The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-09-08
SPAIN AND HER COLONIES.
Her Treatment of Them Compared
 With That of England.

Her Treatment of Them Compared
 With That of England.
 Professor Theodore S. Woolsey of Yale says in the Century Magazine:
 It has already been said that Eng land learned lesson of the American Revolution, while Spain has never needed it nor the loss of her own colo nies. Yet it really was not until fifty diverged. As early as IT'S Spain had begun to open her dependencies to for eign trade, and early in this century they were allowed to trade with one another. So, likewise, although great changes had been earlier made in the English colonies, the spirit of monopo- ly and of a restrictive policy was in force until about 1815 So far as relates to the evils of the colonial system, then, the twoswere not very unlike. But into the field of administrative reform and the grant of autonomous powers to her colonies, Spain never has entered.
 The abuses of the early part of the century characterize also its later years. Discrimination against the nativeborn, even of the purest Spanish stock; off, cials who regard the colony as a mine to be worked, not a trust to be admin istered; forced dependence upon the mother country for manufactures, even for produce, so far as duties can effect 1t; self government stif1ed; representa- tion in the cortes denied or a nullity; a civil service unprogressive, ignorant,
 
 dicaps with the growth, the prosperity, the independence, above all, the decent and orderly administration, of the colo nies of England. One of the wonderful things in this half century is that army of British youth, with but little special training or genius. or even, perhaps, conscious sympathy for the work, learning to administer the great and growing Indian and colonial empire honestly and wisely and well, with courage and judgment equal to emer- gencies, animated by an everyday working sense of duty and honor, but not very often making any fuss or phrases about it. It Is not that Span ish colonial government is worse than formerly. which is costing it now so dear; but that it is no better, while the worlds standard has advanced and condemns it. Never yet has Spain looked at her colonies with their own welfare uppermost in her mind. She has never outgrown the old mistaken theories. Her fault is medievalisnl, alias ignorance.
 It is not cause for wonder, there fore, quite apart from special sources of discontent, that Cuba, which, by po- sition, is thrown into contact with pro- gressive peoples, should chafe at her leading strings. Without reference to the corruption and cruelty arrogance, injustice and repression which are al- legged against the mother country, with out rhetoric and without animosity, we may fairly say that Spain is losing Cuba, perhaps all her colonies, simply because she has not conformed to the standard of the time in the matter of colonial government If England had not altered her own methods, her colo nies would long since have abandoned her as opportunity offered. The won- der really is that Spain has held hers so long; for Cuba, at least, owing to it's exceptional fertility and position, has relatively outstripped it's declining mother.