Evening star., 1926-06-13

n ADRID, June 12.-l peie' Z
N n with NIussolini that the
!" nrinciple of liberty is very
w nrettv as a principle. but Is
no longer sufficiently efec'
five as a rule of conduct of a nation
and that it must he replaced 10y INV
principle of authority.
Primo de Rivera thus outlined 10 me
The basic belief of the phllosopny
which has carried him In an lncrenipis
short time from the military govern.
orship of Barcelona to posltion ol
supreme authority in the Spaiii9i
nation. ,,oa
"The influence of what is calieo
public opinion on the acts Oh son
mont must be strictly limited he
said; that is to say, the masses Husl
NOT direct the government, but the
government must lead the masses.
The premier virtually asserted tnat
Spain will withdraw from the
League of Nations if refused per-
manent seat in it's council.
Nussolini Is Guide.
In as frank an utterance as he ever
has made for publication, the premier
outlined the international policy OF
Snain and replied in emphatic terms
TO the recent pronouncement py loiu
Cecil obviously aimed at SPAN. Coll-
trasting his own system OF soFell
ment-which he asserted must las.
for at least half a century-wlth tndt
of Mussolini, he admitted that IL Was
the action of the Italian dictator thdt
showed him what he had to do 10
save" his country.
1t is not easy to secure an inlei
view of any importance with Gen.
Primo de Rivera. The MARQUIS
d'Estella is the type of Spanish aristo-
crat that is found in literature:
amiable. courteous, hospitabie ana
generous. But the prime minister. or
dictator. if you prefer it, is dlnerent
proposition altogether. The hardest
worked man in Spain. he mas rarely
consented to be interviewed.
He received me at o'clock, lmme-
diatelv after his sesta. in the private
apartments he occupies at the MIN
istrv of war, in the Palace of Buena-
vista. which stands on little hill In
the very center of Madrid.
Has Cordial Manner.
There really is nothing very territy-
ing about the dictator of Spain. he
Is exceptionally tall ana Is neaenS
built. In spite of his white. hair ana
rnoustache, he smiles young man s
smile. He is cordial, sincere. straight
forward He has a fine, Vlrile head,
which is not unattractive to women
Although from the south, XereZ in
Andalusia, his skin is fair ana fuddy.
His ewes are clear and he gives the
impression of having been fair In ms
youth. His voice is rather hoarse ana
somewhat feeble for SO big man.
R,t the outstanding impression ne
Owes is one of courtesy. friendliness
cordiality and nobility. He is gooo
example of ones ideal of a grandee OF
Spain.
He lit cigaret and gave me one
and submitted amiably to the cross
questioning.
"Your excellency-'' I began.
He interrupted quickly:
Never mind about that. Drop the
excellency. Just say you.
Had Military Ambitions.
THANK you, sir 1 imagine that as
a soldier you had never thought of
Incoming a politician. Your ambition
was probably TO end your life as d
captain general. that is to say
marshal"
"True"
well, then. will you tell me when
you first thought of assuming power?
"Willingly. / thought OF 1t for the
first time. about year before the coup
d'etat. At that time / was military
governor of Barcelona and l witnessed
the state of shameful and palnfui
anarchy into which my poor country
had fallen owing to the feebleness OF
those who governed, or rather mis-
governed. it. If Spain had had a
strong and capable government L
should certainly never have thought
of upsetting it. because / assure you
that it is no great pleasure to me to
Uhn1a nf
Spain after a long period of anarchy.
""ro go more into detail I may tell
YOU that my patriotic resolve crystal
]ized on the occasion of the mutiny
at Malaga of a regiment under orders
from Morocco. when a corporal who
had fomented the mutiny was ac-
Quilted in the most disgraceful man.
ner. This acquittal, following so many
murders of an anti-social character
in Barcelona. gave me to understand
that Spain was on the edge of hor-
rible abyss and that it was necessary
70 save her from complete ruin. Since
nobody else moved, l undertook this
surgical operation"
"Do YOU really believe. sir. that you
have public opinion with your
Has Public Backing.
>. "There is not the slightest doubt
b
never lean on public opinion or on
the popular masses, but only on GER
tain restricted organizations surround
ing a particular politician who al
forded his friends material advantages.
It is for that reason that as soon as
that type of politician lost the ad-
vantages afforded to him by power
each party became rapidly disorgan-
ized. l can assure you without e&as-
geration that the whole of public
opinion is with me except for a very
small number of persistent malcon-
tents. of politicians whose personal
interests had been attacked, of anti
patriots and people who are fanatics
where the parliamentary system Is
concerned. But the people, what may
really be called the people, are with
me.
Besides, do the streets of Madrid
look as if Spain was under dicta-
torial regime? Suppose stranger
came to Madrid without having read
the papers and without having been
told of any of the events which have
occurred in Madrid during the past
few years. Do you think that stranger
would suppose that the Spanish peo-
ple were oppressed by cruel dictator
ship? What do you notice in Spain?
Discipline, work and a relative well.
being. One lives, one works and one
loves just as in the past Today you
can walk about in the middle of the
night with perfect safety in the most
doubtful quarters of Madrid or BARGE
Iona without fear of losing your pock
etbook or stopping a bullet. That is
the nature of the change that I am
blamed for.
What am being reproached with"
continued the prime minister. lis the
nI ofY r1io MI riCn1 RfYf h1l.
man institution is everlasting. The
r.lia xtaanfaf1 Svsfera y,hich HIaa very