The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-23
CROWN OF KING
CARLOS At STAKE
Republicans of Portugal Busy
Planning Overthrow of the
House of Braganza.
MARTIAL LAW AT PRESENT
DICTATOR USING POWER TO
FULL EXTENT.

LiSDOn, Dec. ZZ.-Ihe result OF the pres
ent political crisis here may not only de
termine whether new and better order
of public administration is to prevail in
Portugal. but remote as such a change
appears to the ordinary observer. wheth-
er the whole monarchical regime shall
not give way to a republican form Of
government. The Republicans. small as
IS the influence they exercise at present
under the restricted suffrage which the
people enjoy. believe that Franco. by ex-
posing the practices of the mOnarchist
parties, has administered a blow to the
prestige OF the king and the monarchy
from which il can never recover, and
made republic near possibility
Plans of Republicans.
Certainly Franco by his revelations has
placed powerful weapons in the hands
of the Republican leaders, which they in
conjure with they have Frances own
avowal that the country for years has
been the football of the mOnarchist par
ties. with the sole object of distributing
.-graft to their clients, the scandal of the
advances made surreptiuOusly from
the public treasury TO the royal family,
the arbitrary manner in which these ad-
vances have been 'liquidated" by de-
cree, and lastly. the alleged repression"
of the Dictatorship Their plan is to
push the issue as soon as the restora-
ton OF LEGALITY permits them TO open
a campaign in the newspapers, and later.
when the cOrtes again assemblies, to play
their trump card.
Will Demand Abdication.
This will be nothing else than a slodon
10 impeach Franco for his action in
"liquidating' the kings debts to the
treasury. and as logical corOllary there
of to demand the abdication of King
Carlos for abetting this crime under
a pfaHEp n
which compels the abdication of the mon
arch when he is adjudged morally in
capable Of governing.
The opinion of conservative foreigners
who have resided long IN the country is
that outside of the capital and OpOrto
the masses will remain absolutely indif-
ferent to the mutations of politics until
a system of general education awakens
their conscienceS TO a demand for broad
er political rights.
Dictator Powerful.
The fate of JoaO Franco the dictator.
who as a n0narchist processes to be
seeking the political and financial regeH-
Grafton of the country, win be well worth
watching. Franco is a man of 80, and
practically his whole life has been spent
In politics Regenerator and progress
sionist by turn, he headed a split from
each of the old parties and previous TO
his present accession to power was a
member of two cabinets. When ne began
his present war against the old parties
as the leader OF WHAT ne Calieu new
Liberal PrOgressist'' party, he made
public proclamation of his confession
and repentance" 'for his political past"
His charges against the old parties and
assumption OF the dictatorship turned
the hands of the politicians of every
shade OF opinion against him.
Feared and. Hated.
The old parties fear and hate him. the
Republicans joining IN the demonstration
because he has arbitrarily stopped their
agitation. The only thing his enemies do
not reproach him with is a desire to line
his own pockets His wealth excludes
such motive and as this motive seems
10 have been the end and aim Of things
political in Portugal for years its alb
sence TO the politicians is the most mys-
tifying feature OF the dictatorship.
Bankers and business men regard the
situation from a financial standpoint as
being much more critical than from po-
liticai point of view Since the bank
ruptcy'f of 1880 when the foreign debt
was scaled one-half. there have been
constant succession of deficits accom-
panied, the bankers say, By a most de-
T1ICrq HE system Of finance