Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-17
What of Future in Spain?


merely repress French radicalism or
anti-clericalism or any new and re-
bellious elements. They also repressed
things that were older and more ira
ditional than the Kingdom of Spain
ancient Catalan songs and dances,
against which there was nothing to
say except that they were Catalan. We
English fell into that sort of folly in
the old days, when we we're really
hanging men and women for wearing
of the green, but everywhere and al
ways it is folly; for 1t means that a
government, already struggling with
revolutionists. has also to struggle with
traditionalists.
Futurism 10 Fear.
Also, In dealing with the future of
Spain, we must beware of that futurism
which is not knowledge of the future,
so much as ignorance of the past. In
that sense our own futurists are al
ways talking about tomorrow. when
they have half forgotten yesterday and
entirely forgotten the day before yes
terday. Alas, 1t is our own Anglo
Saxon" social prophets and progressive
novelistS who are always saying
"Manana"! 1t is they who are always
prophesying good time coming, in de-
nance OF bad time obviously and OBJ
stinately staying. 1t is ineligible to
live in the present; and it Is done with
great success and satisfaction by pup
pydogs. neopagans, butterflies, human
and otherwise, Hedonists, society beau
ties, tncurable inebriates and many
others. 1t Is idiotic to live in the flu
ture which you cannot study, without
study.
And anybody who knows ANYTHING
OF the past Of Spain or of Italy viii
know that the two dictatorships were
not at all likely to run on perfectly
parallel lines. There was nothing par
ucularly new or abnormal about Mus
Solini, in Italian history as a whole:
Italian history has Swarmed with Mus
solinis. Italy constantly adopted die
tatorship as q form of government:
we might be tempted to say that II
never had any other form Of govern
ment. The Roman Empire, which made
the modern world, was military die
tatorship, with some soldier or adven-
turer as dictator. We might almost
say that the Roman rule was one long
1nterregnum, between the last legiti-
mate Tarquin and the FIRST king of the
new nineteenth century Kingdom. All
sorts OF men, ranging from Reinje to
Cesare Borgta, have tried to dig ur
EacSCS hAo use IOQS ana axes Tor
stroke at once despotic and democratic
But there was nothing of this sort in
the history of Spain. The Spanish
kings were true medieval kings, chosen
out OF the chivalry of the crusades
Amounted sacramentally by the church
and it was the whole point of that sort
OF king that he should himself rule
and be responsible for ruling. I think
therefore, that the ancient monarchy
OF Spain could not afford to be over.
Swallowed like the new monarchy O.
Italy. II monarchy could not be mon.
archy, through various misfortunes
most OF which were not the fault OF
the monarch, it was useless to offer I
dictator instead Of q monarch. H,
suffered as the medieval regents SUI.
fered; simply from not being king. Il
does not trouble italians that Musso.
lini Is not king; because their cite.
nave had all kinds of republicans and
military and mercantile princes who
were not kings. But Spain in the six.
tenth century grew great as q king
dom; in the seventeenth century it de.
clined as kingdom, but it could only
nave been saved by king.
1t Is well to remember that Spai,
Is much more advanced than we: more
Continued on Fourth Page.)