The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1925-01-29
Author Explains His View
point on Condition In
His Homeland.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP srMMs

men," no doubt, or read it
Also blood and Sand" And
maybe some other writings of v.
Blasco Ibanez.
Today he is an exile in France,
writer-against his king, Alfonso
XIII Of Spain, whom he hopes to
topple from the throne.
Here are some of the things he is
saying against the king, and the
Spanish dictator, Gen. Primo de
Rivera, and the situation in his
country generally. Pieced together,
they afford a pretty clear picture of
conditions as he sees them in tor
mented, tottering Spain.
Thanks te Alfonso XIII and his
mother" says Ibanez, Spain has
become greedy, cowardly. servile, in
capable of any idea outside of SEN
sual pleasure.
1.-THE wealthy classes are cruel
through fear-fear- of a change.
They are in favor of all solutions
which permit OF gun-fire as pre-
liminary measure.
Shot on Streets
''The working masses, on their
part. give proof of a taste for vio-
lence more markedSthan in any other
country. Every time they have
demonstrated their desires the
answer has been to shoot them down
in the streets.
Alfonso has adopted the speech
and gestures OF bull fighter. No
schools have been created in fifty
years.
There used to be two governing
parties. Desiring to be an absolute
monarch, Alfonso took the line OF
splitting them, setting leader against
leader and rewarding traitors. He
carried out the maxim, Divide and
rule
He believed that by governing
with the military he would be far
more master of the country than
when surrounded by civilians.
For four years he planned the
coup. -. /. But he was incapable of
keeping his secret. At banquet at
Cordoba, he let his tongue run away
with him. There was nothing ex-
traordinary in that, since there is
plenty of Montilla wine at Cordoba.
He let it be understood that he
would presently become absolute
master of Spain.
Blame Civilians
''The military also wanted power.
The Morocco disasters, according to
them, were attributable to civilians.
Thus, for the king and the military.
the civilians became the scapegoats.
eat first they thought of appoint
ing as dictator General Aguilera,
who is less ridiculous and more hon.
est than Primo de Rivera But one
evening Aguilera declared the honor
of a soldier was worth more than
the honor Of a civilian, and M. San
chez Guerra, Conservatives with an
irritable temper, replied by giving
him two resounding blows.
AFTER that no one could reason
ably think of Aguilera as dictator
How could fear be inspired by a
warrior who had been cuffed by a
lawyer?
1.-THE king then thought OF Primo
de Rivera, general, despised for
his private life and who never CON-
manded an army. He is the nephew
of Marshal de Rivera, who betrayed
the revolutionary government Of
ncfr H. IYe
has no children, so used his influ-
ence to promote the young men so
as to continue the glorious family
traditions.
Progress Rapid
There has seldom been so rapid
la career. Every gesture he made
was heroic. He could not draw his
sword without getting some advance
in rank or some ribbon for heroism.
"He was born in southern Spain
and has its prolixity. His facility
of speech might be useful If it had
been welded to real intelligence.
But he is sort Of first cousin to
the king: he thinks he knows every
thing.
This Ffgaro-this barber-dressed
up as a general, after the coup at
Barcelona marched on to Madrid to
purify Spain. His program to arouse
enthusiasm among the crowd Is:
The king is a great man, almost as
great, almost as honest. almost as
pure as myself The politicians who
have governed hitherto are a band
of robbers 1 will unmask them and
i nt1t ther1 in iail ,"