Jose Santos Zelaya 
 
 :: President of Nicaragua :: 
 
Jose Santos Zelaya 
 
 President of Nicaragua 
 
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1 
 
 JOSE SANTOS ZELAYA 
 
 HE intellectuality of the Spanish- Ameri- 
 can peoples should be measured only by 
 their representative men. 
 
 In those countries still but imperfectly 
 developed, where the different ethnical ele- 
 ments have not yet amalgamated to such an 
 extent as to produce a typical racial standard, 
 the men who rise above all others as the most 
 perfect product of such peculiar factors, do 
 actually represent by reason of their superior 
 intelligence, all the latent energies of the 
 people to which they belong, as well as their 
 confused though instinctive tendencies to 
 perfect themselves. 
 
 Such men possess the characteristics in- 
 herent to men of action, being both impulsive 
 as well as persistent in their efforts, bold in 
 their conceptions, patient to mature and firm 
 to realize their plans. They feel that they 
 have a mission to fulfil, and when they are 
 not deaf to the advise of others, in their 
 natural inclination to do good they leave their 
 name and the memory of their deeds forever 
 
linked to that of the period of their greater 
 activity in favor of a social era along new 
 lines, though to attain this end the very 
 foundations of that society might have been 
 shaken. 
 
 It is the temperament that makes the man, 
 and such men have a triple mission in life 
 which is to fight, organize, and civilize, a 
 mighty task requiring both firmness of purpose 
 and strenght of character. 
 
 To that class of men of destiny, who leave 
 the stamp of their personality and their deeds 
 in the history of their people, belongs General 
 Jose Santos Zelaya, the leader of the 
 Liberal party and the President of the Republic 
 of Nicaragua. 
 
 Neither the hatred of the discarded ele- 
 ments that all labor of reform is bound to 
 leave in its wake, nor the echo of their violent 
 diatribe shall ever impair — on the contrary 
 it will always enhance — the value of the 
 colossal transformation which in a few years 
 General Zelaya has succeeded in effecting 
 in the customs and public institutions of his 
 country. 
 
 To destroy that which exists, is the blind 
 impulse of demagogy. To restore, to use for 
 the good and the progress of the masses that 
 which exists, is the work of the true democracy. 
 Hence, in these American commonwealths, 
 born to be republics, the real patriot, the patriot 
 at heart is he who devotes his life and directs 
 all his efforts to reform his country, and to 
 better its condition. 
 
The object of these lines being to give a 
 brief review of the work and public life of 
 General Zelaya, in order to facilitate the 
 task we will consider separately the three 
 main phases of his political career. 
 
 ZELAYA THE FIGHTER. 
 
 THE liberal party is a militant party, 
 because no ideas tending to uproot old 
 and established privileges can enter the mind 
 of the masses without encountering a violent 
 resistance. 
 
 Liberalism in the younger nations of 
 America has to contend both with the opposi- 
 tion of the illiterate population, which is kept 
 in darkness, and with the prestige of names 
 and rules which is tolerated either because of 
 personal interest or through habit. 
 
 To embrace such a political creed and to 
 stand by it unflinchingly, to devote to such 
 ideas the enthusiastic energy of youth and 
 the sober thought of maturity, to spread it 
 broadcast as the seed of good, to watch for its 
 fair name and to uphold it by words and 
 deeds, is not simply to foster the moral pro- 
 gress of a generation, but also to establish the 
 positive and permanent advancement of the 
 country itself for the benefit of the present 
 and succeeding generations. 
 
 Zelaya since he stepped for the first time 
 into the public arena, became a staunch 
 supporter of liberalism, to the extent of 
 
sacrificing, unhesitatingly, his comfort ana 
 quiet to his political ideal, while awaiting, an 
 exile, the hour of his victorious return. 
 
 The exile is the crucible where great men 
 purify their sentiments. Not until perfect 
 freedom has been enjoyed in a foreign land, 
 can one understand the horror of the fetters 
 that bind liberty in our own country, against 
 all laws of progress and social perfection. 
 
 Possessing with the noblest political 
 virtues, all the traits which are found in 
 those born to lead in the struggle for right, 
 Zelaya's personality marked him as the 
 undisputed leader of the liberal revolution 
 which was destined to work miracles since its 
 advent to power in 1893, when he began to 
 practice the principles which he advocated 
 when in the opposition. 
 
