Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-02
|EXTOLLED As MARTYR
Ferrer Lauded at a Demon
strative Mass Meeting.
HIS DEATH DENOUNCED
Execution Charged to the Bigotry
of Absolutism.
STYLED THE TOLSTOY OF SPAIN
Impassioned Addresses Last Night
at Pythian Temple-Spanish
King to Be Informed.
STYLED THE TOLSTOY OF SPAIN

King Alfonso. or at least the secretary
that receives his mail. will get a letter
before long from Washingtonians who
are wrought up to a high pitch over the
execution of Francisco Farrer. the Spanish
educator and alleged revolutionst.
\ big mass meeting of persons Of nu-
merous treeds and nationaities was held
last night at Pythian Temple tn protest
against the deed and say harsh things
about the King of Spain and the Spanish
government. Resolutions embodying
praise Of the life and methods of Ferrer
and denouncing his execution as murder
were unanimously adopted and ordered
sent to the king himself.
The motion to send the resolutions to
the king came an after thought. First
it was proposed to send them to the
American minister at Madrid, the Arch
bishop of Barcelona and to the Spanish
minister i'm this city.
'Oh. don't send those resolutions up
there" cried one of the men i'm the audi
ence, indicating with a wave of the hand
the locality of the Spanish legation.
Spanish king will never see them. 1
move We mail them to King Alfonso
himself. and let him see with his own
eyes what we think of this brutal muir
der
Cheers greeted the speakers words. and
the motion was carried with d whoop.
An Enthusiastic Audience.
Pythan Temple auditorium was filled
to the doors with an eager: noisy, en-
thusiastic crowd, including many Jews,
Italians and Greeks aud few French
men and Germans.
AS a precautionary measure to prevent
any possible incendiary demonstrations
Capt. Peck of the second precinct. with
his lieutenant, precinct detective and sew
eral other members of his command, was
present throughout the three hours of the
meeting. Nothing OF the extreme order
developed, however, except possibly the
placing on sale of number OF pictures
Of noted agitators and pamphlets on So
cialism and capital by such men as Las
sale. Krapotkin and Marx. The vender
did not do thriving. business and soon
stored his stock away after the first two
or three addresses.
Ten speeches were made of which two
by Thomas f. Will of the forestry service
and William c. Coleman of the Intercon-
tinental Correspondence University
aroused particularly noisy enthusiasm.
Will reviewed the political conditions i'm
Spain leading up to the two arrests of
Ferrer, described the ecclesiastical. in
fluences on the government and drew a
graphic word picture of Ferrers execu-
ton i'm the Barcelona fortress. Mr.. Cole
Of vigorous attack on the Roman Cath
Ollie, Church and its influences on several
governments. notably that of Spain.
Ferrer Extolled as a Martyr.
"Ferrer was, an educator. an author,
publisher" said Mr. VIII. connected
with no party. Gentle as a woman, low
ing peace as Tolstoy, he sought in an il
literate. superstitious land to disseminate
4 of ~
solutism to advocate the republic. In de-
fiance of the scholarship and conscience
OF the world he was brought before a
military court headed by a judge who
had vowed he would have his head sub
mitted to a trial as farcicaI as the one
before PLATE, hurried to his death and
buried like a dog
"Ferrer's schools have been suppressed.
his teachers eXiled. his pupils imprisoned
ard the jails are being filled with those
who have but mentioned his name.
The Leo Tolstoy of Spain.
when they killed Ferrer they killed the
Leo Tolstoy of benighted. pitiful Spain.
"And now that the execution-or rather
MURDERS over and all Europe reverber-
ates with indignation over the affair, let
US condemn, aye. heartily condemn, the
agitation In some quarters that the life OF
the King of Spain be taken as a forfeit.
That old doctrine of a tooth for tooth.
an eye for an eye, has long since passed.
Two evils do not make a right. Rescue
Spain from her present position by edu-
cational means and by those only.
Weep not for Ferrer. Living. his in
fiuence was great: dead. it Is immeasura
BILE Today he is a 'world-power.' His
spirit and work can never die.
Spanish Church Attacked.
After describing Ferrer's lifework as
an educator and his reticence of associat-
ing himself with any political party or So
cial set Mr.. Coleman launched forth into
an attack on the Roman Catholic church