Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-18
A SPANISH FAMINE
WORST IN HISTORY, ACCORDING
TO MANY REPo--s.

MADRID. September 1.-THE famine in
| Spain is believed to be the worst in the his
tory of the kingdom.
kilograms are arriving from all parts of
Andalusia giving most alarming accounts
o. the disorders arising from the famine.
Great excitement has followed the dispatch
of the troops to Osuna, where anarchy is
reported to prevail.
Starving men and women are roaming
over the country sacking the farms and car
rying Off sheep and cattle.
The weather. families are fiocking into
Seville and Cordova for protection. At
Ecija, Utrera and Carmona the prisons are
crowded. In spite of the efforts Of the
police new bands of hungry peasants have
forced their way into Malaga
The minister of finance has accorded a
credit of $40, 600 for public works in
Andalusia ito relieve the distress of the
peasants, but money Is slow in coming.
meanwhile immense throngs OF emaciated
men and women are encamped in the open
around all of the towns, and at Osuna a
crowd of 1900 strong threaten to storm the
houses Of the richer classes. The pro-
pr1etors, accompanied by deputies of the
province have visited the project of Sc
vile demanding protection. Nearly all of
the sheep are disappearing, and are being
openly sold upon the streets at penny a
pound, for the thieves declare that they
are only too glad to go to prison where
they will have something to eat.
Troops are being sent to every town,
but the project hesitates to issue rigorous
orders in view of the desperate condition
of the peasants.
Appeal to Industries.
The minister of agriculture has issued an
appeal to managers of railways and other
Industrial concerns in Andalusia urging
them to give as much work as possible to
the starving population. He will ask for
still further government credits to relieve
the distress.
A telegram from Malaga states that riots
are occurring at Teba, where the employers
and land owners have suspended the as
sistance they have been giving to the in
habitants.
According to one estimate there are 2OO,-
coo men out of work in Andalusia alone, and
$10,O 100000 will not be sufficient to relieve
the terrible situation caused by the famine
Blame is laid upon the government, which
for centuries has neglected the agricultural
inhabitants Of the provinces. The intense
drought this year has brought things to a
crisis.
Meanwhile an attempt Is being made to
relieve the distress by an abundant distri-
button of victuals. The archbishop Of Sc
vile has opened public subscription list.
Reports from ARGOS state that the work
less inhabitants have reached such state
of debility that they are unable to masti-
cate the bread which is charitably sent to
them. AS far as possible they are being
kept alive with beef tea and wine.
Three thousand people belonging to the
villages of Casarobonela, Junquera, Pizara
and Alozaina have made a piteous appeal to
the government for food. The local treas
uries are exhausted and no more assistance
can be given by the authorities.
Riots in Towns.
The town of Trebujena is in a state of riot
owing to the construction of highway hav-
ing been discontinued and hundreds of men
thrown out of work.
In Bujalance, near Cordova, the principal
square is filled all day with starving people,
who lie in the sun and look like living skele-
tons The town council is at the end of its
resources and Is in three months debt to
its employees. No grant has yet been made
at this particular place by the government.
In many places both cows and goats are
failing to give milk for want of food.
Throughout the former fertile valley of
Andalusia children are living on fir cones
and the fruit Of the wild cactus. The jails
are crowded with persons who have COM
mtted no offense, but who have given them
selves up to the police on the pretense OF
having committed crime in order to get
shelter and food. Hunger riots are of daily
occurrence. 1t is impossible to maintain or
der because of the governments inactlon
It is reported that some soup kitchens have
finally been opened In the worst-stricken
villages. The cause of this extreme condi-
ton is due to the fact that not drop OF
rain has fallen in many of the provinces
since March. There has been no work Tor
the laboring peasant because of the extreme
drought. 1t is feared that the winter months
during the coming season will be PERIODS OF
great suffering from lack of work and food
The peasant of the interior plateau, living
upon the rocks, defes hardships He scorns
the voluptuousness of the mild, soft re-
gions below. Ill clad. with tattered gar
ments fiuttering in the biting cold wind,
men, women and children present stern
face to their lot. Their stoicism Is. only
equaled by that of the rock upon which
they toll. They are lean-visaged, with COM
plexions like leather. They go about their
work as though centuries of toll weigh
heavily upon them. Even the beautiful
black haired Andalusian girls wear mel
ancholy expression that seems unnatural
upon their oval faces.
Adapted to Wheat Growing.
It is said that the country of Spain is es-
pecially well adapted to the growing OF
wheat If the government would only irri-
gate the land in the wheat-growing regions
It would not be necessary to buy wheat
from beyond the borders. In 1908 there
was comparatively no rain. The recent
bread riots are the result of the drought.
Irrigation would not be difficult, for the riv-
ers swollen by the melting of the SHOWS
from the mountain ranges flow full Thanked
throughout the dry season. The droughts
deprive the laborers of the opportunity to
earn even the small wages to which they
are accustomed, less than GO cents day.
The suffering of the Spanish peasantry
was never greater than 1t is today. though
there has been something Of an agricultural
and industrial development during the
years that have followed the Spanish
American war The loss of the colonies
was not blessing to all Spain. The COM
merce of Barcelona and Cadiz, the prosper
ity of Catalan manufacturers of Andalu-
sian wine growers suffered when the mar
ket In which Spanish producers possessed
monopoly was cut OFF. In some ways the
results Of the Spanish-American war may
have been beneficial to Spain; in other re-
spects Spanish commerce has been dam
aged But these things. taken in connec-
ton with the great droughts. make the
condition Of the Spanish people at the pres
ent time anything except pleasant and COM
Portable.
A Certificate Of Merit.
recommendation that a certificate Of
merit be Issued to First Sergeant McDon-
aid, nth Company, Coast Artillery, for