The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-15

and the heads of affairs has been re- moved with a change of ministry But what they call a crisis-that is, the re- sumption of power by the outs-has al- ways made 1t necessary for them 10 find places for a few and sometimes many new men who have acquired influence in the meantime. Thus the numerical strength of. the government has been cen stantly increasing until the different de- partments are now crowded with employ es who have nothing to do but draw their salaries and seldom go to their desks except on pay day. An official in one of the ministries told me the other day that out of total of two thousand peo- pie on the pay roll in his department not more than five hundred were ioing any actual work, while out of thirty two ruen whose names were on the register ih his particular division only seven were regular and punctual in attendance and several he had never seen.
 Mir. Canovas, the conservative leader. and man of great ability, was assassin ated several years ago; MT. Sagasta, the Liberal Republican leader, died four years ago. Thus disappeared the men who have controlled the affairs and the' opinions of Spain for quarter of a cen- tury. MT. Canovas was succeeded by Mir. Silvela, who initiated his predecessor as closely as possible, and remained in pow CT until last July, when he was compell- ed to resign. He has since publicly an- nounced his permanent retirement from politics. He has been succeeded by Mir. Vfllaverde. the present Prime Minister, whose ability and honesty are universally conceded, but he is very unpopular among the active politicians because of his scruples. economical tendencies and businesslike habits. Those who are fa- miliar with Spanish politics predict that the Conservative Party will decline to accept him as its leader. He has been tried in several responsible positions and has made an unimpeachable record. He has been a member of the Cortes from the City of Madrid almost continuously for twenty years; he was Civil Governor of Madrid during terrible cholera cpl demic a few years ago which tested his physical courage and ability. He has been President of the Chamber of Depu- ties, Minister of the Interior and Minis ter of Finance and in each of those po- sitions has made distinct success. Many people consider him the ablest man in Spain today. but he is too honest and too exact to be acceptable to the Conser- vative Party. The politicians say that he H6S UO SyHPdthy WAtH tH0 pOOA DcCduS0 his wife is so rich. She Is a daughter of the Marquis Molans, for many years Am. bassador to France. He was prominent in public affairs duruing the reign of Isa- bella II.
 Senor Maura, an ex-liberal. who has never been accused of the faults that make Villaverde unpopular. is ambitious to be leader of the Conservative Party and is quite likely to be elected, although people who know him well declare that he lacks the ability and other qualiflca- tions to maintain himself very long In that position.
 The Liberal Party is equally at a loss for leader. Since Sagasta's death last spring 1t has been without one and has been badly scattered. When the Cortes meets in a few weeks the members of that party, will hold a caucus for the pur- pose of reorganization and will select a leader. He will probably be the Marquis Vega de ArmJo, who has been in office off and on for many years under Sagasta as Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then President of the Senate. It is expected that when the present cabinet retires the king will call upon him to form a new one. His rival is Mon- tero Rios, a lawyer of Madrid, who has the reputation of being the most eloquent orator in Spain.
 William E. Curtis.