Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-06

i1szTEzdfSFsN HE spirit OF Intolerance lS tne
w. NI chief cause of the troubles
~ ANNl of Spain. Francisco Ferrer
IM @ was intolerant when, in ad-
Ia WMl vocating the modern school,
kssg he declared that ''all religions
are based on ignorance and
imposture and aim at exploitation and
oppression" The clerical party IN
Spain was intolerant when 1t bounded
Ferrer to a felon's death, despite even
the pleas of the Vatican. Today Is
the one hundred and twenty-sixth an
nIversary OF the last public burning
of a hereto under the Spanish lnqulsl-
ton. And yet Spain still finds itself
In deeper polltico-religious disorder
than any other nation in Christendom
From the day when the Moors and the
Christians were sworn enemies eacn VI
the other, hating with that sincere
hatred which is satisfied with notiiins
less than the absolute extermination
of the object of its hate; from the DAY
when the cross and the crescent were
the emblems of a war to the deatn,
there have been few eras or peace IN
+he Iberian peninsula. Unfortunately
the fanatic intolerance OF the Moorlsh
Mohammedan so impressed itself upon
ihe Spanish Christian that 1t never mas
been eradicated. - e.,
Thera have been a few relgns IN
which some Iberality has been DIS
nIavad. hut these but serve TO einpha-
SIC the long story of intolerant OPP
nression of independent thought FROM @
The time when Averroes, the phlloso
rrer was sentenced to do homage at
The door of the mosque, whlle every
true Mussulman who came theIe ~
pray for his conversion was " SPA sPna -
sar A. COINCIDENCE OF Others Aver
roas ;nfidel that he was, bore ms al"
aiction with the spirit of martyr,
na1,i1g as they spaJ in in ms race
"T ct me die the death or a PnlivSot
Dber Francisco Ferrer with ms la5'
breath shouted: Long 1--we the iio'
ern school,"
,rbrough all the centuries of woe III
cnain the chief authors of cruelty hase
been men who may not be charged WIN WIN
aS,tI irtentions. Under the inqulslIioi.,
many OF the inquisitors were actu'tese
~, tIe most conscientious ana sllceIe I
motives. In their eyes heresy was ths
most heinous of crimes. III eoihplisa ii'sa
all the elaments of crlIne-cli ilile
against self, the-dooming OF an l.lini1, t,,o a
,,,a,a cation OF a doctrine that would
undermine 1t; crime against Goo, ths
misleading of His people. 1t is relalen
that MANY humble and charitaple ipen'
oAlcers of the inquisition, periorheS'
with tears coursing down their cheehs,
acts of cruelty which demons lhCai hes -
could not have surpassed. III ~ oi!y
century and a quarter ago tnat az
nal physical cruelty was abandoned III
the Snsnish effort to regulate the con-
sciences of men. Since that time the
effort has been confined to polltleal
activity SO closely allied have been
church and state that they are nearly
one. and no religious movement may
be made but that 1t affects the state,
and no political move but that II a'iec'S
the church.
Thus on one side of every question
has been arrayed the clerical influence,
absolutely intolerant; and on the other
side the anti-clerical element, equhliy
intolerant, more violent and absolutely
reckless. For the last generation this
struggle has centered In the question OF
public education. Fifty years ago
three fourths of the people or spain
were totally illiterate. In 1857 an elap-
crate system of compulsory primary
education was ordained. This system
never has reached the perfection Of Its
program. The public schools OF SPAIN
now have 100000 pupils, approximate
Iv 10 per cent of the total population,
The public schools of the United states
have l7,000,OOO pupils, or ~ per cent o1
the total population. In the United
states there are also several million
pupils in the parochial schools of the
Roman Catholic church and approx
mately a million in other private
schools In Spain attendance upon all
private schols Is 100000. The city OF
New York expends upon its public
school system annually three times as
much money as is spent upon education
in the entire kingdom of Spain.
The public school system of Spain
Is of course under the influence of
the Catholic church. According to the
American point of view the schools
should be non-sectarian, but even in
this country 1t is insisted that the pub
lie schools shall have some religious
service, such as the reading Of selec-
tlons from the Bible. In Spain the
people are almost uniformly Catholics,
and 1t Is natural that the schools