Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-19

/ II Eelifons and reVoltS. has new
| uprising on his hands. II is a
revolution of women, the cream Of
society, those Sloe-eyed duchesSes.
marquises and couutesses OF old
| Madrid. who. as every one knows, can
be so fiery and relentless in matters
of the heart They have refused to
attend the premierS dinners and dances
even on personal invitation. They are
through with him. Why? Because OF
thu summary. dfctatorfal manner I'm
which he Tilted the dAsfing Countess
Mercedes de Castellancs. one OF their
own. Until the fitting the ladies rather
liked Primo and let him have his way.
But now--now Joan OF Are may
take the field.
That the famous captain general Is
a strong man. one with Napoleon,
Caesar and other wfelders Of great
power, the world has bern quite willing
TO believe Of course, the dictator es-
tabIiShed such an inpenetrable censor
ship that only ennlgTCs and extles flee
ing their native land were able TO
hruit abroad the opposite side. But
when a man makes himself absolute
zrbiter of such a country as Spain. sit
ting down beside the King and Queen,
and keeping the job for dve years IN
the face of plots. intrigues and assorted
killings that might have made old
Russia pale green. 1t is natural to ac-
cept him as one of the invincibles.
IL now appears that the stalwart
Primo is vulnerable after all. Like
Achilles, he can be nurt; only 1t Is
not his heel, as was the case with
the hero of mythology; 1t Is Prfnlo's
heart. He could tnt!rnidate hts Krg,
the debonair. hard playing Alfon1o
XIII, laugh at tho grandees of old
aristocracy, put the selection Of uni
versity professors on the basis OF You
praise me and I'll approve you, ttiggle
army officers. muzzIe the press, put the
lid on political spellbinders-but he just
couldn't make cupid--or was 1t him.
self. once he was enamorcd OF the
pretty countess-behavel
A piquant story-~tnis tale OF the all
powerful premier In love. All the more
| interesting, In fact, because OF the as
tontshingly sound, collected procedure
by which the, enterprfsing, ambitious
man won and held his honors, among
them the diamond-tipped baton they
gave him as a marshal of Spain.
AS a young man Miguel Primo de
| Rivera. Marquis dEstella, was SOL
| der. and a good one. Born in Cadiz
| January 8, 1870. he was the nephew OF
Field Marshal Fernando Primo de Ri
vera, one of SPANS few great soldiers,
and in hurriedly following his uncle's
| footsteps he soon got to trcading on
| that worthy's reputational heels. He
won his captaincy by recapturing two
cannon, which had been seized by the
enemy in one of SPANS perpetual
North African campaigns. He led four
men valiantly against host OF the Zoe
and got away with it.
Like most Spanish soldiers, once the
first flush of youth and soldering is
over. Primo along in middle age got
hankering for politics. BY that time
he had married and was the father
Of four sons Getting little post IN
Madrid, he began cultivatfng poiftl-
clans, and being a charming fellow at
table AMI bon vivant. as well as a
| popular man with the ladies, he soon
| found himself governor OF the spanish
camp at Gibraltar.
There he had one Of his few BRAIN
storms. One evening he made a speech
In Sevilia declaring Spain should seize
Gibraltar and throw the British nag In
the blue Mediterranean. Naturally. Mt
, tie Spain had to discipline Primo. lest
big Britain growl.
| Primo found himself back IN Madrid
! In the army still, but out OF politics,
J S3O ran luI - ft"A'N
| town and the home folk elected him.
! Maybe King Alfonso liked his spunk. or
maybe he discovered signs OF greatness,
| but In any case soon thereafter the
new Deputy was named captain general
Of Madrid, The captain generals wife
had died, his sons had grown up. And
| he was. II all they say is true, rather
gay figure In the society OF the Spanish
capital
One suspects that about this time
Primo had decisions of grandeur. Be
cause, in the midst Of this active. IN
! triguing, pleasant life. he got up In
Parliament one day and delivered hot
speech advocating that Spain abandon
| Morocco He called North Africa a sink
fot the national wealth. and intimated
that only weak ~mindedness kept the
nation lighting to keep IT,
or course, the patriots assailed him.
and again Primo was ousted as captain
! general of Madrid. That poor Primo
! II only he would X aep still, the society
| ladies said But that wasn't all. In
the next elections even the home town
/ failed him His temies got together
and decided 10 make away with him
They got him named captain general
Of Barcelona, SPANS big industrial
| center
I Syndicalists. bolshepists and plain