Evening star., 1932-01-20
SPAIN PLACES BAN
ON JESUIT ORDER
Decrce Calls for Confiscation
of Property Valued at
s3O,000,OOO.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
MADRID, January 20.-Decree dis
solving the Jesuit order of the Sociey
of Jesus in Spain, the homeland of
| its founder, st. Ignatius Loyola, has
been signed by President Alcala zamora
and awaits only official publication to
make 1t effective, it was learned from
high government source today.
The decree did not appear In the
Gazette today, although 1t was said in
. official circles it was signed and ready
lor the Gazette's press, awaiting only
| the word of Premier Azana.
The opinion was expressed in Catholic
circles that the government is unwilling
to publish 1t while the syndicalist strike
grips Galicia The situation also is
| complicated it was said, because the
government is slated to be interpolated
| on the Bilbao riots last Sunday.
Holdings Subject to Seizure.
Fhe decree, which follows the adop-
ton of provision in the new Spanish
constitution empowering the government
to dissolve religious orders under GER
tain Stipulations also calls for confls-
| cation of the property of the order in
Spain, estimated at $30,000,000, the
same authority said.
The society was founded in 1889.
lSIdUiuS LOyOld, d LdJlNS VI E9pdul, wac
an attendant at the Court of Ferdinand
and Isabella and afterward a soldier
During a period of convalescence from
wounds received in battle he conceived
the first notion of the society, which
was afterWard built up from an original
small group of adherents, composed of
his roommate and other personal friends.
The property subject to confiscation
under the decree consists principally OF
churches, schools and their contents,
valued roughly at 80 millions accord
ing to officials of the order. The total
holdings of the society are estimated
at about 100000, ,000 but most Of these
are in the form of stock and bond in
vestmentS in the name of individuals
and companies and cannot be touched.
Jusuits Anticipated Decree.
The Jesuits have been expecting the
dissolution decree for some time and,
in many cases, the members have ar
ranged to leave Spain, transferring their
novltiateS abroad, as soon as the de-
cree is published. They were expelled
once before in 1857 by Carlos III, who
charged them with inciting public dis
order, but they were permitted to re-
turn seven years later when the charge
was declared unfounded.
For long time the Leftist parties in
Spain have been at odds with the
order, maintaining the Jesuits were
too friendly with the ariStocratIc
classes
The incorporation of the provision in
the new constitution of the republic
under which the present decree was
drawn was the occasion of bitter con-
troversy in the constitutional conven-
ton. The clause did not mention the
Jesuits but 1t was understood to be
aimed specifically at them.
The Catholic newspaper, Ell Debate,
also was suspended Indefinitely by cab
met decree and fined 1000 pesetas
(about $3.50 for publishing an article
which, it was charged, deprecated the
assembly" In congressional circles it
was stated the government plans SINH
lar action against other papers
throughout Spain.
The dissolution decree was opposed
by Jaime Garner, minister of the
treasury, official sources said but the
other ministers oyerrode his opposition
He was reported to have predicted 1t
would provoke disorders and lack of
confidence in the government, damag-
ing the peseta and the country's f1nan-
cial situation.
In Catholic circles here the hope was
expressed that the Jesuit foundation
center, Loyola, would be spared from
the effect of the decree and many said
they believed Its maintenance would
be permitted under a few priests, al
though their collective residence would
be prohibited