Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-05-25
SPAIN IS IN A PICKLE.
GREAT QUESTION is THAT OF BREAD.


New York, May ga dispatch to
the Herald from Madrid says:
The situation in Spain Is much more
serious than 1t is generally said to be.
Black clouds are gathering over the
peninsula and it will be impossible to
avoid the storm which Will burst with
terrible effect and sweep away every
thing in It's path.
such, at least Is the impression
which / have formed after stopping
here nearly a month. and after numer-
Gus conversations with highly placed
persunages belonging to the court the
government and parliament and with
tradosmun, middle class people and
the masses.
When Spaniards are spoken Of,
prominence IL always given to the sin
cere patriotism which supports and
animates them under the existing cir
cumstances. / do not mean to deny
the patriotism of the Spanlards, but 1t
| must not be Wanted to excess. for in
| Madrid, for example, the fluctuations
OF the war interest has been less than
/ the next bull fight or the drawing of
| the national lottery. But the question
which will evidently cause the revolu-
| tionary movement OF which i have
| spoken is that Of bread. The bread
| question has already led to conflicts in
some towns. Spain Is Just now pass
| ing through a very serious economic
crisis. 1t is the result of an eNtraor-
| binary rise in exchange ON France,
| which one day reached lis per cent
| Taking advantage of the exchange,
| French and Belgian corn factors have
! bought up all the wheat In Spain,
which they at once deported, realizing
! considerable profits, and when the
cortes passed a bill forbiddIng the eX-
an, Of Has no Of oar md
wheat had already crossed the from
| tier, leaving Spain without food for
her own people. 1t therefore became
necessary to buy flour abroad at ruin
Gus prices to meet immediate needs
| In Madrid the rise in the price of
bread has not yet made Itself felt. be-
cause the mayor promised 20 indemni-
fy the bakers out % the municipal
| funds, but the credits for this purpose
| are not large and when they are eX-
hausted, the Madrid bakers viii also
be obliged to raise their prices.
What viii happen then? The people,
already In such straits, Will inevitably
join the numerous political and other
indictments and the result may very
well be civil war.
After this revolution, which the
army Will be poweress to put down,
will Don Carlos come into power or
VIII republic be proclaimed? 1t is
too difficult to prophesy on this point.
1t is certain, however, that the queen
regent does not enjoy much sympathy
among the people. She Is blamed for
several things, the chief of which are
that she too frequently follows the ad-
vice OF her mother, the archduchrss
Elizabeth of Austria, when a difficulty
arises, and that she too ostentatinuslv
surrounds herself with cardinals ana
p!Shops, who are sovereign masters at
court. Spanlards also blame the queen
for almost remaining in retirement
when there are requests for har pres
ence at any great fete They DO not
Know her and consequently can have
no sympathy for her
The young king is never in question.
An Andaluslan senator VINO is an ont
and out royalist said to me:
The queen regent began by losing
the friendship of her people and then
lost their sympathy. Now, she is on
the way to lose their respect"
| The queen regent was not present
at the patriotic Gran Corrida," the
receipts from which We're destined for
the national subscription, the other
day. because she feared n hostile dem.
onstration. which certainly would have
occurred had she passed through the
| streets.
As regards the war, the people do
not entirely share the opinion of the
| queen regent. The loss of Cuba and
Porto Rico and the Philippines would
cause the Spanish people - rejoice
Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines
were three milch cows of the ruined
| grandees of Spain, and the Spanish peo.
pie We're overwhelmed with taxation to
keep them up
Let the Americans rid us of cuba
and the Philippines 1t would be the
greatest good they could do us. Thev
ought to have been given to them
without war"
That is what have heard at least
200 times from the mouths of the
Spanish people, and / am convinced
that an immense majority think this
| now.
In government circles there is n con-
| viction that Europe win intervene ard
this is the last hope which seems to
keep them up. Senior Gamazo alone
thinks that such Intervention Is not 10
be counted upon. They are waItine
without knowing whittier they go in
this lamentable situation--war abroad
and threat of revolution Mt home.
Who Will be the savior? VIII II be
| General Weyler. whose policy in Cuba
has alienated the malcontents? viii
| 1t be Senior Cameron? win It be Don
Carlos, who, l have been told, has
never been SO near the throne as now,
and whose partisans grow daily more
| numerous and more powerful? VIII
| 1t be a republic or n new monarchy?
No one can predict but the movement
| against the queen regent has really
started and serious complications will
| probably arise before long. Every one
breads them. every one fears them.
and only miracle can prevent them.
| DEWEYIN DANGER.
|