The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 13, 1898, Page 17

\// X N 7 “41 - \Sl SN SN S, S §\ Y N A == = 7z 7 7= ==3 N2 SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1898. FUERO LOS AMERICANOS!” SHOUTED THE SPANISH MOB UERO los Americanos! Yankee filibusteros! From morning until night the ets of § tian rang ng words. 1 every lip the same cry, wn with the Americans! y with the Yankee filibus- Fuero the mer ters.” The little chil in walk ren out for their morn- eir nursemaids, childish treble; nut venders lence of their s thick with pas- 1g appropriate d and con- Yank.” In the The Little King Stood Beside His Mother, the Queen, and the Archbishop, and They Eill Wept as the the streets, at the casino, boulevard, the cry rang as le throat, “Fuero los Esta- “Down With the United ehops, on along the k before San Sebastian had the even tenor of its way n outward evidence of this ng fire. The blaze started hen a repert came that an American tor had delivered an open tirade Cong; against Spain. Full ac- counts, ith embellishments, were published in the papers next day, and from San Sebastian, tucked away on sued ithout 1d lde Exciting Adventures of a San Francisco Girl in Spain During the A’c’cacl—(’ on the American Embassy and the Embarkation of Troops for the Seat the northern border, washed by the Bay of Biscay, through Madrid, down to Cadiz and Malaga, in the south, the excitement r to fever heat. “What ri have the Americ; inter Anish- n a ? Who are they? A people without his- tory or origin, formed from the scum of Europe and the sediment of the i sple whese fundamental v de Lynch. And do they, u Marched who have conquered their territory by assassination, wish to give lessons to the Spaniards in humanitarisimo?” The papers teemed with inflammable philippics, the wrath of the people mounted steadily higher. Then came the news that broke the floodgates of angry passions. The Yale students had burned in effigy their beloved little King Alfonso XIII! The people did not realize that it was but the hot-headed action of youthful students. They took it as an added insult from the United States, and goaded on by a thirst for revenge, the thought of the indignity put upon the little king, rankling deep in every proud and patriotic heart, they threw restraint to the winds. Through the streets of Madrid swayed that hydra-headed monster—the mob. As by a single impulse it moved straight toward the home of the Ame can Minister. The savage was upper- most, and with fierce exultation in the glow that comes when passions long re- strained are given free rein, the mob ive vent to its wrath by stoning Min- r Taylor's house. Bueno!” shouted the people of San Sebastian when they heard of it, and “Bueno!” -echoed the rest of Spain. But by nightfall San Sebastian was one mass of fluttering banners, flags, streamers, wreaths and garlands. A feverish populace impatiently waited for the morrow when the little king, the queen and the two infantas with their retinue should arrive for a t fold purpose: to bid godspeed and in- spire courage in the 5000 soldiers who had responded to the call of “‘more men for Cuba,” and to temporarily forget court life in the capital on the pretty little beach of San Sebastian set apart for the royal family and called “the concha.” As an American girl, you may think that I ought to have resented the mal- edictions that filled the air on “Los Americanos.” To the contrary, I felt an unbounded sympathy for the frantic Spaniards. After all they were not more ignorant of our country than the majority of Americans are of Spain. As a student, I had come to Spain with distorted conceptions of her peo- ple. But a year's sojourn among them had corrected all this. Living among them as I did I could see clearly that there was some right and justice on Spain’s side. Past. Our house being well known as the home of Americans, we were in a quandary as to whether or not we should fly our beloved flag dn the day of the fete when the Queen should ar- rive. It was thé custom .of all the foreign residents to hang their respec- tive flags alongside of the Spanish flag from their balconies on the annual fete day celebrating the arrival of the royal family at San Sebastian. But in the state of feverish excitement the flying of the American colors might rouse the mob, as it did when Minister Taylor's house was stoned. On the other hand if we did not raise our of War in Guba. colors the people might regard it as a sign that we did not wish to pay proper respect to the royal family. A note from the Alcalde quickly set- tled the difficult question. “Fly your colors,” he said. “I pledge you protec- tion.” Ten minutes afterward, at his order, twenty civil guards quietly sta- tioned themselves around our house. At 7 o'clock in the morning I was awakened by shouts that gradually rose into clear distinctiveness: “The soldiers! the soldiers! the soldiers have com .Every house in town emptied itself as though by magic, and not one nor two nor three thousand people but all San Sebastian rushed to the station to enthusiastically greet the roval party. An hour later, swelled