forced "loans" upon the foreign merchants. Indeed, the only persons
who suffered on the day he came into power were two of our own men,
whom I caught looting. I put them to sweeping the streets, each with a
ball and chain to his ankle, as an example of the sort of order we
meant to keep among ourselves.

Before mid-day Aiken sent a list, which his spies had compiled, of
sympathizers with Alvarez. He guaranteed to have them all in jail
before night. But Laguerre sent for them and promised them, if they
remained neutral, they should not be molested. Personally, I have
always been of the opinion that most of the persons on Aiken's list of
suspects were most worthy merchants, to whom he owed money.

Laguerre gave a long audience to the cashier of the Manchester and
Central American Bank, Limited, which finances Honduras, and assured
him that the new administration would not force the bank to accept the
paper money issued by Alvarez, but would accept the paper money issued
by the bank, which was based on gold. As a result, the cashier came
down the stair-case of the Palace three steps at a time, and later our
censor read his cable to the Home Bank in England, in which he said
that Honduras at last had an honest man for President. What was more
to the purpose, he reopened his bank at three o'clock, and quoted
Honduranian money on his blackboard at a rise of three per cent. over
that of the day before. This was a great compliment to our government,
and it must have impressed the other business men, for by six o'clock
that night a delegation of American, German, and English shopkeepers
called on the President and offered him a vote of confidence. They
volunteered also to form a home-guard for the defence of the city, and
to help keep him in office.