The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-09
A YANKEE IN SPAIN.
ALFONSO XIII OWES HIS THRONE To
JAMES McHENRY. AN AMERICAN.

His BIoodIess RevolutiOn-It Was He
Who Ousted Jay Gould From the
Erie Railroad, and a Little Thing
Like Overturning IA Government
Came Easy.
From the New York Mail and Express.
The Spanish pretender, Don Carlos, is
much incensed by the detection of his
cousin and adherent, the Count OF Ca
serta, whose son married the Infanta
Mercedes the other day. The Count has
lately set up in the pretender business on
his own account, as successor to his broth
er, the late Francis II, ex-KIng of Ma
pies, Jerusalem and few other places.
In old times Carlos and Caserta fought
side by side against the government OF
the family into which the Iatter's son
has now married. Besides Don Carlos
has nice scheme to marry his own son,
Don Jaime de Bourbon, to this Infanta,
who in the event of the death of his sick
ly little brother, Alfonso XIII, would be
Queen of Spain. 1t was a double blow
to the titular King of Spain to see the
ttular King of Naples, etc, etc, snatch
this prize away.
Caserta is unpopular in Spain because
Of his cruelties in the field. The Ma
drilenos, who shout bravo" at Weyler,
shudder when Casertas name is mention
ed. But Weyler only slaughtered Gu
bans, while Carserta shed the blue blood
of old CASTLE, which makes a great diff
ference. Strange as it may seem, Weyler,
to whom is due more than any osher
Spaniard, the loss of Cuba, is actually
popular in Spain, where his boast that
if he had been left in command he would
have swept the Yankees into the sea"
| finds acceptance.
American Made the King.
Few people know that the present King
of Spain owes his throne to an American.
Probably little Alfonso XIII does not
know it himself but it is a fact neverthe-
less. The man was James McHenry,
Spectator and promoter of large enter
prises-a man of extensive experience in
the haute finance, both of Europe and
America. McHenry it was who undertook
and carried to a successful issue the fight
which ousted Jay Gould from the control
of the Erie Railroad in the piping days of
the Wizards boldest enterprise.
McHenry, at that time, was an intimate
| friend of the Duke of Salamanca, who
acted as the financial adviser of Isabella
{ >
vested at McHenry's suggestion in the
Erie properties, and a town in western
New York was named after the Duke
in token of McHenry's regard. 1t was
in this manner that the American be-
came acquainted with the exiled Queen,
and finally induced her to countenance a
bold and original plan for the restor-
alton of her son to the throne.
Isabella had been dethroned in 1865
After her flight from Spain, the govern
ment was administered by "junta" or
generals. who fought among themselves
and made a fine mess of things. In 1870
they decided to import a king, as nobody
wanted Isabella, and she declined to abdi-
cate in favor of Alfonso. Finally, after
Offering the crown to a Prussian prince,
| and involving Napoleon III in the fatal
war with Germany as a consequence, they
| induced a son of Victor Emanuel ofItaly
| to come and reign over them Amadeus
| tried it for three years and then gave it
up as a bad job
Thereupon the generals set up a. repub-
! lie, which was as much like a real re-
public as q monkey is like a steamboat.
| In the meantime Spain had been going to
the bad at a rapid pace. The Carlist pre-
tender was at the head of a formidable
army in full revolt The finances of the
country under the successive tinkerings
and stealngs of various administrations
had fallen into great disorder. Public
credit was exhausted. The foreign bond
| holders could not get their interest and
began TO murmur and clamor for inter-
vention. In short the republic was in
bad repute as Latin republics are apt to
be.
McHenry's Plan.
/ Then came along this American with a