Omaha daily bee., 1907-05-12
ORGANIZATION Of PR:IENDERs PART

MADRID. May DISQUALIFICATION
has the birth of a child to the royal house
Of Spain been awaited with greater anxiety
than At the palace in Venice, where dwells
Don Carries the pretender to the Spanish
throne and the birth of a son has caused
disappointment
In order to make clear the exact position
OF the Spanish succession and TO understand
the situation of Don Carlos. close study
Of the more modern historical developments
OF Spain Is necessary When King Carlos
" died he left two sons, Ferdinand and
carlos Ferdinand succeeded to the throne.
His nrst two marriages we're childless, but
his third union, with Donna Maria Chris
tina, resulted in the birth OF daughter,
Donna Isabella. As however, the Salic
law forbidding the succession Of women
prevailed in Spain, she could not succeed,
and the heir to King Ferdinand was his
brother, Carlos The members of the court
party, however were bitterly opposed to
Don Carlos and they managed to get
King Ferdinand TO abolish the Salic law
by royal decree, thereby allowing his
daughter Isabella to become queen. When
Isabella finally did succeed, Carlos entered
O protest based on constitutional grounds,
but as he was a man OF indolent character
and utterly wanting in energy, he at first
did nothing more than TO enter the protest
A few years later an attempt to secure his
throne by force Of arms was failure
end on his death his son took up the
struggle and managed to keep little life
in tho Carllst party.
When ON account of her improper life
Isabella, who by this time had a son, AL
fonso, was driven from the throne, the
short-Ilved Spanish republic came into be-
ing. with the assassination OF the presi-
dent, General Prirn the republic came to
sa end and Prince Amadeus of Aosta, an
Italian prince was elected king In spite OF
the protests of Don Carlos. He soon tired
of governing such a turbulent Kingdom
nbdicated and returned TO italy. II was
then that the present Carlist pretender
came prominently to the front. He en-
tarSd Q vigorous protest against the sue
SeasAon Of Don Alfonso and followed this
up By calling his pug-tisans to arms, and In
1879 began the Carlist war which drenched
spain nth LSood.
nOn Carlos Loses.
After varying fortunes Don Carlos lost
the struggle and crossed the French from
tier with the wrecks OF his army. Since
a favorable opportunity for renewing the
struggle for his rights.
This serves to make clear the position Of
Don Carlos He and his supporters say
that his great-unole King Ferdinand per-
formed a mere coup d'etat in abolishing the
salic law; that the rights Of the brother
OF King Ferdinand were clear and abso-
lute under the law, and that King Alfonso
XIII Is a usurper sitting on throne to
which he has no right.
From a strictly technical point OF view
not only is Don Carlos the legitimate heir
TO the throne of Spain, but he is undoubt-
edly the hedr to the throne OF France as
well. II was for this reason that he was
expelled from French territory by the gov
ernrnent OF the republic. n he should even
set foot in France he would instantly be
arrested. A small but highly aristorcratlo
Marty exists in France, known as the
''Blancs d'Espagne" with the aim Of plac-
ing Don Carlos ON the throne of France.
In fact, these French Cariists are more
Cariist than the Spanish Carltsts them
selves and they are very anxious to see
Don Carlos get the throne of Spain as
steoping-stone to the throne Of France.
II is for this reason that the French re-
publican government has always favored
the Aifonsist party in Spain. Indeed,
was the action Of the French government
which caused Don Carlos to lose the last
,arlist war In 1s73 Don Carlos army had
the Alfonsist troops at their mercy, stra-
tsgioaliy for the latter had their backs to
the French frontier and were cut on from
the interior OF Spain, With the connivance
a the French government the Afonsst
army crossed the frontier into France, Sc
cured provisions and ammunition from the
French arsenal at Bayonne, and then
marched back to Spanish territory attack
ing the Carlists from the rear. This ac-
ton OF the French government was, Of
course. unexpected and could never have
been foreseen by the Carlists The sur
prise was complete and the wreck OF the
army OF the pretender was eventually
driven on French territory near Biarritz,
and. OF course receiving not the slightest
encourasemant from the French people or
the French government. was forced to dis
band
Denomination of CaFifsts.
Don Carlos chartered a special train hur-
ried 20 Calais and crossed over to London.
IT is amusing fact that he never paid
the $500 which thai train cost and the
item appears year after year in the French
budget az a debt TO be recovered
The head OF the Carlist party IN France
at the present time is the comte de Maille
D One OF the leading spirits was the late
Marquis de Chauvelin. The organization
IN Paris with which men OF this type
affiliated was known as "the head center"
The way II was worked was as follows:
There is. say, group Of twenty carlists
rhey owe obedience and receive instruction
from a leader. Twenty such leaders re-
reive orders from a man belonging to the
Inner circle and this man in his turn re-
ee,ves instructions from the head center 80
None OF the rank and hle know anyone
except the heads OF their respective groups
The members Of the group do not OF neces-
Hty know each other: they may occasion
ally act together for some special service
but the only man who needs 10 know the
NINA and adAraaa o. ench OF fhn ror..,r.