The San Francisco call., 1896-01-21


LABOR is productive in proportion 10 the intel
llgence with which it is carried on. The desti-
luton OF the savage is the result of his igno-
rance: Let US carefully note what popery has
cone for Spain and Italy
never was nation SO completely under the
N lhiIuence OF Romanism as Spain. Italy herself,
sua suDoVlued into several nations, each having
diherenI tendencies, crossed by hostile armies,
visited by foreigners has not remained so her.
y metrlcaliy sealed against all external infiu-
enceS as Catholic Spain, founded by Ferdinand,
guarded by legion of monks purged from all
neresy cy the lnquisition, and crystallized in
hoIiAnlsm by policy, by the church and even
oy the popular instincts. Spain, for three CEN
turles under the practical workings of Roman
ISM, reduced to state of torpor by system of
ignorance, is to-day seeking 10 burst the bands
liberty.
spain is unrivaled in respect to natural ad.
vtahtages. On the north she is protected by
tne magnificent mountain-xall of the Pyre-
nees; I.; on the south she holds the key of the
medlterranean, the great highway of COM
meree frergb 1or the world; while the treasure
western shores. Her rich soil we'll repays
tne t Toll OF diligence Her harvests are bounti-
i lai: Inc me- sunny slopes, when dotted with vine
!sIGs ana the valleys with orchards, give it an
adaeo @ charm. The climate is varied The
cotton and rice OF the tropics and the cereals
0i tne north can be found in her domains.
Inc rich vegetation, with the banana,
the olive, the lemon and the orange grove,
make 1t semi-troplcal paradise. Then
tne cltron, the mulberry and the sugar cane
~ 1911 ehC AlCu IrulG OF J0e lOllOWS ana the
aromatic shrubs upon her hillsides. Theu her
VaiuaDle mines, SO full of precious metals, are
hoI exhausted yet, and the historic renown of
her people rests like mantle of glory o'er her
snouiuers. Three centuries ago she stood al
the head OF the European nations. The splen-
Qor OF her successive conquests, the glory of
ner colossal empire and the dread of her un-
prldled power was the talk of Europe. The
Wonoertui discovery of America by Columbus
had given her the key to the treasures of the
New World. Wealth flowed into her Golfers
will TiP h1Irl lod
vessels from Mexico and Peru. Her empire
grew In strength and wealth. Industry re-
Vlved, and the energies of the busy north and
tne treasures of the sunny south all
added TO her power and influence
me land swarmed with human lives of indus
Try. Towns multiplied and queenly cities
reared thelr heads. But her splendor has
Vahlsned, her power departed, her conquests
ceased. Her victorious armies are memory
OF tne past, her renowned fleets that once were
the terror OF the seas are seen upon the ocean
no more, her far-reaching territorial posses
slons nave slipped from her grasp, and the
cohers that once overfowed with wealth are
now empty The fame of camp and court, of
deeds OF chivalry and voyages of conquest be-
longs to the dim past. What has wrought the
change? What baneful influence has blighted
the land?
PoPERY HAS BEEN THE CURSE OF SPAIN
The frost of Jesuitism blighted the reforma-
ton In the bud. The Inquisition brought a
curse upon the land. 1t is Popery that has re-
duced her armies to guerrilla bands, that has
annihilated her navy, withered her commerce,
dried up her wealth and deprived her of her
colonies. Look at Spain to-day! Her political
influence abroad has vanished, and at home
she presents spectacle of universal corrup-
uon. With bankrupt exchequer, with a soil
only half titled, with highways without traffic
and overrun with bandits: with harbors desti-
tute of ships, with her once splendid cities
crumbl1ng into ruinous decay, with her once
noble people relapsing into semi-barbertsm,
with corrupt priesthood keeping the people
in Ignorance, Spain has sunk to the lowest
depth OF national infamy, where her very
name has become q byword of contempt.
Popery has spoiled Spain-it will spoil America
IL given chance.
The following graphic description of Spain
by Tardif reveals its true status under the
baleIul influence of Romanism. He says:
"Spa1n is q dispossesSed Queen. For two hun
dred years and more diamonds have been fall
ing from her glittering crown. The source of
her wealth, well or i'll gotten, is exhausted
forever. Her treasures are lost, her colonies
are gone, she is deprived of the prestige of that
external opulence which veiled, or at least
dissembled, her real and utter poverty. The
nation is exhausted to such degree and has
been so long unhappy that each individual
feels but his own misery. His country has
ceased TO exist for him; even those times are
arms for the sole and generous purpose
of vindicating the national honor. The
dependency and apathy of the ma
ton are visible even in the battles
sought by the spaniards among themselves in
their civil dissensions. They fight from habit
and discharge their muskets at their country
men DeCduSS bIty Cdn 90 nObQlnR else, ana
because every shot from their guns may bring
them piece of bread. A nation reduced to
such a state is low indeed; the chilliness of
death is very near seizing upon its extremi-
ties. What would Charles V say if.
rising out of his grave, he saw his great and
glorious Spain struggling thus miserably in
Where are my colonies? Where are my Bata-
Wan provinces? Where is my gigantic power
and the glory OF Spain, which res ounded from
one hemisphere to another? What have you
done with lnharifaDpp pOIyprdly and
unskillful men? Where are my treasures;
where the victorious fleets that crossed the
ocean to bring back in profusion to my empire
the gold and gems of the New World?" opp. los
to 109).
The inquisition in Spain proved q drag
weight upon her neck to sink her in ruin.
Ecclesiastical tyranny strangled liberty and
crushed out freedom. Ignorance has checked
civilization and superstition proved barrier
to progress. sloth has bred beggars, and Ro-
manism sheltered them in converts and nun
nerles. Robbery is reduced to a scientific
practice. Political intrigues and intestine
broils vary the monotony of their national
life. The Missionary Review of the World
says:
by the new census of Spain the fact appears
that out OF a population of II 100000, only
little over 100000 can read and write Six
millions can only read, leaving 100000
who can neither read nor write. Bad as this
showing is, it is little better than in 1877,
found to be unable to read or write"
Let us turn to Italy and learn what popery
has done for il. Italy is one of the fairest
lands on earth. Italy the mother of
genius and the cradle of the renaissance. Tt
was the home of art and poetry; land of song
and pointing. Dante's somber grandeur was
followed by the soft but brilliant light of Pc
trarch, Ariosto and Boccaccio The wisdom of
Politlan and Calico was begotteu under Ital-
ian skies and the genius of Columbus nour-
ished there Cosmo and Lorenzo de- Medici, by
their princely munifcence, made Florence
second Athens, and on the slopes of Fiesoi re-
vived the glories of ancient Academia. In the
Augustan age of the Papacy the boundess
wealth OF the empire of the Caesars, added to
the spoils OF Christendom, made Italy mine
OF riches.
When Leo X was at the head of the Italian
empire it stood at the forefront of the nations.
Rome was the capital of Europe. Thither
1ocked the pilgrims. Thence issued. the
DEGREES OF the Vatican Priests fiocked there
in swarms. The voice of Rome was supreme.
But to-day, despite the matchless beauty of its
climate the marvellous fertility of its soil, the
genius of its sons, its past glory and renown
and its heritage of wealth, Italy is land of
ruins. The country swarms with bandits
The land is full of beggars. The masses are i'll
Ignorance The noble Romans have degen-
Grated into race of slaves and paupers. The
holy city retains only shadow of its former
glory. Desolation sits upon its ruined palaces.
The politics of Italy are foul with corruption.
Social rottenness and religious gangrene mark
its decayed state
What has caused it's downfall? There is only