Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-04-18
SPAIN'S NEUTRALITY IN THE WAR

: In the great conflict that RACES there
are neutrals. Spain Is one of these. as
also IL the United
Seeking SPANS States. NJ. Jules Bots
HI has carried a mes
sage to Spain and he
Is in America on the same mission. His
message contained in an article in the
Revue Hebdomadaire. may thus be
briefly summarized:
At Madrid NJ. Bots had a friendly
conversation with Count de Roman
ones. leader Of the liberal party. former
president of the Spanish council and
one of Spain's great statesmen. Count
Romanones told his visitor that fol-
lowing an article he had published. en-
titled Neutrality That Kills. in which
he had warned Spain Of the dangers OF
non-intervention in the war. his hotel
had been stoned by an angry populace.
Nevertheless" added the count. ION the
occasion Of the visit of NJ. Poincare.
President Of the French republic, the
entire country, journalists and poll
ticians as well. appeared solid for
France. How explain this brusque
change after the declaration of war?
A secret campaign had Slapped our eff
forts. l assure you that even for me
it Is today a mystery. But the change
is coming again, particularly since the
victory of the Marine. which revealed
the great energy of the race. Little by
little in all spirits, untruth is fading
away and truth appears"
Instructive to follow NJ. Bots in his
visit. which has resulted in the solu-
ton Of what was indeed a mystery for
the Spanish ex-minister. Besides.
sPain j., simi
lar. is a matter of absorbing interest
According to NJ. Bots. there are two
currents Of opinion in Spain. one in
favor Of the allies the other I'm IN fa afor
received the Impression that it was
mainly the lower classes who favored
the allies and the better classes
who favored the Germans. A near
point of view disclosed the contrary.
certain, that Alfonso XIII ever ut
tered the exclamation widely attrib-
ued to him by his enthusiastically.
"Only the canaiile and are for France"
= =
NJ. Bots charges that Germany has
two fronts OF combat. One for her
armies, the other in the
"Apeuts" in country Of the neutrals,
Spain. where. at Barcelona and
Madrid. Germany maintains an army of
agents controlled by chiefs in Berlin
and Hamburg, all involving the expen-
diture of vast sums of money.
NJ Bots may be cited textually on a
subject which does not appear to have
had much II any publicity: "The Teu-
tons have considered the frontiers of
Spain as another front and far from
|neglecting 1t, since forty-ffve years
they have fortified 1t. for they have
prepared the mobilization of intelli-
gences as we'll as the other. Each day
every notable citizen Of Barcelona or
Madrid receives not only commercial
papers from German residents, but his
courier is heavy with journals printed
in CASTELAR, or Catalan, illustrated pc
riodicals, etc. from Hamburg, where
there liz maintained bureau OF Ger
mano- Spanish propaganda"
NJ. Bots complains that these "distil-
1erfes of disquiet" excite antipathies
against England and France. In the
north in Catholic circles the French are
made to appear as monsters of immor-
atty; in nationalist circles French vic
tories would lead the peninsula to be-
come the vassal OF France: ENGLAND is
responsible for the war, while the Rus
SLAMS. Belgians and French are merely
the puppets of England.
NJ Bots Is not a harsh critic, and
says: Before criticising the German
'kultur' of this nature we should con-
fess our own inca culpa. And he
adds. Before 1870 Michelet. Quinet
and Renan did they not celebrate in a
quasi lyric manner the genius of the
nation on the other side of the Rhine
German science some months ago in
France was 1t not considered by some
persons to be the best in the world?"
Apropos to the foregoing we recall
that we had occasion recently to cite
NJ Daudet's ''Mea culpa" in the same
NJ. Daudet admits his craze with aston
ishment and chagrin. NJ. Hughes lie
Roux must have also had the craze. for
he thought the matter of such impor-
lance that he published an interview
with Alphonse Daudet in the Temps
NJ Hughes lie Roux is at present in
America and it would prove highly in
teresting to the American public to
learn what he thinks now of this Paris
ian craze over Wagner?
NJ. Bots says that to dissipate these
illusions 1t was necessary that war
should come, wal
Says War Was that is the mistress
r.. OF energy which
N9eSo0AJ' t-aches also the
truth by the light that comes from bat
tTeflelds."
In a further examination OF conscience
M. Bots asks: May we not be account
able for something in these games OF