Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-18
Finances Growing Sounder

erty still exists
Finances Growing Sounder
Spain's finances are growing sounder
every day and her standard coin, the
peseta now rates above it's par value in
International exchange. Spain has great
and growing interests in modern trade
chiefly developed with the South american
Republics whose close relations with her
are now vastly more beneficial than when
she held these countries as colonies Bar
Ceona one of the most enterprising and
most beautiful cities in Europe suffered
deep temperamental depression after the
Spanish War. The entire loss of the Cuban
market was envisaged, but as matter Of
fact nothing Of the sort took place. Speedy
and Capacious Spanish liners stocked with
manufactured products of industrious Cata-
lonia now carry the historic flag to all the
busy ports Of the Latin Oceans"
Most significant of all the current blum
ders is that which pretends to establish the
Spanish people as "all alike" The Basques
inhabting the energetic industrial province
Of NisCsya, are an chronological riddle. They
are neither Goth nor Latin. They speak
the most difficult language in the world
next to Chinese, and philologists have been
unable to fathom its origin
The sturdy Gallegans of the northwest
our lsthmian workers-are closely akin to
the Portuguese. The province of Catalonia
Of which Barcelona is the capital, is peopled
by artisans, farmers and navEators whose
political opinions are the most radical on the
Continent. Raclally, the CatalanS are con-
nscted with the Provencals of southern
France Of whom Marshal Joffre is a lineal
product They speak a language OF their
own and have a thriving modern literature
Of which the playwright Angel Guimera is
brilliant exponent
The Nalencians, further down the coast
I rsa..
painter Sorolla Is their great name Just
now. In the far south are the animated
Andalusians, best typifed in literature by
| Figaro, the resourceful Barber of Seville "
In their veins flows the blood of Roman
ICED Iberians, of the blond northern Van.
dals who succeeded the Latin rulers and
finally Of the invading Arabs, who swept
| through the land in III A. D.
The Real Don
It Is central Spain alone that vast arid
| tableland, that produces something like our
| conventional Spaniard In reality this is
| the Castlian, He is proud and reserved
| He speaks the undefiied tongue of Ger.
! vantes, at it's purest estate in Madrid and
| Valladoid. He Is often a Don" He Il
| almost always an aristoCrat and he Il
| really the only inhabitant of the Peninsul;
| to whom that term can be applied. Th,
! bulk of the exceedingly varied people in thil
complex land are temperamentally anc
! politically democratic 10 the core. The,
! too have their pride, but It is of the sor
which makes each man assert an equality
! with his neighbor
The effects OF the European war on sucl
| heterogeneous nation must therefore b,
manifold and contradictory. Spain-all o
it's, Of course, heartily sick of wars Sh
| has had her fill Of them long since. Rome
empire was petty compared with that con
| quered by Spanish valor and endurance II
the sixteenth century. "A plague o. boil
| your houses" was naturally Spains slogal
when the world conflict opened
But Endorsement Of that attitude is nov
by no means unanimous. The Spanis
| Church is bitterly opposed to the Allies. !
remembers Frances abrogaton of the Papa
concordat, and the thousands of Frenc
clerics who hocked to the Peninsula hav
done their best 10 keep this fame of an
tagonism alive. There is also Spanish gov
ernmental irritation over the French polio
in Morocco, where Spain still has claims.
The royal house is partly Austrian, bu
a strange paradox results from the atttud
Of the King, greatly beloved by the people
"a good fellow" a pro-Ally ruler an ad
mitted Liberal German intrigue, workin
partly with the discredted Carlists, ha
accomplished much in Spain, but II ha
| failed TO turn the majority of the peop
from democratic principles Barceloni
Valencia and Cadiz see their overseas trad
ruined by the depredations OF German SUI
marines. which exempted Spanish ships no
ably the mail steamships OF the Compan
Trasatlantica, at the outbreak Of the wa
but now are ruthless toward them TT
labor population is constantly on the verl
OF general strikes Trade unlonism
mighty along the Mediterranean littors
/ Ada 10 all this the prevailing Latinism
all varieties Of the so-called "spanls
blood" and that the sympathies OF Il
nation are largely with the Entente is Il
| contestable
II is possible that Spain may retain h
, adrolt and skillful Alfonso. That she
capable OF dismissing even him. II need
! is not wholly improbable. Spain under u
profound but too theoretlcal Castelar,. wi
: a republic in 1873. on the walls even
Castillan Madrid was written, "Forev
2 zen the Mongrol Rae of Bourbon"
Whaf bAa happened can heppens