Page:Mexico of the Mexicans.djvu/40

24 present condition of things and past outbreaks of a similar nature. The grievances of the malcontents were not without foundation. President Diaz had caused the arrest of Senor Madero, his opponent in the Presidential campaign, for making seditious utterances. This was quite in accordance with what had been done in the past by General Diaz, who feared that if any other but himself should hold the reins of government the financial prosperity of Mexico would decline and her evolution as a nation cease. This attitude was also accountable for the dispatch of troops to the North-Western States for the purpose of overawing those who had questioned the wisdom of his rule.

The fires of rebellion once lit, the conflagration spread with amazing swiftness, as we will find when we peruse the chapters which deal with the Revolution, in which we will attempt to outline the causes as well as the history of that event.