Evening journal., 1896-04-17
SPAIN IS MORE PACIFIC
Friendly Overtures Would Be
Favorsbly Received.
DoEs WOULD FIGHT IF NECESSARY.

what Spain Would Do II War Were Do
clared-They Assume to Believe That
by Corsair Methods They Could Defeat
the United states.
NEW YORK, April II. George R. Miner,
+ The Herald's correspondent at Madrid
cables the following:
As l am about TO leave Spain resume
of the present state Of affairs here may be
appropriate.
Quiet reigns It seems to me that the
whole trouble will be amioably arranged.
1t Is only necessary for Mr. Cleveland to
make friendly overtures in order TO get a
friendly reply in regard to the reforms to
bo granted to Cuba. Tho present govern
mont has said as much. Laws have already
been passed and are only awaiting tho
cessation Of hostilities to be enforced.
Spain will strain every nerve to sup.
press the insurroction, although the gov
ernment does not expect to succeed in thia
before the rainy season sets in. On the
contrary, preparations are now under way
to send 6,000 more soldiers 60 Cuba at the
end Of the summer. That VIII make
total of 200, OO0 men sent to the island
since the war began.
Tho jingo threats Of American interfer-
ence have really strengthened the present
government. Every Spnniard, whether
Conservative, Liberal or Republican,
would stand by the red and yellow flag
and afterward would fight It out among
themselves. The Conservatives. who out
number the Liberals by three to one, are
doing everything ID their power, without
compromising the honor of the nation, to
avert war with the United States
Tho Liberals are the iingoes Of the pc
ninsula and they seem TO think that Spain
has been insulted quite enough already.
Tho Republicans arc very much In the
minority just now and are confined aim0st
entirely to the northern provinces. They
are against anything that Is done by the
government and are consequently opposed
TO the pacific methods of Premier Canovas
and his colleagues. Even they wouH
stand by the crown In case of war.
bitterness Against the United States.
While there is a deep seated bitterness
TO the United States all over the canntry,
there is very littlo open exhibition of Is.
II the match were applied, this feeling
would explode with such violence that the
lives of Americans would not be safe any
where from Cadiz to San Sebastian.
asri.ss a,4cc IS -iitt-ss % sfs. Cui5un flls,la-
gents as belliaoronts would be such a
match. The thousands of students in
Madrid and Barcelona would start the
trouble, ana tho infection would soon
spread. II should be remembered that
there are II 900 Of these students ia Mad
rid alone and Madrid is only one Of 12
university cities.
If war came 1 doubt il Spain would at
tempt to hold Cuba for any length Of time.
She would withdraw her troops and use
them 60 defend tho peninsula from inva-
sion. Before that happened the effort
would probably be made to attack Flori.
da. Thirty merchant steamships, some Of
which are now boing converted into cruis-
ers would be employed purely as prl-
vateers to hQrass American commerce Il
is tho boast'of the Spaniards that they
drove Napoleon back across the Ryrenees
by guerrilla warfare and they believe they
could drive the stars and stripes from the
seas by corsair methods.
Spain's Fortidoations.
Tho regular Spanish navy would be
kept near Cadiz and Barcelona and It
would not be an easy matter to capture
Cadiz, which Is quite as we'll fortified as
New York. New and big guns have re-
Gently been mounted on the shore bat.
terles. Torpedoes and torpedo boats are
there without number. Barcelona also is
we'll protected, and for that matter the
defenses OF all the ports arc being strength
enod.
Spain is so barren in food products that
an invading army would have to depend
entirely on its base of supplies. 1t could
not live Off the country. on tho other
hand, Spanish soldiers subslst on next to
nothing Tho private soldiers in the Span
ish army honestly believe that in case Of
war Spain would win. They think this
because the regular army Of the United
States numbers less than half the force
now stationed in Madrid.
Evon though tho Cuban rebellion Is
costing .0OC GOO pegotas daily, still Span
ish money is but littlo moro deprecated
than Il was three years ago, in time Of
pence.