The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-05-12

THE ETERNAL "MANANA."
From the London Telegraph.
Why is the once mighty empire of
Spain reduced to the last stages of de-
cay and rapidly approaching dissolu-
tion? The Spaniards 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 deVClOpement ana
number Of noble traits and rare quail
tiles which, under the guidance Of or
dinarily competent rulers, should
and would entitle them still to occupy
a place higher than that of Italy in
the hierarchy of nations. But ordinar-
lily honest and competent rulers are not
to be had. It is u case of God provid-
ing the food and the devil supplying
the cooks The administration il the
ruin Of the county and the people. y
Spaniard is patriotic to such degree
that he is capable Of sacrificing his en-
tire income his family, ana himself
for the good of his country at a criti-
cal period Of it's history The official
on the other hand, is eaten up with
eEotiSm and is not always even mOdcr-
atcly prompt and capable. For the
moment l choose a very tame illustra-
ton--the administration of the posts
and telegraphs-and even here | snail
confne myself TO facts Of my own eN-
periencc
There is but one foreign post daily
both ways to and from Madrid 1t
leaves at p. m; and "a letter coniided
to the letter-bOX stands no better
chance of reaching the addressee than
does one posted in ConstantinOple, Err
zeroum, or Trebizond. Indeed, the odds
are strongly in favor of the latter. |
am speaking in the light Of numerous
and significant facts OF course one
may register ones correspondence, and
then the letter may arrive, or it may
not. If it does not, you enjoy the right
of demanding compensation; but before
you have done with petitioning, de-
manding. visiting, explaining, calling
again, etc, you will have worn out
more boots. 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 enterprise i'm despair
long before you see the color of the
money of the administration. Besides
you cannot register a letter after D.
m. so that from that hour your cor
respondenCe is practically at an end
If a packet is sent to you by post, you
do not receive ii al your house, but are
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 til
you get it.
IN TELEGRAPHING.
But by far the most interesting pro-
cess is that Of telegraphing political
news to a foreign journal Here You
pick original and quaint ideas as to the
WAY How Not to DO It." which are
bracing and refreshing to English
speaking aoIle. First of all, of course
you must get your information, then
write your telegram, and, lastly, hand
il in. The mere act OF forwarding il
seems a trihc. inasmuch as spain and
England are connected by a direct
cable. Now it is extremely difficult t.
obtain any information worth having
before 3 or ( O'Clock in the afternoon
for the SpaniardS-those at least VIII,
make histOry-are by no means early
risers, and the ministerial councils an,
other state gatherings occur generally
between 3 and 6 p. m. Yet a tolegraphi
message to London, handed i'm at the
head office at Madrid at $50 O'CLOCK
in the afternoon, frequently rcaChe!
London at the same hour the mex
morning, when il is absolutely worth
less. And the direct cable plays but Z
relatively small part in the delay. Th'
Royal Inquisitur, known as the Censor
is the man mainly responsible for this
Woeful waste of time He is not alWay.
at home, nor is he, perhaps, always il
the humOr for Censuring and CRITICS
ing, and the messages must wait unit
he is discngawed ana in the mood
But why should there not be man.
censors? First of all. indeed, one won
ders why there should be any. SpaiI
is a constitutional country. and at pres
ent it is governed by the Liberal party
which holds high the banner Of free
dom and fraternity and makes wa
upon all the Old World abuses of des
pOtism, conservatism, etc Yet, for al
that, there is a censure-nay, such
strict ccnsure as has been unknown il
Russia since the days Of Nicholas
and is Daralloled only in the Turks
empire Of today. \ mere word, t
which the censor reasonably or uurca
sOnably objects, is enough to ruin
telegram of a thousand words 10 whic
he assents Thus | forwarded a mos
important message yesterday, Whic
with the utmost difficulty l was en-
abled to hand in at p. m. The fact
ii contained dealt with the resolution
adopted by the cabinet council At tn
end there was one short sentence to tn
effect that according to a rumOr cur
rent i'm journalistic circles Of tho capi
tai, ii was expected that the Spanis
officers would meet in the puerta Dc
Sol that evening and walk home /
silence by way of a patriotic demon
stration. This was absolutely true. Tn
rumOr was current everywhere. | sen
off the message at 3 p. m. sharp, AN
mentioned the time in the Telegram
Shortly after l o'clock next morning
received a communication from IN
chief of the telegraph to the effect tina
IA MH n n "A ~