The Washington herald., 1913-08-24
Mariana Alarcon, Spanish
Author, Now Visiting the
United States, Makes Some
Interesting Observations.

The American OF fifty years hence will
| be as dInerent from the American or to-
day as the latter is from the American
of 1850.
The United States is in process of
finding itself. All the nations which
enter into it are being melted, ANAL
gamated, boiled down into a race which
| will be the most intelligent. the most
advanced and quite probably the short
est lived the world has ever seen.
The Westerner, the cowboy, miner,
and cattle owner of your far West, is
more typical of the breezy freedom which
will characterize the American OF 1866
than is the fastener of today, for the
Fastener is as yet composite man in
/ the making from many races.
Your customs OF divorce, dress. and
religious teaching. which are not so far
sundered as might appear at first glance,
all have an immensely important bear
ing on this new citizen of the United
States, who is being produced under your
very eyes"
These are the opinions of Mariana
Alarcon, one of the foremost of living
| Spanish authors, who is making q tour
| of the United States preparatory to
writing a volume of essays on THE
Greatest Country in the World and Her
People" He is an intense admirer of
America. He has written six notable
books-four novels and two volumes of
essays-and a number of pamphlets, all
of which are widely read wherever Span
ish is understood.
One of his books, ''El Narrator de los
Parabolos," C''1he Speaker of Parables'), },
had a first edition sale of $1,000 copies in
Spain alone, and has more than doubled
his record in other Spanish speaking
nations. Senor Alarcon is having this
book, which is a collection Of essays,
translated into English. This is his
second visit TO what ne calls the great
est country in the world"
CriticIsms Are Frank.
His criticisms Of the United States are
frank and the faults he finds are over
balanced by the good points he has OBJ
served. His advice to the American ma
ton is simple:
Watch your women and your poor"
The American woman he finds is de-
lightful. but frequently too bold.
There is a difference" he says, ''be-
tween self-confidence and boldness. 1t
probably is right that woman should
-ote, and the women of the United States
seem to be getting the vote much more
successfully and by much saner methods
than those of England. But It is not
right that women whose virtue and mod
esty are above reproach should. dress
themselves in the clothing of the half
world simply to show to men that they
are really as beautiful as the demi-
mondane. The question of t dress of
your women is far deeper than you
Americans seem to realize, and it has
an important bearing on the children to
be ,orn Of these women, who must take
up the burdens and the control of your
nation in generations to come.
Then there are your poor. The gov
ernment must provide some means for
them to meet the increased cost of living
in the United States or they will become
sources of endless trouble for the gov
erning power. do not pretend to say
how this can be done, but 1 am con-
WINGED that Socialism is not the remedy
Neither does the church of whatever de-
nomination offer q solution of the prob