The Indianapolis journal., 1898-06-19
SOME SPANISH TRAITS
THEIR PATRIOTISM LEADS THEM TO
COMMIT DISHONEST ACTS.
Annoying Difficulties Correspondents
Are Compelled 40 Endure-Let-
ters That Never Go.
London Telegraph.

London Telegraph.
Why is the once mighty empire of Spain
reduced to tre last stages of decay and
rapidly approaching dissolution? The Span
iards are still among the most noble
minded, sympathetic and intelligent peoples
of the civilized world; they are natures
gentlemen" and possess an aesthetic taste
capable of a high degree of development
and number of noble traits and rare quail
tiles which, under the guidance of ordi-
narily competent rulers. should and would
entitle them still TO occupy place higher
than that of Italy in the hierarchy of ma
tions, But ordinarily honest and competent
rulers are not to be had. 1t is case of
God providing the food and the devil supply
ing the cooks. The administration is the
ruin of the country and the people. Span
lard is patriotic to such a degree that he is
quite capable of sacrificing his entire in
come. his family and himself for the good
of his country at critical period of its
history The official, on the other hand,
is eaten up with egotism and is not always
even moderately prompt and capable. For
the moment l choose very tame illustra-
tion-the administration of the posts and
telegraphs-and even here l shall confne
myself to facts of my own experience.
There is but one foreign post daily both
ways TO and from Madrid. 1t leaves at p.
m, and a letter confided to the letter box
stands no better chance of reaching the adj
dressee than does one posted in Constants
nople, Erzeroum Trebizond. Indeed, the
odds are strongly in favor of the latter. L
am speaking in the light of numerous and
significant facts OF course one may regis
ter ones correspondence, and then the let
ter may arrive or it may not. If it does
not, you enjoy the right of demanding COM
pensation; but before you have done with
petitoning, demanding, visiting. explaining,
calling again, etc, you will have worn out
more bools spent more money in pens, ink
and paper, and sacrificed more OF your time
than the damages fixed for ten lost letters
would compensate, and you give up the en-
terprise in despair long before you see the
color of the money OF the administration.
Besides, you cannot register letter after
p. M, so that from that hour your oorre-
spondence is practically at an end. If u
packet is sent to you by post you do not
receive it at your house, but favored
with an invoice instead. which informs you
that there is but one hour of the twenty
four during which you may claim the packet
and-wait till you get it.
HELD UP TELEGRAMS.
But by far the most interesting process is
that of teiegraphing political news TO a
foreign journal. Here you pick up original
and quaint ideas as to the way how not
to do it, which are bracing and refreshing
to English-speaking people, First of all,
of course, you must get your information,
then write your telegram, and lastly, hand
it in. The mere act of forwarding it seems
a trifle, inasmuch Spain and England are
connected by direct cable. Now it is eX-
tremely difficult to obtain any information
worth having before or o'clock in the
afternoon, for the Spaniards-thoSe at least
who make history-are by no means early
risers, and ministerial councils and other
and p. m. Yet a telegraphic message to
London handed in at the head office at
Madrid ar $3.50 o'clock in the afternoon fire.
quently reaches London at the same hour
next morning, when it is absolutely worth
less. And the direct cable between Spain
and England? The cable plays but a rela-
lively small part in the delay. The royal
inquisitor, known the censor. is the man
mainly responsible for this woeful waste Of
time. He is not always at home. nor is he,
perhaps always in the humor for censurinS
and criticiSing, and the message must wait
until he is disengaged and in the mood.
But why should there not be many CEN
sors? First of all, indeed Cne wonders why
there should be any. Spain is a constitu-
tional country, and at present it is governed
by the Liberal party, which holds high the
banner of freedom and fraternity, and
makes war upon all the old world abuses of
that, there is censure-nay, such strict
censure as has been unknown in Russia
since the days Of Nicholas |. and is paral-
leled only in the Turkish empire of to-day.
A mere word. to which the censor reason
ably or unreasonably objects, is enough to
ruin telegram of thousand words to
which he assents Thus | forwarded a most
important message yesterday. which with
the utmost difficulty L was enabled to hand
in at D. The fact it contained dealt
with the resolutions adopted by the Cabinet
Council. At the end there was short
sentence to the effect that, according to
fumor current in journalistic circles of the
capital 1T was expected that the Spanish
officers would meet in the Puerta del Sol
that evening and walk home in silence by
way of patriotic demonstration. This was
absolutely true. The rumor was current
everywhere. ] sent off the message at p.
m show nr7A IL.
telegram Shortly after o'clock next morn
ing | received a communication from the
chief Of the telegraph to the, effect that;
owing to the sentence about the projected
manifestation, he had detained my message,
but that if on reflection, l considered that
] could modify that particular passage the
telegram would be duly sent on After ten
hours had elapsed and the news had become
utterly worthless!
TIRESOME RED TAPE.
The Spanish ceremonies which accompany
the handling Of a telegram would be anus
ing were they not so irksome and time
killing. You approach little window in the
one office in the city. and, when your turn
comes, hand in your message. The clerk
counts the words a couple OF times over.
adds up the result of each page, refers to
the written tariff and finds out what the
costs is in francs. Then he takes another
slip OF paper, finds out what the rate of eX-
change is at the moment, and reduces the
francs to Spanish pesetas. Finally he reads
out the reSult-Say, 597 peSetas 81 centimes.
You Eengrave these figures in your memory.
and. leaving the hall, go out to another
window in a passage outside. and there
await your turn. repeating always the num-
Der 591.35 till the clerk asks you what you
want. Then you explain that you are come
TO purchase Spanish stamps for the sum Of
oSI pesetas 30 centimes, and you take ont a
Eote for 600 pesetas The passage is dark
on the brightest day. and you accept the
stamps and your change in a spirit of true
rellglouS faith, for you see not even darkIY
as In glass. When you return to the inner
sanctuary and help to make queue. await
ing your turn again. the chances are that
you lind yourself short Of stamps in conse-
quence of mistake on the part of the
clerk outside. This happened twice to nc.
but l am bound to say the individual dis
covered and rectitied his error so that my
only loss was of about thirty-five minutes
more.
But the most curious thing of all is the
process, of recovering your money if the
telegram be suppressed There is no way
OF obtaining it speedily. You must wait.
messages of mine TO the value of several
hundred pesetas were stopped and called
at the office fer the money In Russia.
germany. Turkey, AEstria-everywhere in
Iact-the money paid is refunded at once.
But not so in Spain. Here you have to
make various pflSrimages. from Itus = to pii-
iar Interviewing officials. dignitarics clerks.
porters. All shake their heads shrug their
shoulders, purse their lips and assure you
l1aI the government allows them no succial