The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-07-01
SPAIN AND HER PEOPLE
Her Financial and Physical
Weakness.
CREDIT AT HOME AND ABROAD.
The Loan Frcm the ROthschilds and How
IL Was secured-Her Population and Its
Character - Her Army and How 1t Is
Recruited.


1t Was secured-Her Population and Its
Character Her Army and How 1t Is
Recruited.
WAsHINGToN, July L. Special. 1.-The
possibility of war between Spain and the
United States, growing out of President
McKinley's demands for what will in the
end amount TO the freedom of Cuba which
is now generally recognized as among the
diplomatic developments of the near flu
ture, has served to call attention to the
finances Of Spain, her commercial strength
and other facts concerning her people and
their power of resistance. The newspapers
have recently chronicled the fact that
Spain has negotiated loan with the
Rothschilds with the Almaden quicksilver
mines as security. When Spains credit
falls so low that these mines have to be
| put in pawn, the world knows that she is
| in desperate straits indeed. Pledge of this
! once great property is usually SPANS last
| resort. When all other means of raising
| revenue fail her, then the quicksilver
| mines are put under mortgage. In no
other particular is the disparity between
| Spain and the United States as great as in
| this matter of credit.
| Our Possible Foe.
While Spain, our possible foe, has been
refused loans based upon the general ma
ton credit by all the great banking houses
! of Europe and has finally been compelled
! to resort Co the expedient of putting up
| tangible property, the United States Is
! among the foremost nations of he.world
| as TO it's credit both at home and abroad.
| If the United States were to ask for credit
| in Europe il is not improbable u loan of
| 81, 900 600, 600 could be flOated without
| putting the rate of interest aboave AZ per
! cent. Spain Is compelled TO pay consider
/ ably more than that on a score of millions,
| with quicksilver mines pledged for seouri-
| ty. Her condition mt the present time Is
| much like that of merchant whose gener-
| al credit has become exhausted. He can no
| Longer get anything from his banker. His
| notes are not negotiable. He finds it nee
| essary in order to keep his head above wa
ter to give n mortgage upon his stock of
goods or to take his family plate and jew
| els to the ruwnbroker.
The government of the United States
keeps well informed concerning Spain s
| financial difficulties and all her affairs.
For instance, an official report now on file
in the state department shows that of all
| the nations of the world the United States
| tDJONS ntAU W lUG IicaSuISN w
the average rate of interest paid upon the
public debt Only England leads this
country. Spain, on the other hand, is
next to the lowest. No single fact could
better illustrate the disparity which exists
between the two nations which are possible
antagonists upon the field of battle.
The Spanish Glasses.
| Some exceedingly interesting facts con-
1.
ported to the state department by Consul
General Bowen of Barcelona. Spain is a
country about which Americans as "a rule
know very little. Americans who &c
abroad rarely visit Spain, and it is the rar
est thing in the world to find Spaniard
travelling in this country. For that mat
ter, the Spaniards travel very little any
where. A few of them are seen in Paris
lettering about or studying art, but they
do not often go to London or other Euro
pean capitals. 1t is tradition abroad that
fewer Spaniards are seen on the railway
trains and steamship lines than any other
nationality One may see 500 Americans
where there is one Spaniard anywhere out
side of Spain itself.
The population of Spain Is now about
$4,000, 600, or equal to the population OF
the United States so years ago. 1t is a re
markable fact that three of our states
| three out of 45--have n population almost
equal to that of all Spain. Consul Genera
Bowen reports the amazing fact that OF
the Is, OOO, 900 people in Spain IL 600, coo
may be called illiterate. These figures are
given upon Spanish authority. spain II
really one of the most illiterate countries
in the world In the United States. with
four times the population of Spain, We
have only one-half the number of Hitter
ates that Spain has. OF course there is nc
common school system in Spain, such as
we have here.
The Land and the Army.
Fifty one per cent of the land In Spair
is uncultivated, which is surprising IL
such an old country. Consul General
Bowen says all Spain lacks trees, and IL
therefore greatly subject to the ravages OF
floods and drought alternately. The PEG
pie, except in Madrid, live frugally anc
unostentatiously They are not at al
progressive, and cling tenaciously to the
old, old.way of doing things. The wealthy
and noble classes have the idea that 1t II
disgraceful to work. A few of them, q
very few, enter the professions or pubic
life. The Spanard is generally conserv
alive He takes up with new ideas ano
| Inventions very rcluCtuhpiy. ihSy nv .
conservative that while there Is much
wealth in Spain seeking profitable invest
ment the men controlling it have stood
back cautiously and permitted French OF
English capital to step in and gain con
troll of railways, telephones, steamships
mines and electric lines.
The army of Spain is strange mixture
The officers are all from the higher walks
| of life the priyates all from the lower
There is no such thing there as either
volunteer soldiery such as we have in this
country in time of war, an army IN whicf
the privates may be lawyers or other pro
fessional men, and their officers mechanics
or small shopkepeors. Recruits for the
army are drawn annually, and all who car
raise 1000 pesetas (s333) purchase exemp
ton from service The result of this sys
tenn is that men who have little money
will not serve in the army, while the pool
fellows who have not been favored by for