The evening times., 1898-08-27
PRRl11ER sAaAsrA.
The Willy Old Fog We Must Meet ON
the DiploSatie Field

America had little trouble, compared
with the trouble Of taking care Of her
soldiers, in defeating Spain on the field
of battle; but there is a general opinion
that in diplomacy. Spain is a more diff
cult enemy to handle. This description
of the most accomplished Of her dipIo-
mats is from the London Sun:
"Sagas:a, the present Spanish prime
minister. is a stifiy built. frog-faced
man, with strong jaw. wide, insin-
cere smile. and black. filmy eyes. as of
word. the expansive manner. and the ex-
uberant gesture Of the South. There is
one charge which his most embittered
enemies dare not bring against him
that of cowardice. His convictions may
be centered upon himself, but most en-
Phatically he has the. courage Of them.
Over and above his vast as;uteness of
thought, he is a man of action. II
for many years tie has proven himself
as supple as serpent, his earlier history
showed him to be as brave as lion. He
fought against O'Donnelr in the streets
of Madrid in 1856 at the head Of a regi
ment of militia.
Before that, as al lad of eighteen.
when student at the College of Engin-
GERS at Logrono, his, native place. he
hesitated not to Withstand the behests
OF the dreaded NervaeZ Whenever the
time came for fighting ne was ready to
take his share, yet. without impeaching
that undeniable physical pluck of which
he has given many proofs, II Is not sur
prising TO find that he made it his first
I.t.., III ~ frl.
being unnecessarily killed. Hence in the
Summer of 1866. while many of his col
leagues stuck to their barricades In the
streets of Madrid and were massacred.
Sagasta underwent the much more con-
venient fate Of being condemned to the
uncomfortable death of the garrote-in
his absence.
'Thenceforward, for two years, London,
Paris and Ostend were the centers of his
activity, and If walls could speak GER
tain restaurant of Bishopsgate Street
could tell some strange stories. He en-
gineered the revolution of 1896 and drove
Isabella ii from the throne, and this time
fortune favored him. When Topete and
the fleet had been won over and most of
the army was squared the signal was
given. Sagasta and Gorilla (as pure a pa
triot as ever lived, but too homes; and
consistent TO be successful modern
Spanish politiciaD, with Prim as a SER
want in livery, sailed under assumed
names in the steamer Delta. from London
to Gibraltar. early in the September of
thirty years ago.
u cannot be surprised at our American
cousins loathing the very name of Sagas-
Ia with the keenest of hatred-second only
TO that of Gen. Weyler. Ii was because Of
his direct action in 1873 that the Infamous
Gcn. Burrill shot eight Americans in one
day, and four days afterward shot Can't.
Fry. Gen. Ryan and fifty-eight more. In
deed. OF all the prime ministers that Spain
mas ever had. Sagasta has been the most
merciless and unreliable He is a Talley-
rand-Bismarck, with strong flavor of
Torquemada
Even now the old mans astounding
good luck may be depended upon TO bring
MIN to the surface again. although he has
Just exceeded mans allotted span. But
there is more patient and logged enemy
than the paltry politicians who are IN
opposition TO Sagasta. This Is no less a
person than Gen. Weyler himself. The
TWO men have clashed for years, and
when Sagasta dismissed his enemy and
put Blanco in his place as captain gen.
eral OF Cuba he made a most unwise
move for his own interest and for the
peace of his closing years. Weyler has
too much of the slow-moving Dutch
blood of his father to act without dis
cretion. So he watches and waits"