 The difference between the reformer and 
 the average politician lies in the fact that the 
 first is consistent in carrying out the ideas 
 which have gained for him the respect and 
 consideration of his fellow-citizens and the 
 affection and confidence of his partisans, 
 while the common politician is satisfied with 
 ruling. To him the hour of triumph marks the 
 time of rest. The reformer begins to work 
 when he attains the highest position from 
 which he may develop his plans. 
 
 Such has been the case with Zelaya. 
 For him to conquer in war was not to make 
 a name for himself; to fight for power was not 
 to satisfy the yearnings of his liberal heart. 
 
 To liberalize his country, and to equalize 
 
tlie rights and duties of his fellow-citizens; to 
 develop the latent natural and social wealth 
 of Nicaragua; to gain for the fatherland both 
 a name and a place among the countries of the 
 world; to educate the masses and modernize 
 the educational institutions; to impress upon 
 every feature of the country the seal of civiliza- 
 tion and to mark its development along the 
 lines of progress, such was the goal of the 
 liberal revolution of 1893, and to this scheme, 
 great and complex in its far-reaching results, 
 Zelaya has devoted all the strength of his 
 convictions, his wakeful hours, his military 
 skill and his foresight as a statesman. 
 
 Liberalism encarnate in Zelaya, has foimd 
 in his sword as a military leader, the safe- 
 guard of its principles, and in his energetic 
 and civilizing rule as Chief Executive the 
 lesson that teaches peoples the benefits of 
 progress, and the just balance of liberty resting 
 upon justice and right. 
 
 ZELAYA THE ORGANIZER. 
 
 THE crowning victory of the liberal revolu- 
 tion led by General Zelaya in 1893, 
 was gained in the Legislative Chambers. 
 The nation groaned under the weight of 
 obsolete traditions originating in the Colonial 
 era, but doggedly maintained and hostile to 
 any and all new principles. The Congress of 
 1893 laid the foundations of a new era. The 
 
Constitution promulgated in that year, was in 
 the nature of a pact with a people conscious 
 of its own rights, striving to have the fullest 
 control of its own destiny. 
 
 Such a radical, complete and far-reaching 
 reform could not be established, however, 
 without meeting with a most stubborn resist- 
 ance from the elements it sought, to destroy. 
 During the twelve years in which the liberal 
 administration of Nicaragua has been put to 
 the test, while resisting all attempts made to 
 belittle its importance, it has extended its 
 influence over the thinking people of the 
 country, and become a part of the national 
 existence. During that period five revolutions 
 have been quelled, several revolutionary plots 
 have been suppressed, the Administration has 
 been forced to send its troops into foreign 
 territory to demand respect for Nicaragua and 
 the strictest neutrality, and also to be ready for 
 any emergency arising out of the reversion to 
 Nicaragua of a territory formerly occupied by 
 a powerful European Monarchy, the unswerv- 
 ing purpose of the liberal party being to regain 
 and retain such portion of Nicaraguan soil. 
 
 To meet these demands involving public 
 peace and tranquility, it has been necessary to 
 withdraw from other channels leading to the 
 aggrandizement and progress of the nation, a 
 sum in the neighborhood of $15,000,000. 
 Order has been finally established , the 
 Mosquito Territory is now under the laws of 
 the Republic, and the tribes which for a time 
 were terrorized to hear the name of Nicaragua, 
 
 10 
 
are now living a civilizing life, under a rule 
 which kindles in them the sacred fire of 
 patriotic love of country, and having overcome 
 their suspicions they now are a portion of the 
 nation. 
 
 The sovereignty of the country being thus 
 reestablished, the Constitution of 1893 rules 
 over the entire nation. 
 
 It is by virtue of this Constitution that all 
 classes enjoy equal rights; property guaranteed 
 as well as the freedom of thought and that of 
 bequeath by will; habeas corpus is established 
 as well as compulsory vote , compulsory 
 education, protection of arts and industries, 
 rights of representation of minorities, separa- 
 tion of State powers, municipal independence, 
 secularization of cemeteries, suppression of 
 mort-main, and intervention of the State in 
 the legalization of marriage. 
 
