Evening star., 1924-10-14

brought back Primo de Rivera. The
King, it must be remembered, Is at
the helm of the ship Of state, Parlia-
ment having been dissolved for the
time being and laws being promul-
gated by royal decree.
Also at the luncheon, and nipping
another rumor was Gen. Marques de
tary aide. who had been reported as
about to fight a duel with Primo
over some political controversy.
AS luncheon was announced / ap-
preached the King rather hesitat-
ingly:
Your ma jesty, you know l am sup
posed to have the opportunity of
asking you few questions to
which he snapped back, laughing.
hands in his pocket:
Don't worry, you are going to have
splendid chance of opening fire on
me, as | understand you are to be
seated next to me at luncheon"
sat Mt kings Right.
And so / was, at his right Oppo-
site US sat the Queen, with Ambas-
sador Moore in the place of honor at
her right and Gen. Primo de Rivera
on her left. ON my right sat the
Crown Prince, the young Prince Of the
Astur "a : now II years old, fair like
his mo her, but with the head and
chin OF the royal family of Spain. He
speaks perfect English, like all the
royal family and the court in general,
Next to the King, on his left, sat the
Duchess of Santana, and then Prince
Jaime, the second son. Others at the
table included the Duke and Duchess
of Alba, Marques Bandana, lord
chamberlain to the Queen; Marques
de Torres de Mendoza, private secre-
tary to the King; the Duke OF San
tana and the Duchess de la Victoria.
In al. n party of Is or 20.
n. sooner were we seated than the
Kin ; with the sense of humor which
/ is ,ne of his characteristics, and
viii III he is most apt to turn on him.
self said to Ambassador Moore, so
that every one could hear:
Look out. over there, that you
don't go away poorer than YOU came
in. You are seated between the two
most active spirits of the Red Cross
in Spain. My wife and the Duchess
of Victoria are always after me, and
every once in while they make me
give up the price of champion polo
pony, so l am warning you"
We were being served the first
&C urse, iced watermelon-an Ameri-
can touch-when l began my verbal
attack. The King leaned over, all
attention.
Your majesty" i began. "a stran-
ger comes to Spain overwhelmed with
surprises. Your roads for motorists
are perfect, you have good hotels and
bathtubs even in the small towns,
and YOU have granted women the
vote, at least in part"
Aha, for that last you can thank
Gen. de Rivera. although I am for it
IL Ry,v tn.. q mi FE-f
Are you noto" signaling across the
table to the general
Yes, we have made good begin
ming. All unmarried women of %.
and women who are widows or other
wise heads of families, may vote in
municipal elections and may stand
for election to municipal councils" "
Spain is the first Latin country to
open the doors of political activity to
women.
I asked the King some leading ques-
tions. Not once did he say he would
rather not reveal himself. the only
stipulation being that 1 was to send
this article for approval. In his
frankness, he is not so much Latin
diplomat as an American business
man. Indeed, he said himself he
does not go in for the ordinary diplo-
matte methods, but speaks out just
Wants Z. s. in Europe.
What do you think OF the role Of
the United States in European politics?'
l asked.
Il think it a great pity and an ir-
reparable loss that the United States
dropped out after the peace confer
ence."
What do you think of the League
of Nations?"
Not democratic enough and I am
certain that must be the main objec-
tion of your country. 1t is monopo-
lized by the big nations in the coun-
Gil. as the assembly where the small
nations have an equal voice has little
power in the present organization Of
the league. Moreover. 1 feel very
strongly that Spain should have a
permanent seat in the council, on ac-
count of our position in Europe
Are you for more disarmament
and how can it be brought about-by
another conference such as the Wash
ington conference?"
Yes, and no. / feel that Spain
was badly treated in the Washington
conference. We were not invited and