Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-09
MOTHER OF KING
BITTER RIVERA FOE
Late Maria Christina Warn.
ed of Unrest From
Dictatorship.
BY LELAND STOWE.

bJ LELAND SIOhE.
Special Correspondence of The Star.
MADRID, February 23-Unfortunate
and universally lamented as was the
sudden death of the Queen Mother,
Maria Christina, only few days after
the uprisings in Ciudad Real and Va
lencia, it came perhaps with saving
grace to the Spanish dictatorship. In
the nationwide mourning which fol-
lowed political differences were forgot
ten shaken allegiance to the regime was
allowed to lie dormant, and in the en-
suing days Gen. Primo de Rivera dog
gedly hacked all benevolency from his
regime. In its stead he instituted a
new and Fascistized order-virtually a
defy and certainly an iron heel to all
those who would erase Spain from the
growing list of Europe's relationships.
The death of the Queen Mother
brought an opportune political truce
to Spain. A truce which was broken,
not by the anti-Rivera leaders, but by
the dictator himself issuing the most
dictatorial DEGREES he had ever resorted
to DEGREES hailed by his op-
ponents as "Primo's cry of distress"
Loses Powerful Opponent.
In Maria Christmas death Spain lost
q queen of rare balance and leadership,
while Primo lost one of his most power
full opponents. It was as if fate, by
her death, interviewed to lessen the
movement against the government and
at the same time robbed King Alfonso
of beloved adviser, whose Judgment
he had always treasured and never
found wanting. Maria Christina, who
had ruled Spain as regent with great
courage and splendid ability for more
than Is years until Alfonso XIII be-
came of age for the throne, had never
allowed her interest in the nations
problems to slacken. And she had
never been a partisan Of the Rivera
dictatorship.
It is stated here with considerable
reliability that only short time before
her death the Queen Mother, together
with the Infanta Isabelle, had coun-
seled lengthily with Alfonso. They
warned that the prolongation of the
dictatorship only threatened to en-
gender greater unrest; that this I'M
rest might eventually be turned against
the dynasty itself, if permitted to spread
too far. Finally, Maria Christina urged
that the King demand or encourage
Primo de Rivera to resign, replacing
him with political rather than mil
itary government. King Alfonso, it is
said, wavered. He disliked taking such
character he respects.
Delayed by Trick of Fate.
Again, and this time but a few days
before the Queen Mothers death when
the Ciudad Real uprising appeared most
ominouS, the Duke de Alba conferred
with the King. He advised most seri-
ously that the dictatorship ought to be
eliminated; that it was time for Al
fonSo himself to convoke a new Assem-
bly,. But while the King was possibly
still debating with himself the Valen-
cia, Barcelona and Cartagena revolts
were delayed by trick of fate, and
few days later the Queen Mother died
in the middle of the night from
sudden heart attack. Thus, what might
have been day of reckoning for the
Spanish dictatorship was pushed aside
by events beyond any ones control
and Primo de Rivera remained.
But the loss Of Maria Christina con-
tinues to have bearing on the situa-
ton here. It was a sharp and heavy
blow to her son. Alfonso, and it is a
loss which may have a direct effect
upon his relations with the dictator.
Will the King hereafter be more prone
to give Primo free rein, or less so? 1t
Is not impossible that the counsels of
the Queen Mother may now have more
weight with Alfonso even than when
she was alive. And if this is so. it
would not be surprising to see the King
exhibit, in coming months, greater firm
ness and force in his relations with
Gen. de Rivera than he has ever shown
In the past.
"At that moment when the King
refuses to support him further" de-
clared the Count de Romanones, "the
dictatorship is doomed"
First Open Break.
Exactly one week after these words
were spoken to the Herald Tribune
Spain witnessed an incident which may
be the forerunner of their fulfillmerN.
Its significance is far from Slight On
February Is the first open breach
which has happened during five and
one-half years, occurred between Primo
de Rivera and the King In long con-
ference Alphonso, betraying greater in
sistence upon his own ideas than he
had ever revealed previously, insisted
10 the dictator that declaration of
general political amnesty should be
made
Primo refused. He feared it would
be interpreted throughout the country
as an evidence of the relationships
weakness. He had definitely commit
ted himself in the two previous weeks
to an uncompromising course toward
all enemies of the regime. The cabinet
debated on the matter, with the fate