The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1917-09-18
SPAIN MAY PROVE
ASECOND RUSSIA
Country Seems to Be on Brink OF
PIunging Into State of
Turmoil.
HARDEST HIT OF NEUTRALS
King Has Lost His Popularity and Is
Kissed When He Appears in
Pubiic-Three Parties
.; Are Pro-AIIy.

Are Pro-AIly.
New York.-Unfortunate Spafn-a
few citizens fabulously enriched and
the mass Of the population bitterly i'm
ipoverished by the war, her banks so
surfeited with gold that the yellow
metal is at a discount and her people
mostly going without sufficient to eat
seems to keep international observ-
ers here on the brink Of plunging into
a state of disorderly turmoil like that
recently witnessed in Russia.
The sanguinary events Of the world
war distract attention from King AL
fonso kits country. But history Is
being made there, which in normal
times would I'LL the front pages of the
newspapers and be the principal topic
of discussion here from the tea table
to the cabinet room.
Spain is probably the hardest hit
by the war of all the nations except
those actually in the conflict. In the
early part of the war the agitation
between pro-ally and proGerman
groups was looked upon as possible
source of trouble, but this fnterna-
tional question is now overshadowed
BY a multitude of internal maladies
any one of which would ordinarily be
considered of major importance.
Alfonso Is Kissed.
Alfonso the athletic young king,
has lost his former popularity. He
is Kissed in the theater and stays
away from polo games because OF an
.ticipated disagreeable hostile dem
'onstrations. This is because he is
blamed for the series Of impotent gov
'ernments which battle weakly and
Intellectually against the nations null
tiplying difficulties. But Alfonso Is
no kaiser. He is as much at the mercy
of the conflicting political currents
as his subjects. However, it is the
,prerogative of a kings subjects to
blame him for everything that hap
pens.
Mail dispatches received here de-
scribe the labor disorders in Spanish
cities, which have resulted in several
hundred deaths, as likely to increase
rather than diminish. Perhaps this
is the most serious of the dangers
threatening Alfonso today.
The radical workmen. to be COM
pared with tbe Bolsheviki of Petro-
grad, are pursuing course Of sabo-
tage and destruction in an effort to
intimidate the authorities. But the
outbreaks in different cities appear to
have little connection and the move
ment is not we'll organized.
Whatever power the workingmen's
revolution has arises from the fact
that it costs two and a half times
as much to live in Spain as it did be-
fore the war, while wages, contrary
to the experience in most other coun-
tries, have remained stationary or act
ually decreased.
Many lines of profitable manufac-
turing have had to close. because their
markets in the Teutonic countries
and in Russia have been cut eff
by war lines and because England,
France and Italy are stringently linn
iting imporsations. In few lines the
entente allies have demanded all Spain
could produce and have made mer-
chants and manufacturers wealthy be-
yond their widest dreams. But these
exceptions have not relieved the gen
eral situation.
Army It's Own Master.
The army so far has proved deraIl.i-
able when set to tie task of putting
down the revolutionary workingmen.
But Spain's army is almost self-sov-
erning, as PaSsia's was for many
weeks last spring. before AerenSky
was able to use the spectre Of defeat
by Germany 10 restore discipline.
Every army corps and smaller unit
has, it appears, a council OF defense
This is especially representative q the
nonccMmissi0ned officers and ccm:2is-
sioncii officers of lower grade. who l,enl
themselves ill-treated by the bureau
cracy at Madrid. 1t will be re-
mc;nbcred that in the army crisis
of a few weeks ago the officers We're
able to force the release Of their lead
rs who had been thrcwn into fortress
prisons. The army trouble is not set
tied. TIE officers demand technical
changes IN organization, more pay, and
less fav0ritism in promotions.
A third clearly defined source Of
trouble is the separatist movement in
Catalonia. The Catala2s speak diff
ferent language from the people of
Madrid. It might'he described as mid
way between French and Spanish, as
Catalonia lies between France and the
rest of Spain. The Catalan is insult
ed if called a Spaniard-"Catalan" is
what he likes as a designation Of IA
tionality.
The province of Catalonia is the