The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-07
THE SPANlARDS.
Their Incapacity for Business-The
Position of Women.

David Hannay, in Pail Mall Gazette.
If one wrote to explain fairly why he
Ghe Spaniard) has failed in the world, the
answer must be that he is the most unbusi-
nesslke of mankind
This unbusinesslike incapacity is shown
in innumerable ways. Barcelona, for ex-
ample is great trading port, about on a
level with MarseilleS. 1t has grown very
much within recent years The Barcelonese
consider themselves a model to all Spain in
the matter of industry and in common
sense. Yet in this town-which is really
handsome place and rich-the head tele-
graph office is in the suburbs, there is only
one branch Office in the town and messages
have to be sent from that by hand. The
postoffice is we'll away from the port, in a
by street. If you are there on business you
will find, as likely as not, that one clerk is
in attendance out of an immense staff He
will probably be very polite, but he will put
his hand to a pen or bundle of letters
as if he feared they would burn. And Bar
celona is a, model of smartness compared
to Madrid. One wonders what would hap
pen to the dawdling officials one. sees at
these places if they were transported by
some malignant fairy to ST. Martin's-le-
Grand. Madness would probably be their
fate if they made an effort to meet the call.
But then they would not; the hurry and
drive would simply revolt their sense of
what was due to a gentleman.
As the postoffice is, so are the railways.
That they are all on single lines is nothing
The country is not rich enough nor the
traffic sufficiently great to call for double.
Neither need one complain if the trains are
slow. A wise man does not want to hurry
~
should business man make haste when
Spaniard does? But the extent to which
TINS people absta1ns from hurry is a wonder.
Take, for example, Lerida, which is for the
peninsula, busy junction. The branch
line from Tarragona meets the main line
from Barcelona to Saragossa at this place.
NOW II you are coming from Tarragona
to Saragossa, your luggage must be regis
tered aafresh. 1t is impossible to book
through. Ihe process is a lesson in tran
GUILTY.. A porter trundleS the traps from
one end of the platform to the other as
The receipt given at Tarragona has to be
Cancelled. 1t takes two clerks to do the
work. A new one is issued, and again two
clerks are employed. Their pens go as if
they were signing their death warrants.
One looks on and wonders what would hap
pen at Liverpool street if things were man
aged in that style.
There are four languages spoken in Spain
the Galician, which is closely akin to the
Portuguese: the Basque, the Catalan, which
is branch of the southern French, and the
Castilian. But they are all spoken alike in
all classes. There is no distinction between
the language of the upper and lower class.
The Toledan speaks better Castilian than
an AndaluSian.
In the south the language has been much
degraded in pronunciation, and by the adj
mixture of gypsy and other slang; but diff
ferenceS go according to the provinces, not
according to rank or social position. This
uniformity of language is, as it were, the
outward and visible sign of a certain social
equality which prevails among the Span
iards. 1t is perfectly compatible with the
recognition of official rank or social dis
tinction. But that is given among the
Spaniards, as it is among the officers of an
army without servility.
At an inn in country town you may find
the major general commanding the gar
rison, civil official holding a good post
his cap and apron on-all playing dominoes
together at the same table. The general
sits at the end of a sofa, and is addressed,
not constantly, but at reasonable intervals,
as Don Jose or whatever it may be. He
says senior to the landlord or the cook, and
this little difference makes all the necessary
distinction. In the middle OF the game
guests return from the theater and ask for
supper. The cook gets up and serves them,
as matter of course Then he comes back
to his dominoeS and they all talk with as
much ease as any four gentlemen at a club.
The inner social life Of a people is always
difficult to know. As a rule, a man only gets
10 understand it thoroughly by marrying
into the race. and then he himself becomes
so fully naturalized that he ceases TO be
able TO judge it from the outside. Besides
Ii must always be remembered that even in
Spain there are wide differences The mer-
chant banker or shopkeeper of large sea-
port lives. and also thinks. very differently
from the peasant of CASTLE. In the parts
of Spain which have been least affected by
foreign example habits have changed little
since the seventeenth century The women
are much secluded. They hardly ever 90
out except to church or for walk on the
alameda when the band plays Then the
unmarried ones are IN charge Of somebody.