 To such work done by the Legislators the 
 Administration has responded by making- 
 legislation effective, and leading the country, 
 notwithstanding the disturbances through 
 which it has passed, over the road to progress. 
 
 In 1893 the Treasury showed a deficit of 
 $5,958,971.06, and after twelve years of a 
 liberal administration, there is a surplus of 
 $2,784,400.21, notwithstanding the numerous 
 expenses made in works of public utility and 
 development, the preservation of order, and 
 the amortization and final payment of debts 
 created by former administrations. 
 
 The prompt discharge of the government 
 obligations with foreign creditors, enhances 
 
 11 
 
abroad the credit of the Republic to the extent 
 that on the London Exchange, the bond.s of 
 1886 which once were far below par, are now 
 quoted at a premium. 
 
 Industrial activity and the means adopted 
 to facilitate communication and protect com- 
 merce, have fostered the development of trade 
 to such an extent that Nicaragua's exports 
 amount to $47,432,223. 12 and imports to the 
 value of $37,549,093.07, or a difference in 
 favor of the exports of about $10,000,000. 
 
 In order to give life to such unparallelled 
 development General Zelaya's administration 
 creates rapid means of communication by land, 
 liberates river navigation from the monopolies 
 that prevented its free use, promotes naviga- 
 tion by sea, places the country in constant and 
 immediate communication with its own 
 sections as well as with the rest of the world by 
 means of telegraph and cable, gives protection 
 to railway lines, makes contracts for the 
 navigation of unexplored waterways, enacts 
 mining and forestry laws, and opens the 
 nation's doors to immigration. Chinandego 
 and El Viejo are connected by means of a 
 branch railroad line ; the Departments of 
 Carazo and Masaya have another line; on the 
 road from Granada to Corinto the old branch 
 lines are run into the Central railway, thus 
 preventing the vexatious delay produced by 
 the shipping and unloading of goods both at 
 Managua and Momotombo. The line to the 
 Atlantic from San Miguelito to Monkey Point 
 is under construction, while work on the line 
 
 12 
 
to Matagalpa with branches to several of the 
 northern towns has been commenced. 
 
 Commerce has been liberated from the 
 monopoly of the navigation of Lake Nicaragua 
 and the San Jnan River, the Government 
 having purchased the nine steamers belonging 
 to the "Caribbean and Pacific Transit Co.," 
 which have been devoted to military and 
 customs revenue service. Contracts have been 
 made with James Deitrick and the "New 
 Orleans Central American Trading Company, 
 Ltd." for the establishment of steamship lines 
 to ply on the rivers Segovia, and Prinzapolka 
 and their affluents. Large sums have been 
 devoted to the building of the warehouses and 
 wharves of the Bluff, repairs and improvements 
 to the warehouses of Corinto, the construction 
 of wharves at San Juan del Sur, San Jorge, 
 and San Carlos, and other warehouses, public 
 offices and beacoris. 
 
 As regards the mail and telegraph service, in 
 twelve years the Administration has increased 
 the mileage and telegraph stations to 2,706 
 miles and 120 stations, respectively, at an 
 expense of $2,000,000. These figures do not 
 cover a great many important works such as the 
 laying of the cablebetween Corinto and Cardon, 
 and Bluefields and the Bluff, nor the erection 
 of a wireless telegraph station at Bluefields 
 which will thus be placed in communication 
 with New Orleans, and with Limon, Bocas 
 del Toro, and other Caribbean ports. 
 
 The number of new mail routes is 17, 
 while the mail service has been increased, 
 
 13 
 
regulated and improved, by the adoption of 
 the parcel post system. Transit charges 
 throngrh the United States and Panama are 
 regularly paid. 
 
 . Agriculture and mining have received 
 special attention from the Zelaya Adminis- 
 tration. By uniting the deed to the will the 
 enactment of laws directed to facilitate the 
 exploitation of metalliferous zones and the 
 colonization of public lands, has been followed 
 by the creation of technical commissions, some 
 entrusted with the duties of discovering and 
 denouncing mines, and assaying the minerals, 
 while others are in charge of exploring and 
 surveying vacant lands, marking out their 
 respective boundaries, the construction of 
 highways, etc. 
 
