Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1911-07-14
SPAIN SINCE 1893.

POllLlCally Spain possesses TOuT STedl
guiding forces: Conservatives, Lib.
erales." "Republicanos" and "Carlis.
tas." Of these only the Republicans
and the Carlists have a clear and def.
mite programme, and it may even be
said that only the latter have a rea,
watchword, Indeed, so great is the
diversity of opinion between the Re
publicans and the Carlsts that they
are able to effect little, though they
minority (thirty) in the COrtes The
Conservatives and Liberals are the
governmental parties of to-day, and
they, thanks to a system Of alterna-
ton, Or turn about, succeed each other
in power in accordance with the royal
will. But the curious thing about
these political aggregations is that
they do not have clear and definite
creed or political programme. The
Conservatives of to-day are the Liber-
ais of yesterday, for they thanks to
an evolutionary movement Of the Left
found themselves on the Right and
were given the name Of reaction
aries" However, the Liberals, who
now and then use ''radicalism' and
"anti-clericalism" as watchwords of
their party forget their promises when
once in power and in the majority of
cases continue the policy of their pre-
decessors.
In spite of all, however, in the gen.
eral method of administration Spain
is being regenerated. Opposition or
agreement, for example, has brought
about guarantees of stability to the
public functiOnaries, thus doing away
with the multitude of unemployed
persons which each change of govern
ment used to bring. The type of
''cesante" dismissed public officer) Is
becoming more rare every day, and it
is to be hoped that this evolution,
having thus commenced, will end by
completely destroying the type.
The lie of the provinces mas gained
a great impetus in the last few years:
Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Zaragoza,
ValladOlid, &C., are establishing new
industries and opening mari cts within
and without the kingdom. However,
the character distinctive of each of
these provinces and the necessity of
defending special interests cause
certain spirit of discord or rivalry to
exist between them. Barcelona, for
example, an industrial province par
excellence, needs to import the greater
part of the raw material for its man
ufacturing, and so high tariff system
would be the ruin Of the Catalan re-
gion. Valencians, on the ether hand,
whose greatest resource is agriculture
are comparatively Indifferent to tariff
questions, for their prosperity depends
in great part on rates of exchange.
Owing to the depreciation Of Spanish
currency they are able to sell their
products in foreign markets at a pre-
MUM WHICH offsets the cost Of pro-
d;lction and handling.
This especial nature of the various
regions gives them also very marked
political tendencies. In the centers Of
industry the body of laborers is Repub-
lican Or Socialist barcelona and it's
neighborhoOd. Mad id, Valencia, lara
goza, Bilbao, &c.,. The country peo-
pie on the contrary are for the most
part reactiOnary, although private in
terests or the pressure Of proprietor
upon tenant may be determinative of
the farmers vote
Feared by the great and powerful,
frequently of but little education but
of cunning sagacity, an entangler of
the clearest questions and an inter
prefer of the most difficult the Ca
Clique manages and upsets the govern
ment of a province. Mayors, Govern
ors, Deputies, high and low officials,
all owe to him their posts and are his
instruments, going from Ministry 10
Ministry dancing attendance while al
home in his little corner the 'cacique"
with a shrewd imagination prepares
the strokes of local politics. The
Province of Castellon, which elects
seven Deputies, was managed by a
kind of committee called the COST, di-
rected by person of the middle class
The political education OF the citi
zen is coming more and more into evil
dence, and with its advance the in
tluence of the "cacique' political
"chief" or "boss') is growing less, so
that at present the regions in which
the will of the latter dominates are
very few. A new political power has
been constituted since the loss of the
colonies and has been greatly aug
mented in the last elections: la soil
daridad," the principle of solidarity.
This is the concentration of diverse
political tendencies of a section for the
defence of its interests against policy