparaiso was in possession of the revolutionists and the
Balmaceda government was overthrown.
Leading government supporters, including Don Claudio Vicuña, president
elect, and who only lacked a few days of being formally declared
the chief executive of the Republic, sought refuge on board foreign
warships in the harbor.
That night Valparaiso was the scene of a Bacchanalian rabble that would
have shamed Rome in the reign of Nero. The city was in possession of a
mob, intoxicated with success, drunk upon wine and athirst for blood,
that murdered with impunity and sacked the town without restraint.
Drunken men and women reeled through the streets, shooting at each
other as a matter of sport, and on the following morning four hundred
victims of the mob’s violence were found dead in the streets.
The scenes enacted in Santiago were equally as wild and tragic as
those witnessed in Valparaiso. The houses of Balmaceda, Claudio Vicuña
and other Balmacedistas were attacked, looted and everything they
contained destroyed or carried away. A statue of the deposed president
was dismembered and kicked through the streets. From balconies ladies
cheered the performance, while opprobrium was heaped upon the inanimate
form by the drunken mob. Beggars and thieves appropriated with
impunity works of art and beautiful articles of furniture found in the
residences of those who had remained loyal to the administration.
That night President Balmaceda left the Moneda (Government Palace), and
sought asylum in the Argentine Legation, where he remained until his
legal term as president expired, September 18. On September 19 he took
his own life by firing a revolver-shot into his brain, thus avoiding
the chronicle in history that he committed suicide while president of
the Republic.
Thus the tragic and untimely death of this strong, brave man, who was
called a tyrant and dictator by his enemies, but was loved and revered
by his friends. Through the vista of years that intervene between the
present and the close of the revolution, the official acts of Balmaceda
and the monuments he left to his memory in the form of government works
and public enterprises, loom large and conspicuous when compared with
the works of those who have succeeded him. Public opinion and sentiment
in Chile have undergone wonderful changes since the day a shot from a
revolver in his own hand crashed into and stilled forever the fertile,
creative brain of Jose Manuel Balmaceda, and an ungrateful Republic is
now beginning to set its seal of approbation upon his official life
and private character. History will yet write the name of Balmaceda
large upon the roll of honor reserved for Chile’s patriots, statesmen,
diplomats and scholars.
At the close of the revolution the “Junta de Gobierno,” with Captain
Jorge Montt at its head, took charge of the government. On October
18, a general election was held, and on November 18 the electors
met and named Don Jorge Montt president. President Montt, while a
man of mediocre ability, possessed a high sense of honor, and was
conscientious in the strict performance of his official duties. While
he did nothing to distinguish himself as a man of great intellectual
attainments, his administration marked a period of national
tranquillity and general prosperity, securing for him the good will and
political support of a majority of the citizens of the Republic. After
serving one term as president he was placed at the head of the navy,
where he served as a most efficient and popular officer. He held the
position as ranking admiral of the navy until 1905, when he was sent on
a special government mission to the United States, Japan, Europe and
England.
President Montt was succeeded by Don Federico Errazuriz in 1896. There
was little in President Errazuriz’ administration worthy of special
mention. He was a man of brilliant intellect, cultivated tastes,
charming manner and attractive personality, but lacked in the moral
qualities that characterized the private and official life of his
predecessor.
President Errazuriz died in July, 1901, and was succeeded by Don German
Riesco, who had been formally elected a month previous. President
Riesco had not been conspicuous in national politics previous to
his nomination, and had few political enemies when inaugurated in
September, 1901. He was known as a good lawyer, had occupied the
position of judge of one of the courts of appeal, and was universally
respected for his honesty, industry and high moral character. Being
a man of mediocre ability, lacking in precision and firmness, his
administration was early embarrassed by politicians who employed
obstructive measures to prevent the passage of laws recommended by the
executive branch of the government.
The president found it difficult to maintain a ministry for a
sufficient length of time to accomplish anything in the way of needed
legislation, or to carry out important government policies. He was
constantly forced into compromising with various political factions
and coalitions. In an effort to secure political influence he lost
the support of a majority of the members of the legislative bodies,
and also the confidence of the people. The result was a condition
of political chaos in the Republic. Ministries were overthrown with
frequency, Congress was hopelessly divided into contending factions and
there was a general lack of united and concerted effort in the various
branches of government.
Chile made substantial commercial progress during the Riesco
administration, however, and there prevailed throughout the country
a condition of general prosperity. New and important industries were
established, many new companies with large capital were organized, and
money was plentiful during most of the period. The only disturbing
feature of the commercial and financial situation was the constantly
fluctuating value of the paper currency.
Another feature of President Riesco’s administration is the fact that
it closed with a national calamity, caused by the great earthquake
that occurred in August, 1906, causing serious loss of life and great
destruction of property in the cities and towns throughout the country.
In the general election of 1906, Don Pedro Montt, son of Manuel Montt,
President of Chile from 1851 to 1861, was elected president by a larger
majority than that received by any candidate in the history of the
Republic.
Señor Montt was for many years previous to his election regarded as the
most able and conservative statesman in the country. He was born in
Santiago in 1846, and was graduated from the University in his native
city in 1870. In 1874 he was elected a member of the House of Deputies,
where he remained for several years. He also served as Speaker of
the House, Minister in different cabinets and Envoy Extraordinary
and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States. With a long and
successful political career to his credit he was inaugurated under more
favorable and auspicious circumstances than any president since his
father, to whom history gives the credit of being one of the ablest
executives ever elected to the office.
It was President Montt’s ambition to improve the industrial and
financial conditions of the country by establishing the gold
standard, and thereby do away with the ruinous fluctuations in the
currency values. But in this commendable undertaking he was doomed to
disappointment, being defeated in his plans for accomplishing that most
desirable reform by the factions that dominated the politics of the
Republic, and in 1908-9, the exchange rate reached its lowest level,
the Chilean peso being worth at one time only 20 cents U. S. currency,
whereas upon a gold standard basis it represents a value of 34 cents.
In May 1910 President Montt attended the inauguration of the centennial
exposition of the Argentine Republic in Buenos Aires, making the trip
by rail over the Transandine Railway, which was opened to traffic about
that time. In July he started on a trip to Europe, going by way of the
United States, arriving in New York, August 3. On August 9 he sailed
for Europe, arriving in Hamburg on the 16th, where he died soon after
his arrival.
After the death of President Montt, Vice-President Elias Fernandez
Albano became president. On September 6, of the same year President
Albano died and Senator MacIver Como, vice-president of the Council of
State became the acting president.
At the regular election in 1910, Don Raymon Barros Luco was elected to
the presidency.