Diaz by David Hannay; Basil WilliamsReview by: Justin H. SmithThe American Historical Review, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Jul., 1917), pp. 890-891Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1836271 .

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890 Reviews of Books

these long quotations, however, stand out in vivid contrast to the rest in importance and historical interest. The first is the series of letters written in I863-I864 by Jonathan Richmond to his parents in Kansas, on a journey which took him from Kansas to Fort Whipple (Prescott), Arizona, and thence to Tucson (III. 47-67, 2I8-246), in which he re- lates his experiences and observations of men and conditions. The other is the story of Mike Burns, an Apache-Mohave Indian, born about I864, captured at the age of about seven after the murder of his mother, educated at Carlisle, and now a resident of the McDowell Reservation. Rarely have the case and method of the Indian in his struggle against the white man in the Southwest been stated with so much moderation, directness, simplicity, and sympathy as in this narrative.

These volumes are wholly deficient in bibliography, foot-notes, and maps (with a single exception). Even the dates of the writing down of some of the voluminous recollections are wanting, thus making it im- possible to determine the rate of discount at which they should be received.

KENDRIC C. BABCOCK.

Diaz. By DAVID HANNAY. [Makers of the Nineteenth Century, edited by Basil Williams.] (New York: Henry Holt and Com- pany. I9I7. Pp. vi, 319.) MR. HANNAY appears to be a man of talents, candor, and good sense,

and his book, in addition to being readable, is worth reading; but it can hardly be described as well-proportioned, scholarly, or sound. What a thoughtful person would particularly expect to find in it-the more since it belongs to a series called MIakers of the Nineteenth Century-!is a thoroughly studied account of what Diaz undertook to accomplish during the twenty-six long years (I884-I909) when he controlled the life of his country; but all this comes within about fifty small pages of large type-nearly fourteen of them devoted to a superficial presentation of the Yaqui case. As illustrative inaccuracies, our war with Mexico is said to have begun in I845, during the presidency of "J. H. Polk ", and we learn that it ended on May I9, I848, whereas the treaty was signed on February 2 and the ratifications were exchanged on May 30. Santa Anna appears as Santa Ana (p. 31), Genaro Garcia as Genero Garcia (p. 307), and Agustin as Augustin (p. 229). General Reyes is described (p. 299) as a "moderate man", though in reality he wished to get rid of all Americans and all modern improvements. Federalist agitators, "with Santa Ana at their head ", are said to have upset Iturbide (p. 229), whereas at the time of his fall the " Federalist agita- tors" were extremely few and did not recognize Santa Anna as their chief. Diaz, we are told (p. 304), showed "the first signs of senile decay" in May, I9II; but in fact he had begun several years earlier to have fainting spells lasting an hour and even longer. The story of the

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Vaisse:. Bibliografia de Chile 89I

British debt is unsatisfactory. As for the heart of the matter, although Mr. Hannay shows (p. 238) that he caught a glimpse of the real purpose animating Diaz, he gives the following (p. 305) as part of his "final verdict ": "That man had no other nor higher aim than to develop resources, build public works, enable foreign capital to promote industry and make profits for itself ". No wonder the editor of the series blun- dered into remarking in his preface that Diaz was a "type . . . of the contdotticri who flourish and then vanish so rapidly on the Central and South American scene". In the opinion of the reviewer, on the other hand, Diaz was a genuine patriotic statesman, gifted with rare political insight, and aiming primarily to place his country on the high road to the peaceful, intelligent, and happy development of its resources for its own good and not for the benefit of foreigners. He believed, first of all, that after more than half a century of turmoil and fighting the habit of tranquillity needed to be inculcated, and therefore that strict repres- sion of revolutionary tendencies was necessary. Public works he doubt- less regarded as the readiest and most efficient means of engaging the minds and energies of the people in the interests and methods of orderly, civilized progress. Railroads and telegraphs were deemed highly im- portant also for the squelching of insurrections before they could gain serious momentum; and the only way to obtain these and the other public works was to encourage foreign investments and make them profitable. The statesmanship of Diaz is shown further by his attitude toward the United States. At a time when it was axiomatic with almost every public man in Mexico to distrust, to fear, and often to hate this country, and we were by no means cordial toward him, he took the ground that we could be shown-if unable to see-that it was not for our interest to absorb eight millions or so of ignorant, poverty-stricken aliens, that the two countries could and should be friends, and that Mexico might profit immensely from intimate relations with us. Such views and such aims did not characterize the coiidottieri. In short the book is a well- written journalistic production. As might be inferred, the author's "bibliography" is meagre and his index inadequate.

JUSTIN H. SMITH.

Bibliografia Genieral de Chile. Primera parte. Diccionario de Autores y 0 bras (Biobibliografia y Bibliografia). Por E. VAYSSE, precedido de una Bibliografia de Bibliografias Chilenas por RAMON A. LAVAL. Tomo primero (Abalos-Barros Arana). (Santiago de Chile: Imprenta Universitaria. 1915. PP. lxix, 33I, x.) IN January, I9I3, the Biblioteca Nacional de Chile founded the Re-

vista de Bibliografia Chilecia y Extranijera, a monthly publication under the direction of Emilio Vaisse, who is chief of the bureau of information of that library. The Bibliografia Genleral de Chile is virtually a reprint

AM. HIST. REV., VOL. XXII.-57.

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