El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-07-29
WAR IS
BLESSING To
SPAIN
Spaniards Glad That They
Got Rid of Cuba and the
Philippines.
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
SHOWS IMPROVEMENT

Madrid Spain. July 29.-The de-
the victory of admiral Dewey at Manila.
and the enactment of the pure food
law by congress are spoken of by many
Spanfards as being favors done to the
Spanish by the United States The re-
suits of the Spanish-American war are
generally held to have been economi-
cally advantageous TO a country that
had been steadily and heavily losing
money in the management, or misman-
agement, of its colonial possessions.
and far-seeing Spaniards are glad that
their country is permanently rid Of the
encumbrances that the proverbial Span
ish honor forced it to hold as long as
possible.
What Cuba Cost.
Dominion over the Cubans is said to
have cost Spain $500 600, 900 in 80 years,
to say nothing of an enormous cost IN
human lives, a cost estimated by
Spanish critic Of his country-at 10000.
While there is no similar estimate of
the disastrous results OF rulership In
the Philippines, the cost of maintaining
their position in the archipelago was
heavy to the Spaniards, and a substan-
tial burden was lifted when the islands
were forever cut from the diminished
territory of the great empire that was
given added wealth and power after the
discovery of America.
A smaller, but material, benefit re-
suited to Spain when the American
pure food law made 1T impossible for
Spanish olives and olive oil to be sold
TO the United States under French and
italian labels. Until recently both
France and Italy made large sums by
handling the products OF Spanish Olive
groves. and the Spaniards lost heay-
lily while supplying the American mar
ket with the best olives that reach it.
AT present the Spanish olives and oil
must enter American points with a
label that tells.
The industrial outlook in Spain has
improved materially during recent
years. and If political conditions do not
operate to interfere with the ex-
>pansion Of industries and the improve
ment of agriculture, the proba bility
is that within the next quarter Of a
century Spain will assume much more
important place as a producing coun-
try than she has had since the begin
ming of the decline of the empire. Span
ish securities are increased In value as
a result Of prompt meeting OF interest
payments on the national debt, and
advantage in exchange there is an i'm
provement as against conditions 10
years ago: There Is an irrigation pro-
ject afoot that aims at relieving the
summer aridity Of large sections Of ag-
ricuitural country, and with irrigation
will come a wider Investigation Of
crops and scientific rotation that will
prevent soil butchery. But agricul-
ture is as yet not showing the ad-
%1o+ l. A.4~ tn
branches of industry.
Several SBoom Towns"
There are now several boom towns
in Spain that are being compared with
progressive American cities. The chief
of these is the industrial capital, Bar
celona, the metropolis Of Catalonia. a
hustling modern city devoid of the 10
cal color" delighted in by novelists and
playwrights who picture the Spaniards
as being more intent upon getting their
siesta in the afternoon than In getting
on in the world on the morrow. Cat
alonia has been an Independent and
somewhat rebellious province since the
earliest history of Spain and was re-
corded by the old "chroniclers" It's
language is not Spanish, but Catalan.
It's ideas and ideals are the ideas and
ideals of Catalonia, and not of Spain. 1t
advocates local self government as
holly as 1t advocated 1t centuries be- /
fore the consolidation of the Spanish
Kingdoms under the Catholic kings
after the fall of Granada It's orators
and newspapers are fire eaters. But If
it seeths politically, 1t hustles indus
trialIy.
Big Customs Receipts.
Barcelona's custom houses handle
one-fourth of the foreign trade of
Spain. It's modern streets and modern
buildings are as different from the
streets and buildings of Seville and
other old fashioned Spanish cities as
those of the best laid out city In the
American middle west are from the
quaintest village in the oldest part Of
New England. The city is as large as
St. Louis and the adjacent towns that
may be included in a Greater BARGE
Iona" would give it at least 1,000,00
A civic beauty propaganda
is engaging the attention of the Gaia
Ian metropolis and It is proposed to
do for it what baron Haussman did for
Paris and Pierre L Enfant did for
Washington.
Barcelona has been called the Chi
cago Of Spain by disappointed tour
lists who expected to find It "typically
Spanish" but its business men do not I
resent the appellation. If the traveller
Is looking for. quaint old cities with
Moorish palaces and Gothic cathedrals, |
the country has enough of them to oc-
cupy his time as long as he wishes to |
stay. Catalonian Chicago has other !
and more practical aims. 1t proposes
to eclipse the fairly modern and fairly |
Tive" city of Madrid as an important
center Of population. and cares not at |
all that Seville and Madrid have Muril- |
10 paintings to show to the foreigner
while it has nothing more interesting
than factories and mercantile houses
and a deep water harbor entered by |
1000 ships every year.
Manufacturing Cotton.
Barcelona's chief manufacturing in
dustry is cotton but its wooden facto-
ries run zoo, 900 spindles and the paper |
and linen industries are of great and |
increasing Importance. Through Bars
celona passes about s10.000.oo0 worth !
of cork gathered in the region whose !
output It handles. About $1,000 600 |
worth of silk Is manufactured in Bar
celona and the latest and most modern |
industry Of this city is an automobile |
factory that will do a greater amount !
of business when Spanish roads are |
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