The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1898-03-03
SPAIN AND THE SPANISH.
Interesting Facts About the
Once Greatest Nation
on the Globe.

eN''h fNfNaHttHA Va = PAIN - ~ f'NPf-
632. Many people, without look.
ing up the matter, would say at a
guess that SPANS population was
35 100000 or 100000 But it
i' in reality, not 100000. Spain
has an area f 1917 $40 squar
miles. The area Of France is only
a few thousand square miles great
er, and yet France hasa population
OF very nearly 100000. Texas
has an area Of 274,356 square
miles. Spain could be laid out Oh
Texas and Texas would have 76,-
$50 square miles left over. The
states Of Pennsylvania, New York,
Illinois and Alabama have more
population than has Spain, and
are immensely more wealthy.
These states could borrow enough
money, with their whole field Of
commodities, men and capital be-
hind the loan, TO pay of at the one
coup the whole debt Of Spain.
They could raise, pay and main.
tain bigger army than Spain
could. Their natural resources
could outlast SPANS ten to one.
Their steam power is infinitely
greater, and as man power can al.
ways be gagged by steam power
you can imagine the difference.
: These four states could exist it
they sequestrated from all the rest
of the world. Spain could hardly
live a day.
Spain was once the greatest ma.
5 ton on the face Of the globe. Say,
. rather, she was twice 80. First as a
center oflearning and science under
the Saracenic rule, when the City
Of Cordova had a mile of gas.lit
. streets and fountains Of quicksilver
played in the palace yard of the
Caliph. Second when she was the
greatest military power in Europe
II you look at the names of coun.
E tries. cities and places in the west.
ern hemisphere you vii! realiz,
p what a grand empire Spain ono,
! was and what power she welded
. over men. But Spain could mol
stand the march OF modern in,
a vention. She has steadily .hrunh
J and shriveled and lost her pos
sessions, until now all sh,
1 has left worth speaking offs Cuba
! The Philippines are insignificant
e possessions.
Why has Spain lost all her pow
ler2 The thtorist who holds tina
q education is the cause Of progres
will point you the answer in tn,
e statistics concerning SPANS Hitter
e acy. Only one nation in Europ,
4 Is lower in enlightenment thar
. Spain. OF all the population o
:, Spain only 2S per cent can read an,
= write, 4 per cent can read only an,
/. GS per cent can neither read no
write When you come to thinI
r. OF It this fact staggers the mind
u Here is a nation in the heart of civ
ilization, and GS per cent Of it
people have no conception what
IL ever OF the marvels of the printin
(, press or Of the letters that Cadmu
N brought to Europe. But let Us go
q little deeper into this matter {
~ illiteracy. | do not desire to tall
u about causes; the sociologists ca,
!, do that. But were one i'm the min,
d. to do tia sociological study of Spai
'g would be worth the writing. STai
as ! have said, has II population q
t. less than 100000, and 6S pc
. cent Of her people can not read d
write. The United States has
70 population Of, let's say, 7O,000,OOC
Of or the natives population in thi
ne country only 6 per cent can NJ
h. read or write. OF the foreig
:, whites only l3per cent can not rea
or write, and Of the colored popJ
lation 56 per cent cannot read {
ID write, hut, accounting for III
V foreigners and the negroes in Ii
!, computation, there is but 10 p,
cent of thopopulation in this couI
try that can not read or writ,
Think Of III Out Of nearly 10000
=, COO native white Americans only
- per cent can not read or write an
SPANS percentage is6S!
IS, SPANS banking power, like h,
rs steam power, is practically nj
ms She has in all not quite 7OOC mil,
Of railroad. 1t is fashionable