LIVING A LIVELY LIFE

Waikato Times, Volume 92, Issue 14255, 5 January 1920, Page 2

LIVING A LIVELY LIFE

SCENES IN PERU. i\ . , With the general elections still fresh in mind and'tho bitter journalism exchanged in some of tho electorates, New Zealanders. think they have had lively times. But things are very dull over here, after all. A correspondent writes to the Pellding Star from the Peruvian province of Payta:—Journalism in this section of the world has its tribulations, and there is not much time for peaceful contemplation of life. The editor of La Courricr du Paciflque has been challenged to a duel by the owner of La Cronica. By the way, it Mas been quite a while since any of the natives challenged an American mining man to a duel, as the last incident of this kind resulted rather disastrously to the native, the "miner having selected a 45 Colt revolver as the weapon. These people fight in the French style, with a dinky little pistol 1 or" a hat-pin sword —so the siege artillery method rather discourages them. And politics in Peru are as lively as ir. Mexico. Our correspondent has an interesting note on this topic also. He writes: The Bolsheviks have been going strong here lately. We have had a change of Government, accompanied by a bloodless revolution. But the "outs" have been plotting against the new leader and planned to assassinate him at a social affair in Miraflores. The two papers, La Prensa 'and El Tiempo, have been publishing some rather warm articles against President Leguia. A eouple of weeks ago the Government arrested the editors and many other plotters. No sooner had these been taken to gaol than a tremendous mob of the labouring people, who regard Leguia as a "liberator," made a rush for the two newspaper offices. El Tiempo's building was burned down, while part of La Prensa's was also destroyed. The editorial and mechanical staff took to the roof with rifles, revolvers, and a shot gun, and held off the mob, with about 20 casualties, until the Palace Guard arrived, and drove the mob away. Perilous, pioture9que Peru I