The Van Buren press., 1898-07-02
TELEGHAPHING IN SPAIN
The Cere mony Usually obs.u
would he amusing II 1t wer.
Not So Tiresome.

The Spanish ceremonies which a.
| company the handling of a teleorssS
would l)e amusing were they mt
irksome and ime-killing, says corr
| sponden t. You approach little wi,
dow in the one office in the CITY ma
| when your turn comes, hand in w.
| message. The clerk counts the wora.
a couple of times over, adds up tho :.
| suit on each page, refers to the WRIT.
tariff and finds out what the cost is -
| francs. Then he takes another slim -
| paper, finds out what the rate NJ a.
| change is at the moment and redpoa
the francs to Spanish pesetas, Finany
he reads out the result-say, 597 pesetsa,
IS eentimes. You engraye these fouroa
in your memory and, leaving the hall
go to another window in a passage ont
side, and there await your turn, reneat
ing always the number 597.35 til tba
clerk ask you what you want. Then Won
| explain that you are to purchase Span,
ish stamps for the sum of 597 pesetsa
and 35 centimes, and you take ont
note for 1000 pesetas. The passage i
a. rk on the brightest day, and YOU 40.
90, the stamps and your change ina
- of true religious faith, for Won
spi's' zen darkly as in glass. When
nat,,s, to the inner sanctuary and
helm to make queue, awaiting your turn
80 ff Tho cha, ces are that you find
Yourself short OF stamps in conse,
ouence of mistake GU the part of the
clerk outside. This ha. opened twice to
me. but l am bound to ga. the mdiyid
ual discovered and rectifed h Is error,so
that my only loss was of abou> 90 min
utes more.
But the most curious thing of al. 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 l called at the Office for
the money. In Russia, Germany, Turkey,
Austria-everywhe in fact-the
money paid is refunded at once. But
not so in Spain. Here you have to make
various pilgrimages, from post to pillar,
| interviewing officials, dignitaries
| clerks, porters. All shake their heads
sbrug their shoulders, purse their lips
and assure you that the govern
| ment allows them no special funds
for the purpose. Eyes, but if you
do not forward my message for
which l paid you in advance, You
have no right to keep my money!
"Oh, no! of course not. We are not to
blame, you know. You had better see
our chief. He is very busy now, but if
YOU call tomorrow / am sure you can
| see him.
I spent four days journeying from
chief TO subordinate, and from subordi
nate to chief, and at last | received tho
following satisfactory promise: "Ii
you will write a petition to the chief
of the telegraph, asking that the money
be refunded you for the suppressed
messages, he will deal with it in due
time" What is due time?" yentured
to inquire. well, we cannot promise
anything" said my informant, Senior
Perez, except that, when the funds al
low It, you shall have your money
back" But could you, perhaps, say
approximately when?" He could not
but another official could and did
Anytime between two and four
months!"
Such specimen-a tame, humdrum
specimen-of the method Of procedure
In the constitutional kingdom of SPAIN
under the most liberal governments, in
the cultured capital of Madrid, What
takes place in the provinces and what
took place in Cuba we cannot affirm
with certainty, but here the old proverh
undoubtedly holds good; "If they do
these things in green tree, what shall
be done in the dry?" Spain has truly
fallen upon evil days.-London Tele
graph.