The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-11-27
THE FERRER INCIDENT.

When the Chicago Haymarket rioters we're
taken out and hanged, there was a sigh of relief
went up all over the country, with here and there
an anarchist meeting in which the red flag was
waved and shouts went up, 'Iong live Spies Long
live Parsonsl Long live anarchy"
When Francisco Ferrer, the Spanish anarchist
was taken out and shot, from all parts of the coun
try went up cry at the wickedness of the Spanish
government, which would permit one of its great
est educators and most worthy citizens to be put
death In France the incident was seized upon by
the socialists and anarchists as an excuse for vo-
lent demonstrations against the government, and
rioting in which number lost their lives. In Eng
land the evangelical nonconformsts were the loud
est in their denunciation of the Ferrer execution,
while in the United States the anti Catholics and
Psychologists" seemed to have furnished the most
of the resolutions. No doubt as fuller and more
complete reports of the life of Ferrer sft through
many Of the people who joined in denouncing the
Spanish government and the Catholic church are
just little ashamed of themselves now, and they
would probably recall their resolutions of censure
if it were possible The ease with which an agita-
ton can be started against the Catholic church
with sometimes no semblance of truth or facts to
back the agitation, only to show the real rea-
son which lies behind the Ferrer demonstrations
The fact that Ferrer was executed was sufficient
to stir up the Psychologists" in the interests of hu-
manity" without the slightest knowledge as to who
Ferrer really was. A correspondent of the New
York Evening Post tells few of the things in Fer
rers life which should give cause for thoughtful
ness. The correspondent says
Francisco Ferrer was self-educated which was
~ ia
igent people distrustful of him as far-reachinp
thinker His first public appearance was about
twenty years ago as a teacher of Spanish in Paris
He had wife and two little daughters His wife
found cause to leave him, taking the children with
her, and they have been brought ND without his helm
One of them is widowed working woman, with two
little children, The other is an actress.
About the time his wife left him, Ferrer became
Intimate with unmarried French woman Of for
tune, who on her death left him $4,000. Her ex-
ecutor and the notary who drew her will state that
the object OF the bequest to found an orphanage
IN Barcelona, but that the testator not having ex
pressed this intention in her will but onlv in nr;
vate letters to Ferrer it was not possible to roa-
cute the latter for breach of trust in us;no +ba
money to subsidize anarchist schools and to circu-
late anarchist literature
Ferrer was not tried for being an anarchist or
for teaching anarchy. He was tried and condemned
Tor overt acts IN connection with the Barcelona in
surrection, in which 1873 persons were murdered nv
the insurgents. He was not tried by the civil
courts, but by military tribunal because under the
law OF Spain where a state of Instruction is for
maly declared to exist, the civil courts are auto
matlcaly closed and the military courts take their
place This may not be right law, according to our
ideas, but it is the law of Spain.
King Alfonso had no opportunity to pardon Fer
rer. He could not legally do SO under the Spanish
constitution without the approval of the responsible
minister This approval and the papers, Premier
Maura saw fit to withhold
Mr.. Maura did with the king what Mr.. Stanton
did with President Johnson in the case of Mrs SIR
raft. The only difference was that Mr.. Maura did
not exceed his constitutional powers in So doinr
while Mr. Stanton exercised an arbitrary discro+;o
In view of these facts, how silly do those Ar,or-
leans look, who, though neither socialists nor on
arehlsts, persist in prasing as MARTYR nrofes.od
athest' whose rule of life was "No government NJ
goa! Down with these humbugsi"