Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-08-02
THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN.
Xu-THE PLAZA DE TOROS..
By Frederic J.Haskin.

The bull fight has been for so long the
sport Of Spain that countless
persons who condemn II believe II to be
a form Of brutality native to the soil and
symptomatic Of the savasery that lies
beneath the skin-deep manner" for
which the Spaniards OF the upper classes
are noted As q matter OF fact. bull
fights were popular In Greece and Rome
when the wild tribes Of the Iberian PEN
insula knew nothing OF such entertain
ments. 1t has survived in Spain be-
cause the Spanish still retain the ideas
and ideals Of the middle ages.
1t was because Of the Moorish invasion
that Spain learned to revel In the bloody
spectacle. If Tarik and Musa had not
come over from Mauretania to conquer
the luxury softened Cloths and appropri-
ate to their own uses the fertile fields Of
rair Andalusis the cities Of Madrid and
Mexico might never have seen the es-
pada dispatch q bull. Bull-baiting was
once popular In virtuous England. and It
was much more brutal. much less pic
turesque than the bullfight of the pres
ent time In Spain. And the English did
not attain sufficient civilization to aban-
don bulhbaiting until the time of George
". The more sportsmanlike form OF
indefensible brutality. coming from the
death OF the British sport, and the Brit.
ish, now much more highly civilized
than the Spanish, look down upon the
continuance of cruelty to animals as an
approved national pastime.
The bulls are turned into the arena
called the Plaza de Toros, with pomp
and ceremony. They are first worried
by picadores on horses. whose weapons
are lances put to ignoble uses, but rem
iniscent Of the days of chivalry. when
Of the blood OF helpless bulls and hap
less horses. and sometimes that of a
miserable rufi1an engaged in the sport,
has been shed, the chulos, men on foot
rassment. and a third crowd Of beasts
upon two legs attack the quadruped with
barbed darts. fireworks and flags. These
are the banderilleros. In America IL one
man should commit the atrocities for
which the banderilleros are employed
known as the 8. P. c. A. would see him
to the nearest jail and provide witnesses
against him In court In Spain the ban
derillero is the thick-necked lover Of
women Of the Carmen type to whose ami
malism his animalism appeals
But the hero Of heroes is the man who
gives the coup de grace" to the har-
ried animal In
Real Hero Gives the last act Of
"Coup de Grace" P PIE Is appropri-
ateIy clothed in black, his costume max
ing a striking contrast with the gay
trappings of the former classes OF brutes.
and symbolizing his mission OF murder
" Ell fcp gvnrd
and a large red flag or muleta. mounted
on short stick. The science or Dull
murder is to sheathe the sword to the
hilt in the body of the animal at the
juncture Of the neck and spinal column.
roar Of appreciation goes up from the
throng of accessories before the fact
when the principal in the crime does his
work gracefully. Teams OF mules drag
the carcasses from the bloody ring. and
the American spectator leaves the Plaza
de Toros feeling that If more Spaniards
and fewer bulls were killed the sport
might be more endurable.
A Spanish writer who Is strangely
lacking in the saving grace OF humor
says that the bull fight of Spain Is
unique and glorious institution. The love
of bulls is inherent in man, especially
the Spaniard, says this authority, and
this glorious people have had bull fights
since bulls were discovered, because the
Spanish race is infinitely Drawer than
any other, and delights in meeting on
equal terms the Spanish bull, the most
savage Of all beasts. The writer. who
believes that the sport originated IN
Spain, is ignorant Of its history. but he
cannot be ignorant of It's brutality and OF
the untruthfulness Of his statement that
it requires great bravery to attack a bull.
The spectacle is an exhibition OF the
triumph of mind and cutlery over mat
ter and horns. The ratio OF fatalities
to fghts-fatalities among picadors,
chulos, matadors and banderilleros-is
small An American foot ball player is
more courageous and more exposed to
danger than a Spanish bull fighter.
The upper classes in Spain-which
means the enlightened classes In coun-
try where the masses are not enlighten-
ed-have read SO much criticism OF the
national sport that some Of them have
withdrawn their patronage, but they are
in a minority even among their class.
The travelled Spaniard Is more likely to
discountenance the sport than the stay
at-home. His attitude illustrates the
Shakespeareean assertion Wiser Is the
child that goes to Rome" But children
play at bull fighting In the street. The
nation Is bred upon 1t. The smell OF
blood is ''eau de vie" to the urchin. 1t
intoxicates the failing old man. quick
ems the pulses OF the low-born peasant
girl, and does not nauseate the lady OF
high degree.
Tho plaza de Toros has not been ponli-