Page:Barbarous Mexico.djvu/218

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186
BARBAROUS MEXICO

cratic papers at Guadalajara, was taken to Belem prison, where he remains at this writing, though so far no formal charge has been filed against him.

In October, 1909, Manuel M. Oviedo, editor of La Hoja Suelta and president of the Anti-re-electionist Club of Torreon, was sent to prison and his paper was suppressed. Action was taken because Oviedo asked for a fair state election following the forced retirement of Governor Cardenas.

In November, 1909, Martin Stecker, a native of Germany, editor of El Trueno, Linares, Nuevo Leon, was jailed on a charge of "defamation" and his newspaper was suppressed. Stecker was only a very mild Reyist. The real reason for his arrest was that Linares is a good newspaper field and members of the Diaz machine wished the sole privilege of exploiting it. Just previous to the suppression of El Trueno Governor Reyes had been banished from the country and his friends put out of the municipal government at Linares.

In November, 1909, Revista de Merida, of Merida, Yucatan, was suppressed by the government. Editor Menendez and other writers were imprisoned on the charge of sedition.

About the same time two other Merida newspapers were suppressed. One was Yucatan Nuevo. Its editors, Fernando M. Estrada and Ramon Peovide, are at this writing still in jail. The other was La Defensa Nacional. Its editors, Calixto M. Maldonada and Caesar A. Gonzalez, were charged with "provocation of rebellion." The evidence produced in court against them consisted of copies of a circular sent out by the National Anti-re-electionist Club, which they were passing among their friends.

In February, 1910, Heriberto Frias, editor of El