The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1897-01-15

Allow me to continue AMI conclude
necessarily brief consideration Of
Spain as dccaying nation. In last
weeks "Thoughts" the assertion was
practically made that nation must
have some ideal before it beyond the
forcing OF a creed or the piling Of
wealth In both " these directions
Spain has been at fault. Three further
enervating causes have been at work
undermining its national strength.
TIE GEANDEE SPIRIT: For ccntur-
les after the destruction Of the Ro-
man Empire by the Goths and Van
dnlS, the human intellect was almost
brnumbed. Until the Renaissance
and the Reformation a pail Of dark
ness was over all: the mobiles being al
most as unframed as their ScrfS. and
the scrfs being utterly crushed by those
OF nobcr blood Humanity in Eu-
rope lay like a giant chilled by the
cold. But since that time stimula.
ton of thought has caused the great
heart OF the world to throb with in
rrcaSing power, till the lifc Of com
mon humanity thrills, in large meas
urc, even those most separated by
birth and wealth. Each aye has its
peculiar characteristic; ours Is the
Peoples Age" But against the ten
dency Of the people to think and act
hope and accomplish, the proud and
stubborn spirit Of Spanish grandce-
ism mas stood forth with tIcrceness
Yet just as Canutc 10y his word could
not hold the sea in subjectiOn nor
Mrs. Darlington sweep back the
waves with her broom SO no dynasty
or power, even hoar with age and
crustcd with heroic deeds, can with
stand successfully. by narrOw-minded
repression, the rising tide Of human
aspiration. 1f it turn a deaf ear to-
the cry Of the poor for life and liberty,
for education, for hope, the cry will
not die ont, but its pleading tone will
he turned into the fierce and fatcfu
growl " corncrcd beast, Thus has
it been with Spain. Far more organ.
ized and dangerous than Nihilism in
Russia. is AnarchiSm in Spain. The
kingdom is So thoroughly hOncycomb-
ed with the sentiment OF lawleSS
breaking down OF the government,
that the men in power try constantly
to divert public thought from home
affairs, and are glad Of anything in
foreign lands that will form safe
outlet for the combatiye spirit. They
are under the hopeless necessity OF
watching and guarding against the
home population as thoroughly as
they would have to watch an invading
army. believe | am safe in saying,
not even excepting Russia, that no
other nation in Europe but Spain is in
this anomalous condition. 1t stands
revealed before the world as a nation
that has not controlled the growth Of
hope and thought, but withstood it
instead: with the inevitable disaster
coming nearer every day.
| fnnr Ia, 4.
back at the conquest; Of three or four
centuries ago, when constant tldings
OF new continents, wealth, etc, fired
mems advent urOus souls, the skirts Of
no nation will be found entirely free
from innocent blood. With "A few no
table exceptions, in spots. like Rhode
Island under Williams, Pennsylvania
under Penn, and Maryland under Cal
VERT cruelty and illiberaity have al
most universally accompanied the
work OF establishing new colony.
But gentler times have brought gen.
tier methods; and various nations
seem now to vie with each other in
the liberality and excellence Of their
colonial policies. Take England for
an instance. Its illibcral treatment
OF its most valuable possession, now
the United States, has entirely passed
away; so that at the present IL Is
practically true that many small pos
sessions in various parts are better