The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-19

manners and attire of the classes, as
 distinguished from the masses in their
 pastimes, in their theaters, as well IS
 in their shops. The fondness for
 the bull-ring has given, or is rapidly
 giving way to sports of a heaIthisr character, in which King Alfonso has
 not been slow to take the lead. Yacht
 racing, horse racing, and polo begin
 to be followed with a zest which
 would be quite surprising had we not
 witnessed something of the young kings energy in these directions, and
 it seems probable that within a few years there may be studs and train
 ing stables, regattas, and teams ca-
 pable of entering fairly into ahy in- ternational competition.
 The hotels and shops, too. ar1 be- ing run more and nfJ=> upon Eng fish lines, and British commodities are increasing in demand. The railway and telegraph cseryices have yet to
 be nationaiized, as they have been in Italy, the governments hands be- ing tood full of other measures to carry this one into effect. There are
 however, manifest improvements in the accommodation now provided, and for those who have not visited the country for, say, five or six years there is matter for admiration as well IS surprise in store. So much may be said, then. for the evidences of Brit ish influence. which, commencing with the court, is now rapidly filter ing through the classes to the mass eS.
 But in all commercial centers. the paramount foreign influence is un- mistakably German-and this fact cannot be too strongly impressed up- on the minds of our ship owners, ex- porters, and manufacturers. The question as to precisely why this is so may be safely left to those best qualified to determine but it is the studied conviction of those-mer- chants as we'll as consular authorities who have lived in the country for some years, that unless more enter prise be shown by British houses practically al1l the commerce of the eastern provinces of Spain and of the will lbe in German hands.
 During the past few years there has been a steady and systematic buying up of stores. of businesses, and number of German vessels calling at the Mediterranean ports has incrsas- ed beyond computation, and unques- tionably the German lines provide the quickest and most convenient communication with the Canarfes and the neighboring islands There is an adaptability to the native needs in the German organizations which is peculiarly lacking in the British, our far greater age and experience of the country. notwithstanding and this is particularly evident in connec- ton with the wine, the fruit, the fUT- niture, and the iron and steel indus tries.
 Many of the oldest Spanish firms who have acted as agents for Brit bought out by German capital. and their shipments diverted from Brit ish to German vessels. The intro duction of sound system of rapid collections of produce and the low ness of freight rates are making 1t more or Iesss impossible for British shipowners and merchants to com pete profitably, especially as the Ger man consular officers. of whom quite number have been newly ap- pointed since the year 1908, exhibit a desire and an ability to assist their ! countrymen which might be explain ed only by special instructions from Wilhelmstrasse.
 But the menace which this posi- |. ton of affairs presents is not only We have had evidence 2 enough and to spare of German as- sertiveness in these regions, and if 1t were objected at the time Of the making of the Algeciras convention that the interests of our neighbors in Morocco were so small, as compared with those of England, France, or Spain, it is easy to see that in few years hence such an objection could not be held VaI1Q even so lar ds op4iH s herself is concerned.
 The political reasons for the main tenance of British influence in Spain and, indeed, throughout the whore Iberian peninsu1a-are even greater than the economic; but It is evldent that they cannot ever be successfully urged, either in our out of fnterna- tional negotiation or council, if our hold upon the trade of the countries and concerned the relaxed. It to be hoped therefore, that the situation as we have presented 1r will not escape attention, for 1t is one deserving of the careful consideration not only of chambers of commerce. but also of the foreign secretary. who might see his way to an increase in the consular establishment, in both Spain and Portugal.
 St. Louis-By lying in bath or not water "A hours and being kneaded. Edward C Bernard stretched himself