El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-07-22
King Alfonso Of Spain Not
Real Ruler OF Kingdom
Flagran Abuses of Inscriptions Resented
cavse of Apathy of the People

Parliament is run by bossism. The ca
ciques elect the members of the Cortes
and the prominent Spaniards. like
senior 'Maura, who can so eloquentIy
condemn the system in print profit by
1t in their public careers without hesi-
tat1on. The oligarchy at Madrid
reaches its tentacles 70 the remotest
small towns and rural districts to de-
stroy the purity of elections. It's dis
tr1ct representatives are perfectly
drilled and its system is organized IN
manner that leaves nothing to De de-
sired
Little Undertaking Done
The cacique of the small town or pro-
vfnc1al metropolis is usually. like the
political boss in America. a well to do;
or rich, politician. He is often a scion
Of an ancient family. Sometimes he is
nobleman- Again he may owe his
position to native shrewdness. The
self made" political boss is not un-
known in SPAIN A man gifted in in
trigue and untroubled by scruples may
rise from poverty to power. Like the
American boss, he is sometimes a plain
blunt man who makes no speeches and
makes no pretense to craftsmanship but
exercises the function of manIpuIaev.
as quietly as he can, considering the
profits and caring not at all for the
glory of his caciqueship- There is little
muck raking'' in Spain. and the pros
poets of interference by really free
press do not deter the cacique from
gross abuses that the worst American
boss would regard as too strong. to be
put over"
In America the loss of an election by
a political party usually means a cast
ing down and out of the bosses al
though new ones may ride into power
aDOu the cWo1 In in
cacfque is not always removed because
Of change of government. He often
enjoys life tenure. The system mas ira
center and source at Madrid the CAPT.
tai of the entire country. The second
airy centers are the cities that were
regal capitals before the various king
doms were consolidated. From these
the system radiates to the smaller
towns and villages Each cacique IN
supported by the boss higher up and
the line extends from the petty fellow
who fixes local courts in behalf of local
criminals to the great cacique who
stands behind the throne.
Little Party FeaIfy.
Party means much less in Spain
than in Great Britain or America Pol
fticfans switch with amazing rapidfty
and one powerful cacique often deals
with two Or more parties. returning
Is well recognized that plumber is a
more animating motive than party
spirit or principle. and scandals that
would blast an uprising politician In
another country pass unnoticed in
Spain
Succeeding ministries, cacique chosen.
clean house" by removing provincial
governors. chiefs of police. mayors and
other officers and replacing them with
their henchmen without any regard 10
usefulness from the point of view of
the taxpayer Everyone. in office rec
ognizing the mutability of affairs and
expecting dismissal by the next gov
eminent, helps himself as best he can
to the spOils that offer.
DenOuncers OF Boss Rule
Prime ministers and former prime
ministers. educators and publicfsts de-
nounce boss rule But prime ministers
get elected by ii and college pro-
fessors get appointed under it and pub
Ilclsts are muzzled under its influence.
Spain is today the worst bossed coun-
try In Europe if not in the world
Monday: Parties of Protest in Spain