Omaha daily bee., 1898-08-16
THE FUTURE OF SPAIN.

"a 20 @haL'
Most of the Madrid papers a k a
gloomy view of the future of Spain.
One of them declares that deprived of
her colonies she is reduced to a third
rate power, while another says that
peace will not bring to Spain the rest
the leading Spanish journals take a de-
cidedly pessimistic view of the outlook.
There is no regret that peace has come,
but a very general feeling that the war
has left Spain in a position from which
recovery will be extremely difficult, if
not i~mpossible-a position in which the
chances are largely against a restora-
ton of prestige and prosperity.
There are some substantial reasons
for this view. To begin with Spain
has a public debt amounting to not less
than 100000, 600, on which the an
nual interest charge is S1I0, OOO. 900. 10
provide for this and the regular eX-
penseS of government will necessitate
taxation that will be q tremendous bur
den upon the people and must tend to
repress enterprise. Whatever Spanish
capital there may be will not be freely
embarked in industries or commercial
undertakings that will be called upon
to pay burdensome taxes to the gov
eminent. Then the loss of colonies
necessarily means Il heavy loss of trade
and probably the destruction of those
industries that have lived upon the
colonies. The cotton goods that have
hitherto been supplied to Cuba and
Porto Rico by Spain will hereafter be
supplied chiefly if not wholly by the
United States, as will also flour and
other articles in which Spain has had
almost Il monopoly of the trade with
those islands. OF course Spanish com
merce with the Philippines must also
dwindle materially, If it shall not be
altogether lost. Even if Spain is al
lowed to retain most of those islands
she will probably be required to in
stitute such fiscal reforms as will sub
ject her manufactured products to a
formidable if not a destructive compe-
tition. Already her industries are pretty
thoroughly Frustrated and there Is small
chance of n general revival If they are
to have little or nothing more than the
home market. Spanish manufacturers
cannot successfully compete in the
worlds markets with the manufacturers
of other nations whose Industrial meth.
DDS are more advanced. Thus they will
be shut out of Cuba and Porto Rice
and probably most of the Philippines
with no chance of making up for this
loss elsewhere.
lndustrially and commercially, there
fore, the outlook for Spain Is anything
but promising. She cannot hope to at
tain in future the place she has hereto
fore occupied among commercial ma
tons. Her military prestige, too, has
been damaged probably beyond repair
The bravery of Spanish soldiers anc
sailors will not be questioned, but tina
is all that can be said of them. SpaiI
will perhaps in time rebuild her navy
but in future it will be neither re
spected nor feared. AS to her army, il
those who govern be wise they vii
reduce it to the lowest point compatible
with the maintenance of peace at home
thereby curtailing Il source of expens,
and corruption by which the Spanisl
people have been mercilessly bled. II
the opinion of some Spain will be
gamer by the surrender of Cuba, sine
she will W the large annual outla.
for maintaining n military force in tina
island. From this point of view sh'
would also be n gamer by giving u
the Philippines. But this Is not tn
Spanish view. SPANS greatest presen
danger is n revolution. If she escape
this and profits by the lessons of til
last few months she can certainly i'm
prove her condition, but she will hardl,
! be able eyer To recover the place amonI
the nations she held four months ago.