Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-15

tics. These are under the immediate con-
troll of the governors or district judiciaries
The influence of the cacique is immense
for 1t is quite well understood that he is
acting for the central gov
Cacique's eminent and this lends
1,arS him Importance. Re
fleet" said a member of
the centric to the correspondent, "the
cacique is the dispenser of the favors OF
government and at the same time he car
ries with him administrative lightning.
The public sees in him the master of the
ayuntamientos and also of the 'Junta de
Censo' or council of the assessors of COM
munal taxes-taxes which, 1t should be
remarked, may be increased or decreased,
according to the pleasure and interest or
the cacique.'
The caciaue, besides is the medium of
governmental favors. He it is who makes
suggestions and recommendations to the
ministry. and one among these favors is
the recommendation for the pardon OF
prisoners. These attributes render the
cacique's power almost irresistible. To
such a medium is due the facility with
which every Spanish minister obtains to
order a parliament after his own image.
Solidarism is a united revolt against
the cacfque and the abuses he repre-
sents Solidarists hope to kill caciquism
a social and political plague to Spain.
They have adopted as rallying cries:
Death to the cacique! Death to
caciquism!"
In order to render the work effective
solidarists have organized reunions
among the peasants Sunday afternoons.
These reunions which the "centro-soli-
dario" have entitled preaching round"
in which the caciaue Is discussed grave
ly and humorous!y. are attended by
great crowds. The idea has been to en-
graft upon the peasant an idea of a
higher moral standard. More than sixty
thousand have been given the good
word" in the province of Galicia, pam
phlets were distributed precisely as at
the religious revivals in England, and
the change in public sentiment is mark
ed. As a result of that campaign more
than $4,000 peasants enrolled themselves
in the local leagues against the caciques.
The solidarists evlnce absolute indie
pendence Of parties, and the correspond
ent. who is liberal
Partisan republican himself,
rnda,anda,o. expresses surprise
that the Spanish
peasant should manifest little, if any,
sympathy for republicanism which he
thinks should specially attract him. On
the contrary, he confesses that the peas
ant is farther away from the repub-
lican than from the conservative. NJ
Maura, the prime minister now In pow
er, nevertheless favors the solidarists
more than NJ Moret or NJ. Canalejas and
others in the cortes and on the press
The correspondent recalls the services
which the French revolution rendered
Spain in enabling that country to free
itself from royal absolutism and theoc-
racy He canfesses that the solidarists
are real democrats in opposing the prin-
ciples OF Capitalization and that they
do not desire to build the city of their
inspiration except upon transformed
public sentiment
The Temps correspondent nevertheless
is not wholly sympathetic. because in APP
pearance he would have the Solidarist
turn against the ecclesiastics who many
years ago immured thousands in cells or
burned at the stake those who attempted
to exercise freedom of thought or express
sion. The correspondent writes as If the
ecclesiastics of these days were commit
ting these same acts, for he declares
that 1t Is because Of such things that
wrinkles have been left upon the Spanish
race'-that Is to say. that even the soli-
darist is incapable of rising to the height
correspondent Is scarcely logical or just.
He has witnessed the attack of French
republican radicals upon the church, and
1t must be the disastrous results of such
aggression which car1se him to cite with
apparent sympathy what French repub-
lican of distinction said the other day in
criticising the acts of his party:
How beautiful was our republic in the
days of the empire!"