In a town of the Cibao an
expression of the garrulous landlady of the inn attracted my
attention. The old lady, after regaling me with the local gossip,
started with her own troubles. "Two revolutions ago," she said--and
her mode of measuring time struck me as peculiar--"my eldest son took
a gun and went into politics." "Cojio un fusil y se metio en la
politica"--"took a gun and went into politics," the phrase is sadly
expressive.
Such campaigns were only too easily begun. When a new president
entered upon office on the crest of a successful revolution,
apparently with the whole country behind him and his adversaries
silenced or scattered, his popularity generally lasted until the
spoils were distributed. ("To the victors belong the spoils" was the
policy of the past; the American military authorities are making an
important innovation by the introduction of civil service principles
for selecting public employees.) The disappointed spirits immediately
entered into the plots which the vanquished opponents were not slow in
fomenting. The leader of the adverse party or one of his trusted
lieutenants raised the standard of revolt and issued manifestoes which
echoed with patriotic sentiments and decried the faults of the
administration.
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