New-York tribune., 1902-05-20
THE CATALAN PROVINCES.
ACROSS THE FRENCH FRONTIER, BUT
NOT IN IN-BARCELONA'S HOME
RULE MOVEMENT-THE FORCE
OF BOURBON HABITS.

OF BOURBON HABITS.
Barcelona, May ).
When the French frontier is crossed at the
Mediterranean edge of the Pyrenees. the map
in large letters calls for Spain; but it is il
lusion. An hour may be wasted at Port BOu
in the examination of travellers baggage by
suspicious officials. and trains may be changed;
but. while France has been left behind-indus-
trious frugal we'll kept rural France, which is
more picturesque and more interesting than
urban France-Spain has not been reached.
Avignon, with its Romanesque Cathedral and
abandoned Papal palace on a windswept hill;
Nismes, with it's ancient amphitheatre; Mar
bonne, with its medieval ruins, and Perpignan.
with its fortress. have been passed in turn; and
westward there is far away glimpse of the
snowcaps of the PyIenees; yet the traveller has
not entered Spain. but the border provinces Of
Catalonia realm where Provence dialect is
spoken with a Romanesque burr. and where
every has Iberian blood in his veins and
ardor for work which is neither Castilian
nor Andalusian The train crawls through pict-
uresque ravines and trundles heavily across
broad. fertile plains and there is ample time
for observing the aloe hedges. the whirling
water wheels. the quaint stone towers. with
openings for bells. and the fourishing factory
been passed there is a glimpse of the billowy
plain of Barcelona with it's scores of manufact-
uring villages. it's tall chimneys, it's we'll kept
FARMS its luxurious country houses and it's
semi-tropical verdure. This is not indolent. stag
nant Spain. with moss walls and cobwebs in
grimy churches 1t is busy. bustling. wide
awake and prosperous corner of the European
working world.
Barcelona may have a bad reputation for labor
strikes and street riots. but II is full of fascina-
tion and charm for faded tourist The Rambla
is one of the most interesting thoroughfares on
the Continent. and on either side there
row lanes and picturesque corners. The boule
ward runs from the harbor three-quaEers of
mile to the Plaza de Catalina and all the way
it is ornamented rather than shaded by double
row OF plane trees. The thorougbfare is crowd
ed night and day with bustling good humored
throngs. Early in the morning there are scores
OF flower stalls in the central section, and not
far away there is a bird market. with screaming
parrots and tropical plumageS and in the central
market. where the pulse of we'll conditioned.
healthy town can be felt, there is the movement
of sustained traffic. When the day is done there
is brilliant night life like that Of Paris The
broad roadway is thronged with merry strollers
the cafes are sparkling with lights. and snatches
of song heard at every turn. Barcelona
with it's spindles. is the Manchester Of SPAIN
and. with its iron works. il is Iberian Bir-
mingham; and while IL is pre-eminently work.
Ing town. fits populace loves music. is light
hearted and has genuine French vivacity. II
is not Spanish. either In its industry and thrift
or in its animation and cheerfuness. II is a
European hive Of workers. with a respect for
labor and earnestness of life which are not
characteristic OF the indolent. carnival loving
Andalusians and Castilians.
The Catalans themselves markedly clan
nIsh and sensitive to invasion OF their rights
and privileges as a border race Of composite
stock. Spain Is in their sight a foreign coun-
try whose yoke is CALLING and irritating.
Castilian is a foreign language. which they dis
dain TO learn substitute for their own pro-
vencal tongue They unfurI their own provin-
ciaI flag festival days and scowl when the
officials sent from Madrid to govern them and
10 collect taxes their prosperity raise the red
and gold colors OF Spain. They speak of the mail
from CASTLE as foreign mall and whenever
they take train for Madrid they assert that
they going 10 Spain. They have the
sciousness OF superiority based upon skilled la
Dor, unceasing industry and material wealth:
and they despise the indolent AndaIusians and
the Ceremonious Castilians as aliens who have
no natural right 10 govern them and TO over
whelm them with taxation. They, have home
rule cause which is dear to their hearts 1t
COlors their political agitatOns. and embt-
ters their Ia bOr movements. What they are hop
ing for is the full measure Of local autonomy.
which the Basque Provinces enjoyed in their
hest estate before their privileges were Curtaied
in consequence OF Carlist uprisings. Some OF
the extremists go further and demand independ-
ence: but moderate know that separation
would cut them of from the only market where
their manufactures be sold. and are content
with suggesting the abolition of military con-
scrption and the restoration of the oldtime
fueros. with the financial administration of the
four Catalan provinces in their own hands.
Among the animated takers in the brilliantly
lighted cafes there are Separatsts, Autonomsts,
Independents. Socialists and Anarchists but
they all bound together by clannsh Catalan
feeling and an invincible antagonsm TO Cas-
tilian official Spain.
When the force of this undercurrent is UNDER
stood the swirl and eddies on the surface cease
to be mysterious. The general labor strike of
last February. followed by street rioting and
volleys fired by the soldiery into crowds of
lOungers. is intelligible when il is known that
Catalans always ready to emphasize their
demands for home rule by any convenient form
of demonstration. Anarchists had less to do
with the instgation of the strikes and riots than
was generally supposed at the time of the un-
fortunate outbreak. The steel workers were out |
for some grievance OF their own and a sympa-
thetlc strike was ordered In other trades: but
labor is not organized in Catalonia as it is in |
either Belgium or in England, and the general
movement could not have been controlled by
socialists if there had not been political un-
rest in the provinces. The men are all at work
again and the town is quiet and orderly. without
an exceptional concentration of troops in bar