The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-31

At the recent annualNbanquet In new
York Of tNe Not'ou0l eoa'o'" "r 'he
Sons of the American Revolution, Will
liam h. Gurus, ~ aaiitn5toli GOA cs ,,o.'"-
ent OF the Chicago Record and eX-sec-
! retary of the bureau of Latin-Ameri-
can republics spoke entertainingly ana
informingly upon the topic: THE Span
lard IN the New World" This Is what
he said:
"Your committee, Mr.. Chairman, has
not assigned me a very cheerful topic.
There has been very little sweetness or
light or humor in the experience OF the
Spaniard in the new world. There is
scarcely page in his history that is
not smeared with blood. Half the kings
OF Spain have died with their boots on.
Half of them have ascended or left the
throne in consequence of conspiracies.
1.-The Phoenicians first settled the
peninsula 1900 years before the birth
of Christ. The present city of Cadlz
was the Tarshish of the bible, and was
once the great commercial metropolis
of the world. Thence was brought gold.
silver, ivory and ebony to decorate the
temples of Solomon. The Phoenicians
were overcome by the Carthaginians
under Dido, a friend of our schoolboy
days They in turn were expelled by
the all-conquering Romans.
Spain gave four emperors to Rome,
and it is a curious coincidence that
Cortez, the conQueror of Mexico, was
born in the same house as the great
Trajan. The Vandals and the Goths
came in hordes from the north until
they were swept back into France and
Germany by the overwhelming flood Of
Mussulmans from across the Mediter-
ranean.
For 700 years the Moors possessed
the land, until Boabdil surrendered the
keys of the Alhambra to a so-called
Christian civilization which came out
of the mountains, converted the mos
ques into churches and put up a cross
wherever crescent had been.
BLOODsTAINs IN PALACES.
'Tn the two great palaces in which
the kings of Spain sat before the pres
ent century there are human blood
stains upon every floor. Pedro the
ssCruel once invited his vassal prince to
a banquet in the Alcazar of Seville.
They came in their royal robes, wear
Ing their jeweled crowns, and brought
rich gifts to their host. But before the
end Of that dinner party every one of
them had been murdered, and but few
members of their retinues escaped the
effects of Spanish hospitality. Pedro
with his own hands tore from the tur-
ban of one of his guests the finest ruby
in the world, which now ornaments the
crown of Queen Victoria.
For years these piouS rulers taxed
every Jew in Spain thirty pieces of sill
yer, and finally confiscated the estates
of every member of that race and eX-
PEELED from the country all except a
small colony in Toledo, who filed afii-
davits that their ancestors, who sat in
the sanhedrim with Pontius PLATE, vot-
cd against the crucifixion of Christ.
90 For 400 years the government OF
Spain has been mixture of religious
fanaticism, cruelty, dishonesty and av-
arice. For 600 years cushioned chairs
were placed upon the balconies that
overlook the Plaza Mayor at Madrid in
order that the kings might see the her
etics burned at the stake. There was
always a clause in the leases Of the
residences upon this plaza requiring the
occupants to surrender their front win.
dows for the use of the royal family
and the court whenever the inquisitior
furnished one of these entertainments
The ancestors of the frail, fair-haireC
boy who sits impaticntly upon the
steps of the throne have ever failed Il
comprehend that honesty is the best
policy and the difference between cruel.
ty and justice.
TREACHERY IN AMERICA.
"The first chapter in American his.
tory records a broken contract. Ter
thousand maravedis and a velvet doub
let were promised to the person in the
crew of Columbus who first saw land
and they were earned by a sailor nam
ed Rodrigo Triana, but Columbus in
sisted that he had observed a moving
light the night before and claimed th'
reward. Triana was so disgusted tha
he renounced Christianity and became
Turk.
Under that famous contract signe,
in the city of the holy faith Columbus
was to have one-fifth of all the land h,
discovered, and he and his heirs weN
10 be it's rulers forever. They brough
him back in chains. They denied hin
admission to court. They let him di
dependent upon the charity Of tn
monks of Las Cuevas, and persuaded
his dissolute grandson to surrender tn
claims of his family upon the crown
for a patent of nobility and triflin:
4 pension. 1t is a curious fact that tn
only record of the death of Columbus
in the archives of Spain is a nemor
andum written upon the back of on
of his appeals for justice six or eigh
months afterward. AS the clerk file,
the paper away in a pigeonhole with
score of unanswered communication
on the same subject he wrote: "Th
Nithin admiral is dead
II sat one dav in the shade of
majestic temple in Japan, discussin
with a Buddhist priest the comparativ
merits of his religion and mine. II
said that although the Light of Asi
illumined twice as many souls as tn
gospel of Christ, so far as humaI
knowledge extended no sword had eve
been drawn, no shot had ever bee
fired and no life had ever been sacri
feed in its propaganda. Then he toll
me he had read in an English boo
that a war had once been fought to de
termlne whether Christians shoul
make the sign of the cross with thre
fingers or two. and asked if II wer
true. as asserted by Arthur Helps, tn
1900, 900 natives had been put to deaf
during the efforts of the Spanish to in
troduce the blessings brought by tn
Babe of Bethlehem into the America
colonies.
BLOODY CRIMES.
"In the city hall at Caracas is a par
OF the banner that was carried by Piz
AFRO in the conquest of Peru. The othe