Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-22
AlfonsO's Losing Fight
For Spanish Monarchy
BY A, q. GARDINER.

LONDON, FEBRUARY Zl.-DeVelop-
ments in the Spanish political drama
are being followed by the British public
with mingled feelings.
King Alfonso's marriage with q
cousin of King George has made him
a familiar figure in London life. Both
he and his wife are extremely popular
here, her charm and his breezy, sport
ing qualities making special appeal to
the public sympathies. Indeed, If the
worst comes to the worst, there Is little
doubt that the royal pair will make
their home in England.
But it is not this personal aspect Of
the matter alone that explains the in
terest in Alfonsos fight for the throne,
nor does the personal liking for the
monarch alter the fact that public
opinion here regards him as pursuing
a mistaken policy.
"This king business" as q famous
American Ambassador once described
the monarchical system in Europe, has
undergone a sea change since the World
War. With the fall of three great
deSpots and many minor royalties
throughout the continent, the idea Of
abSolutiSm has become not merely eX-
tinct but dead as the dodo. In coun-
tries where monarchism survived the
whirlwind of war, it survived only by
the complete surrender to the constitu-
tional principle or, as in the case of
Italy, by humiliating subservience to a
violent dictatorship. Even In England
relations of the throne and the execu-
tive, and full acceptance by the mon
archy of the altered conditions explains
the remarkable accord which prevails
here between the King and the people
Anything approaching the dictatorial
attitude which Queen Victoria's recently
published letters showed she adopted
toward her ministers, especially Glad
stone, would be wholly unthtnkable in
and If attempted would inevitably
create an intolerable situation.
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It is singular that with such over
whelming evidence all over the CONT
nent of the impossibility of sustaining
the absolutist principle in hereditary
monarchy, so intelligent q man as King
Alfonso should wage hopeless Strug-
gle to preserve the principle in its last
forlorn stronghold in Europe. He had
all the personal qualities necessary to
enable him to accommodate himself to
modern conditions and re-establish the
acceptance; but his gifts OF political
strategy, which are remarkable, have
betrayed him into conflict which
every success only makes an ultimate de-
feat more assured. He wins trick after
trick, but loses the game, and his very
skill in breaking up combinations
against him has left him with no pop
ular backing and only the doubtful sup
port of the army
:. X y
In throwing over the constitution in
favor of the Primo de Rivera dictator
ship eight years ago, he did not realize
that he brought the crown into the
firing line and became directly and per-
sonally chargeable with unpopular acts
of the government. After the fall of
anxious to repair that error; but instead
of making q clean-cut break with the
mistaken past, he exploited his genius
for political beggar-m neighbor in Or
der to keep the substance while yield
ing the shadow.
Alfonso aims at maintaining abso-
lutte power while escaping personal re-
sponSibility by restoring the facade of
a dummy conStitutionalism. The result
of his maneuvers Is that he has mobi-
lized against him the Moderate Mon
archistS as we'll as the Republicans, and
the conflict has assumed the character
of an attack on him perSonally as well
as an stack on monarchy qua mon
archy.
The ingenuity with which he has
broken the opposition into factions and
restored under Admiral Aznar govern
ment by the old gangs Is admired but
the problem Of securing . dummy Oar