Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-02
SPAIN'S DECADENCE
She is Today Little More Than a
Wornout Land.
ALL HER HIGH IDEALS ARE GONE
Ignorance and MisruIe Have Done
Their Work Well.
a DOWN -TRODDEN PEOPL E

Rev. DIR. J. s. Macintosh in the Philadelphia
Several visits previously made to Spain
had yielded TO your correspondent a sim
gularly fair knowledge of Spain. it's condi-
ton generally considered and the various
classes of that falling and unhappy king
dom. But the latest visit opened up from
the inside the desperate state of matters in
this land of the past. These words, 1.-The
past" are used advisedly and with all So
Der, sad truth. Spain is the one country of
Europe that has not yet emerged from the
ignorance, the lethargy and the misery of
the last and worst days of mediaevalism.
Church and state, oligarchy and monarchy,
belong to the elsewhere vanished past.
Time and leisure both demanded 10
carry the thoughtful student beyond the
glamOr of romantic traditions and the
moving tales of great adventures, and to
lead away from the bewitching survey of
Escurial. Giralda and Alhambra to the
patient and thorough investigation of the
actual life of the present hour. TO the state
OF the country visible fact, the cond-
tioa of the upper classes and the sullen en-
durance and the manifold sufferings of the
masses, among whom today are found the
best elements for a possible regeneration of
the debased and steadily retrograding ma
tiCn.
Studied thus quietly, and with an honest
wish to see straight and learn facts, what
is Spain? You may pack it all into one
lhrase-a WORKOUT land.
The old impulsive and formative powers
and forces, not only of the glorious days of
Ferdinand and Isabella. but also of the
much later times of the great peninsular
wars of Napoleon and wellington are worn
out. The old nobility. naughty and cere-
mCnious, but honorable and honest; the old
military leaders, brave and self-denying:
f-v SfCrflr c+a
dignitaries. able and learned are worn out
You ask for them in vain. Here and there
one may be heard of. but he is lonely
relic of the vanished order; and weary and
disguised, the far-separated ana self-dis-
trusting remnant do not assert themselves
and would effect naught if they did. The
day OF the best is gone; the day of the
bul eau has come.
Realities of Life Worn Out.
The old realities of life are worn out. OF
course. if you are simply rushing from
point to point on business or on pleasure
bent you viii not and you cannot reach
these facts The business man hurrying
from town to town; the curious tourist
seeking out the sights" the historian, pur-
suing the path of the Goth, the Saracen,
the Castilian; the artist and the virtuoso
lettering about seductive Tolelo, hoary Cor
dova or fascinating Granada, may come
and go often times and fail TO realize The
deep far-reaching changes that have come
into the national life. But you cannot miss
this sad feature when you hear from the
lips of cor.suls. missionaries, teachers, bank
ers, and. above all. from some or the sad
hearted remnant, what their own eyes have
marked going on steadily ld what they
know from years of residence. The forms
OF better days remain; the reality is largely
lost. The old country life, the old GUARDIAN
ship of the chieftain for his retainers the
generous sympathy between landowner ard
tenant, the grave but sincere acknowledge
maj obi tow,
erty, with the related AMI produced loyalty
and trust and affect ton of ,he tenant and
the dependent for his chief, are now not
the rule. but the very rare exception. Alb
sen teeisn and exaction have wrought here
even worse results than the same baleful
facts did in ireland. To Il great degree the
old patriotism is worn out The literal
provincialism, W hich has always been more
or less marked in SPAIN and has ever been
a cause of weakness, the active sectional
ism which leads man TO say and to feel
i am Gallacian." or Il am Valencian,''
or a CdstiIlan.' rather tnaI L ANA Span
lard is strongly marked at this time. The
successive revolutions, the :iynastic changes,
above all the mercenary bureau at Mad
rid. and the merciess shipments of deo tn
doomed conscripts to the famine and fever
graves in Cuba and the Philippines have
to large degree, killed out the old ma
tional spirit The old neiglborlv and social
faith Is worn out Man has bat little faith
IN man Distrust, suspicion and a stern
sullenness have grown sadly common.
Exhausted Landed Estates
To drive over the old and now scarce
passable roads, at times to cross afoot the
hills. to stop at the wayside inns or IL
spe nd few days an estate or a farm
gives you the opportunity of seeing what
neglect, increasing poverty and general un-
rest are producing IN many portions of a
lard that might be made to TEEN gith
plenty. The sum Of such study may be
VI nm o. IN rvxyn Dc
Stretches Some of Us know full we'll
what the worneut lands were, often seen in
the old plantation days. But never mel
arcEoly specimens were here seen, nor can
now anywhere IN Europe be seen, You
very often must look on in Spain. Districts
which were very gardens IN the days of
the busy Saracens, and which Were 1bun-
oa ntly fertile for many after centuries, are
toCay practically wastes. yielding here and
there d scant heritage for a few weeks in
spring to the lean sheep that range over
the almost bare earth. North of Madrid.
around Cordova, to the east of Seville and
about Granada, Heres and Cadiz exhaus-
ton and barrenI ess meet the eye on all
sizes. 1t is not change of climate. 1t is not
that the soil will not bear if cared for.
Neglect, thrlftlessneSS, abuse of the soil,
ignorance of the most elementary farming,
pride, self-conceit and competition explain
the present condition of things. Lethargy
and procrastination everywhere reveal
themselves Never do today what may he
put on till tomorrow is fixed article of
faith. 'Manana, senior" Tomorrow is
Gods day. Ignorance of any improved
methods of caring for and cultivatinS the |
soil rules. The farming and the impie- |
me1ts are of the olden days. The pride |
that counts the farmers honorable toll a |
disgrace holds in bondage the small pro-
prietors. The idea Of outstanding the re-
sources of the land rarely shows itself in |
either land renter or gardsner. Get all out
ossihle and give nothing back. Then great |
depression. and in some cases hopelessness
have arisen from the growing competition |
OF our own farmers and fruiI ranchers
American grain and po-;; fruits and even
wlles Rave made a serious ia.oad on the |
markets open to the Spanish husba ndm1n |
ant hrU growers Prices have fallen,
orchards. olive yards, vineyards with
orange groves and lemon gardens are row !
Been frequently abandoned Or half neglect
Ell Irrigation. which would make this |
sunny land bring forth By nanifus Is no; |
oHiy not pushed and increased but the cd |
lanHels and waterways are uncared for
u 10 all tiiis neglect you adj the wanton
destruction OF forests and woods Il is NOT !
very hard To realize that what the indus
trious Moor made a garden and what long
was "a very granary TO Europe Is TO-DAY a |
oecaying and wasted land. The king lives |
by the field This widespread and grow |
ing agricultural decay and this progressive |
exhaustion of the land work mischief all |
round. The small trades Industries a,-s, |