try be permitted freely to choose a vice-president, so that in case Diaz should die during his next term his successor might be more or less in line with the desires and ambitions of the people.
The silence with which President Diaz received the publication of this plan was taken for consent, whereupon there began a widespread agitation, an organization of clubs, the holding of public discussions, newspaper debates, all of which might very well be taken as proof that President Diaz was right when he declared the Mexican people fit at last to enjoy the blessings of a real republic.
According to Mr. Barron, in an interview published in the New York World, within a short time no fewer than five hundred clubs were organized in Mexico. In January, 1909, these clubs held a convention in the capital, formed a central organization known as the Central Democratic Club, elected officers and adopted a platform, the main points of which were as follows:
Abolition of the jefes politicos and the transference of their power to municipal boards of aldermen.
The extension of primary education.
Suffrage laws to be enacted and enforced placing the franchise on a mixed educational and property basis.
Greater freedom for the press.
Stricter enforcement of the laws of reform (against monastic orders, etc.).
Greater respect for human life and liberty and a more effective administration of justice.
Legislation making it possible for workingmen to secure financial indemnity from their employers in case of accidents and to enable the public to sue transportation companies and other like corporations on the same ground.
Agrarian laws for the encouragement of agriculture.The officers elected to head the new party were four bright young congressmen: Benito Juarez, Jr., presi-