 It is due to all these important measures 
 adopted by the Government, that so much 
 capital, both native and foreign, is now 
 invested in mining, and that 454,684 hectares 
 of public land have been awarded and paid 
 for, thus laying the foundation of wealth for 
 the owners, and of prosperity for the country. 
 The successful enterprises now in operation 
 are bound to bring additional capital as well 
 as increased immigration, adding in that way 
 to the development of Nicaragua. 
 
 14 
 
ZELAYA THE CIVILIZEK. 
 
 THE degree of civilization attained by a 
 country is measured by the outward 
 appearance of its towns and cities, by the 
 higher or lesser degree of education of its 
 inhabitants, and by its relations with other 
 peoples, the latter being the keynote of the 
 real worth of such country. 
 
 And General Zelaya has given his whole 
 attention to these three main points, with 
 that foresight born of true patriotism which 
 creates means out of nothing, to build up the 
 main characteristics of a modern nation upon 
 the ruins which are the outcome of inherited 
 racial carelessness. 
 
 General Zelaya's ability as a civilizer may 
 be measured by what he has accomplished in 
 behalf of public education in Nicaragua, and 
 this is in itself, the most brilliant denial of the 
 accusations heaped on the liberal party by its 
 detractors. 
 
 To educate the people is to make the people 
 fit to enjoy liberty, to stand for the principles 
 and not for the man. Every conscience that 
 awakes to reason and analyses is in itself, a 
 judge against absolutism and caprice. Hence, 
 the Chief Executive who educates his people 
 does not fear but love his people, his greatest 
 pride being that he is the ruler of free men. 
 
 The benefits to be derived from education 
 are not at present a sole privilege of the well- 
 to-do classes in Nicaragua. All classes are 
 
 15 
 
compelled to learn, education being free to 
 individuals, the State defraying the necessary 
 expenses for teachers and all school parapher- 
 nalia. Children are supplied with books, the 
 teachers with comfortable homes, andfromthe 
 sixth year the child who finds in the Kinder- 
 garten both amusement and profit, to the full 
 grown person who follows a professional 
 career, all enjoy an equal share of the paternal 
 bounty of the liberal government. The 
 efforts made by the Administration for civi- 
 lization have not been confined to creating 
 rural schools for the country, and city schools 
 or institutes of higher education for the towns, 
 but their beneficient action have extended to 
 regions which, having been kept heretofore in 
 darkest ignorance, have in the past alienated 
 to the country, instead of attracting, men who 
 are becoming useful citizens, while their minds 
 find new horizons whose existence was un- 
 known to them until now. Thirty primary 
 schools scattered along the region extending 
 from San Juan del Norte to Cape Gracias a 
 Dios, provided with all that is necessary, and 
 having over fifty teachers are open to-day for 
 the teaching of all matters pertaining to a fair 
 degree of education, and what counts for more, 
 for the teaching of the mother tongue to the 
 natives so as to attract them by gentle means 
 to civilization in order to make them respon- 
 sible citizens. The Administration being 
 fully aware of the advantages that such system 
 will necessarily produce if Indians are pro 
 perly trained to teach those of their own race. 
 
 16 
 
supports official scholarships for Mosquito 
 Indians at the "Cristobal Colon College". 
 
 For the benefit of those desirous of acquir- 
 ing a practical training, a division has been 
 created at the Central Railway repair shops, 
 which gives the same results as a school of 
 Arts and Trades. So far the division has given 
 the best results, and many efficient men have 
 come out fitted to do all kinds of repair work, 
 thus serving the double purpose of rendering 
 invaluable and immediate service to the owners 
 of large plantations and factories, and doing 
 away with the necessity of sending abroad for 
 repairs and duplicate parts that now can be 
 made in the country. 
 
 While establishing by these means the solid 
 foundations of a general system of education, 
 which enables any thinking man to foretell the 
 future of the country, the Administration has 
 not forgotten to give attention to the elements 
 of wealth found within Nicaraguan territory, 
 and the country has to-day a fine Museum 
 containing samples and objects of the greatest 
 paleontblogical, archeological and historical 
 value, as well as specimens of the fauna and 
 flora, a collection of data which while recon- 
 structing the past, lays the foundation for the 
 future of the Republic. 
 
