Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1897-01-19

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stsse Of The Union. In this county they VIII
found week By week In The columns Of hie pape
only, as We have made arnnxemense with u
author for their exclusive pnbhcation)
There IL no government 90 decided.
D under the notice Of tho American PEG
, pie at this time ~ the Spanish. This !
I because It's methods OF management Il
Cuba come very near to our own shores
Whether our indignation, political o
actual, would be as deep II Cuba wer
1000 miles away, Il an open question
for much that is said and done In CON
gress and out Of Il savors greatly OF poll
! tics and wire-pulliug, while real sympa
, thy never savors Of either.
So, though by letter have beer
asked for an expression OF opinion upoI
the Cuban question, l shall not give !
Cat any rate not yeti, for the great one
OF the country still feel uncertain o.
the right thing to do. However, II YOU
! readers viii allow me, l will spend 8
, short time considering Spain as q ma
, ton. Its desperate methods In Cubs
may then be more clearly understood
To consider an individual carefully, t.
weigh his faults and strength, Is always
interesting. To do the same thing to q
nation Ia always interesting also, but
more complicated. may, therefore, be
In error In my judgments. That leave
|, to your readers.
In the fifteenth century Spain was q
respected power In Europe. As nation
IL had been solicited out Of number
OF Christian elements, BY common an
tagonism to the Moorish conquerors.
In the sixteenth century It had grown to
an enormous empire, with vast territories
In the richest portions OF the New
World. Streams Of wealth were con-
stantly pouring into It's Golfers from these
conquered possessions. At the close
of the eighteenth, and the beginning
of the nineteenth centuries, the out
lying portions Of this vast nation be-
gan one by one to sever all relations,
until Mt present IL retains Its hold upon
only two sections Of any great impor-
tauce-Cuban In the West and the Phil
ippine Islands in the East. Judging by
the pas. century, and the loss To Spain
OF every possession In both South and
North Americs, Il seems not unsafe 70
predict that the beginning Of the twen-
tieth century will see Il return once more
to the actual limits of its possessions In
the fifteenth. Now, then, what causes
have operated TO bring on such decay
of prestige, while other European ma
tions, like Germany and England, Rus.
sia and Italy, France and Austria, have
developed and In some measure kept
close together In their development
mental and morale Briefly put. should
SUN the causes up rs (D lrreligious go
llcitude for God; CD Greed for gold; (3)
The Grandee spirit; (G wrong colonial
policy; (5) Unprogressiveness. On only
two Of these features shall have space
to dwell this week. The balance will be
referred to In my next.
Altogether Spain seems to have been
possessed OF q demon Of self-destruction,
demon that has taken varied forms In
four centuries, but which, through them
all, has been forcing Spain steadily on
ward toward humiliation. Its wars
with the Moors fostered strong ma
tional spirit, and because the wars were
religious in character, they tended also
TO make Spain the stronghold OF Cstholi-
cism. So long as there was fair lighting
Spain was strengthened by the conflict;
for in certain stages Of human progress
war, with its attendant horrors, seems
TO have been, II not necessary feature,
ut any rate, nm aid TO civilization. But
Spain, when the conquest was practt-
cslly complete, and the remaining Moors
had settled down to agriculture and to
trade, burning with zeal for the God OF
their bloody imaginings, called In to aid
Ia the complete determination OF every
heresy, that fiendish device for populat-
ing Heaven and saving souls, 1.-The In
quisition." Their conquests In the New
World also were 10 the beginning relig-
ious conquests. Their adventures were
TO win vast glory for the Church, and so
in the name Of Almighty God, most JOY
ously did they slay without compunc-
ton.
The demon Of Spain, burning with the
lust OF conc uest, drunk with the blood
Of It's best children, personified by
Pizarro In Peru, and Cortez in Mexico,
by treachery and by superiority of army,
by ambush and by outrage, destroyed
the civilization OF the Incas and ravished
the possessions Of Montezuma. Every
where the thought was supreme to win q
greater realm for the Catholic faith.
But, rs always with religion lacking the
true religious elements Of unseldshness
and mercy, Il became mere cloak Tor
greed and wickedness indescribsble.
Ii Ia safe TO say that any nation that
places It's hopes for perinanency upon
misconception Of Gods character, Ia
building It's structure upon the sands.
That strange royal pair, Ferdinand
and Isabells, combined In themselves an
/ intense greed for gold and q fierce re-
| ligious intolerance. When their country
could produce such devoted servants OF
| God rs Loyola and Saint Theresa, We
must indeed believe there was depth to
the religious feeling. But also when we
consider the servant OF Ferdinand and
Isabella. the fierce Torquemada, we are
compelled to realize that with religion
was tremendous admixture OF greed.
After the Inquisition became thoroughly
established, IL was found so easy to Sc
cretly dispose Of men and women OF
wealth that to Ferdinand, eager for
money, the temptation was too over
powering. SO. while Isabella's fanatical
| soul was satisfied with the works OF the
Holy Office, Ferdinand found solace to
himself in replenishing his treasury.
The work Of the Inquisition became, In
short, little else but robbery and murder
ia the name OF God. II the wall OF the
Escurial could speak, cry for ven
geance, long insudible to human ears,
would stir the human heart. With the
same spirit of lust for wealth, the colo
mics were always regarded as fair prey
to be mercilessly stripped Of everything
valuable that was compact and trans
portable. Precious metals became COM
mon In Spain, wealth was on every side,
luxury was all perverse. Yet In the
midst Of its greatest material prosperity,
the demon OF self-destructi0n was unOb-
trusively at work, for any nation that
puts its trust in material wealth for
permanency also builds ite structure
upon the sands.
| Mr.. McKINLEY's CABINET.
TIE LATEST INFORMATION FROM AUTHoRITA
TIVE SOURCES.
Compiled by John Kendrick Bangs)
I've never met Mckinley, but know lot OF