Evening star., 1924-10-30

American editors have been having
a good deal of fun over the announce
ment of the novelist Vicente Blasco
Ibanez that he intends to overthrow
King Alfonso by literary bombs pre-
pared at a safe distance in Paris and
dropped upon Spain from airplanes.
He is going to wage this war with
pen," explains the Grand Rapids
Press fighting the battles of op-
pressed Spain anywhere but in Spain.
He Is going to write a war. He will
whack Alfonso in New York and in
Kokomo, in Dublin and Cork, in Bris-
tol and Liverpool, but he is going to
stay away from Madrid and Seville.
That is certainly battling de luxe. and
war on a silver platter. The average
red-blooded American will hope that
when Blasco has the poor Spaniards
all stirred up about what the rest of
the world thinks of their sadjot, and
sets them to shooting tyrants on
sight, he will abandon pushing a pen
against Alfonso for little while, en-
ter Spain and push a saber for the
good cause"
The New York Herald-Tribune
thinks that in the face of the weary
drama being played out on the sun
baked hills of Morocco it seems
scarcely to be even literary war.
poets to overthrow the king in three
or four months and II he does not
succeed he will devote the rest of his
life-to lecturing. One was afraid
So"
Because he has written some SEN
sational novels, not i'll adapted to
the needs of the films the st. Paul
Pioneer Press is sure .'Senor Ibanez
has come to think OF himself as one
of the great ones OF the earth, a
scourger OF kings, the terrifying
instrument of truth and Justice, but
it is difficult to think of the author
of .half-dozen screen classics in
any of these roles Indeed, lit ap-
pears that he has left or riding with
the four horsemen Of the Apocalypse
and has borrowed Don Quixote's
steed, Rosinante, for a little journey"
1t would be unkind ito say that the
great novelist is hearing voices,'" says
the Roanoke World News, but the
fact remains that this whole scheme
of his sets one to thinking OF the
doings of that great literary char
acter of his country. Don Quixote;
and If Don Blasco will, before going
much further, get himself a Sancho
Panza and an ass, we shall, with fair
weather, in all probability have a
series OF performances almost as en-
tertaining as those of the famous don
in Cervantes' great book
To the Dayton, News 1T is an un-
usual situation at least, this business
of novelist taking up a pen against
monarch and determining to de-
throne the latter, but after it is all
over with there may be some excel
lent material for movie or a new
novel. and who knows hnt that
Ibanez may And himself heralded as
tho first citizen Of Spain, and in the
event a republic is formed become
the first president" 1t all reminds
the Kalamazoo Gazette OF q bygone
age when courageous pamphieteers
took up the pen with q deep feeling
Of religious devotion to the cause
OF the people, yet the attitude OF
Ibanez, as set forth in this document
Of his. seems to be more melodramatic
than judiciouA"
In the 1banez pronOupcement the
Chicago Tribune sees what terrible
strain can produce on an otherwise
normal mind. ANY Intelligent
beside himself in looking over the
condition of his country. military
government which gets results may
be a good or bad thing, but one which
gets licked is a total loss. All the
Spanish have been doing for years in
the North African mountains has
been by defeat to supply the RiRs
with arms to defeat the next draft
Of perplexed recruits"
Viewing the matter rather seriously,
the Brooklyn Eagle observes: There
i no reason 70 doubt the noyslist's