 While public education was receiving such 
 signal aid from the Administration, attention 
 was also given to the embellishment and 
 improvement of cities and towns, because a 
 civilized people cannot live without the 
 comforts and advantages offered by refined 
 
 17 
 
education. The old town having no pavement, 
 lacking sidewalks, places of amusement, 
 markets, slaughter houses, adequate town 
 halls, etc., now ranks among the newest towns 
 where all modern improvements are found. 
 Towns which were kept separate because of 
 the lack of means of communication, are now 
 connected by fine roads, railways, bridges, etc. 
 The Administration also aided in the develop- 
 ment of lighting the Capital city by electricity, 
 by paying the company the losses accruing 
 through difference in exchange. 
 
 The Army which represents wdien well 
 organized, the safeguard of order, the defence 
 of the sovereignty and the strongest support 
 of the Civil Power, was housed in sanitary 
 barracks, and provided with able instructors, 
 ambulance corps, hospitals, medical assistence, 
 and the system of promotion based on merit 
 and increased pay, has been established. 
 
 Nicaraguan young men who have distin- 
 guished themselves as scholars have been sent 
 abroad at the expense of the nation, to perfect 
 themselves and to bring home the latest scien- 
 tific information, and the most apj)roved 
 methods of the century, so as to introduce 
 them in Nicaragua to give her a place among 
 the foremost countries of the world. 
 
 The country has been represented by its 
 foremost sons, in expositions and fairs, in- 
 dustrial, scientific and other world congresses, 
 thus placing the name of Nicaragua among 
 the progressive countries of the age, which 
 labor for universal fraternity and good will 
 
 18 
 
among nations, as brought about by the ex- 
 change of ideas, and the drawing nearer of all 
 peoples. 
 
 In order to preserve and maintain the most 
 cordial relations with the other nations of the 
 world, the liberal Administration has spared 
 neither means nor efforts to attain that end. 
 There was a pending award between Nicaragua 
 and Costa Rica which kept both countries in 
 a state of unrest, and General Zelaya bent 
 all his energies to making such cause of friction 
 disappear between the neighboring sister re- 
 publics. There is still a boundary question 
 pending with Honduras, but arbitration, which 
 is the greatest weapon of civilization, will also 
 terminate this difference without violence or 
 friction of any sort. 
 
 The plan for the Con federation of the Central 
 American States, thus uniting the destinies of 
 its five republics into one single and common 
 ideal of aggrandizement, has found a warm 
 defender in General Zelaya who has always 
 given unstinted support to all movements 
 along these lines, as well as his decided and 
 enthusiastic encouragement as a statesman. 
 
 In order to derive the greatest possible 
 benefit for the country from its prominent 
 men, the consular service has been made a 
 regular career, leading to the highest diplo- 
 matic posts, while the representation of 
 Nicaragua in all civilized countries, has been 
 intrusted to Nicaraguans who serve their 
 fatherland with love, devotion and pride. 
 
 19 
 
But this is not all. The work of the 
 reformer has gone far beyond this. General 
 Zelaya's zeal for the better service of the 
 Republic, and his foresight have led him to 
 work unceasingly in the tremendous task of 
 preparing able men to faithfully discharge the 
 public duties of the country. Wherever a 
 capable man has appeared, or a man fit for 
 some special work has been found, our able 
 statesman has not hesitated to employ them 
 for the good of the fatherland. The younger 
 element which was formerly ignored because 
 of its inexperience, and was not trained for 
 the public service of the country, under the 
 supervision of General Zelaya has occupied 
 the positions which they were apt to fill thus 
 receiving the proper training which will fit 
 them for the future. 
 
 Such is, broadly speaking, the work accom- 
 plished by General Zelaya. Whoever is like 
 him the founder of an era, the creator of a 
 modern commonwealth, the expounder of a 
 political creed, ever faithful to his own 
 teachings, because of his own peculiar tempe- 
 rament and accomplishments, deserves both 
 the respect in which he is held by his 
 contemporaries and the 'high position he has 
 reached. 
 
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