by the voices of the 5000 soldiers, came the cry, “The King!” “The King!” The bands struck up La Marcha Real,” and the people shouted themselves hoarse, as the royal family drove through the streets to the summer palace. Arrived there the pop- ulace turned again and made a mad rush for the boulevard where, in the presence of the royal family, the Arch- bishop was to give a solemn mass for the departing soldiers. Long before 10 o'clock, the appointed hour, every inch of space was packed with an excited throng, whose volatile temperament permitted it to change in an instant from a passion-tossed popu- lace to men and wamen with reverence in the heart and prayer on the lips for their beloved rulers. The 5000 soldiers filed in solemn lines into the open space allotted them, and high above all, on a spacious platform erected for the occa- sion, stood the altar, before which knelt the Archbishop, the assisting priests and the royal family. The impressive Soldiers service was chanted to the accompani- ment of the low and mournful boom of the ocean waves as they broke against the stone walls. It was a sight which neither time nor change can ever efface. In the rear the deserted city, silent as a city of the dead; to the front the kneeling multi- tude with bowed heads and tearful eyes, their black garments in sharp contrast to the azure of the sky, for be it known there is scarcely a family in Spain that has not lost some relative in the Cuban struggle, and nearly ev- ery woman and child is in mourning. In front of this almost - weeping i fifty years ago, it was easier to earn a livelihood than it is to-day, but, at the same time, two facts coexisted, first, average boys, in all the gradations of life, from the manual to the intel- lectual, were brought up to work and were trained and developed at home, petitors. for labor is greater, are reversed. The among boys s without problem of crowd marched line upon line of sol- diers, clad in dark blue denim suits, their knapsacks and an extra pair of shoes flung over their shoulders, the officers in the same sort of ‘uniform, save that their cuffs and collars were decorated with stars. Less than a week before those soldiers had lived leagues apart, but the common cause, the preservation of Cuba forthemother country, Spain, had drawn them to- gether and on this solemn march to the front. Over half of the loyal fellows in the marching ranks were mere boys. The country had beén almost drained of its men. The gorgeous altar there on the street of San Sebastian, the splendid robes of the priests, the pale blue gowns of the two princesses, furnished the only dash of color. The Queen in her simple gray gown and bonnet, and the little King, the delicate contour of his face brought out in relief by his close-fitting blue uniform, stood side by side as the Arch- bishop finished the services. From where I stood I could see the frail form of the boy King shake with suppressed sobs, and the Queen gazed for a moment at the pathetic picture before her, and then shuddered and covered her face with her hands until she could regain her composure. Not one in our party could restrain from sobbing at the pathetic sight. At the last word from the Archbish- op the royal family, their faces bathed in tears, descended from the altar and were quickly whirled away in car- riages. The people lined the entire way, on either side, from the boulevard to the station, where the trains waited- to bear the soldiers the mile or two to and, second, girls were not their com- In 1898, while the necessity these conditions life largely how to live work, and girls are pushing their way into all industrial occupae 2 San Xander, whence the ships set sail for Cuba. Those two miles were one long line of sobbing men and women. Every barrier of birth and pride was broken down, heart to heart they met on the common ground of human sym- pathy. The proud senora of aristo- cratic birth saw in some obscure coun- try youth a resemblance to her own boy in far off Cuba, and gave him a token ‘ for luck. Women and girls stripped themselves of their jewels and flung them at the soldiers. Men held out their purses to the passing soldiers. 1 saw the pretty flower girl who every ‘morning brought us a basket of blos- soms unfasten the little gold pin which 1 gave her and for which she had over- whelmed me with endless thanks, and without a sigh of regret at losing her one trinket, she fastened it on the coat of a soldier who had not received a parting token. At the station the crowd surged around the trains that were packed to suffocation with the soldiers. How the people cheered! How they called on heaven to help their cause! When a messenger broke through their ranks and distributed among the soldiers little crosses ,as a parting gift from their boy King you could have heard the cheers miles away. And so midst tears and shouts, hand wavings and kisses, prayers.and bless- ings, bearing with them all the money and jewels that the impulsive people had thrown them, the soldiers departed. On the following day San Sebastian again shouted “Bueno!” for the news came that the beautiful hotel in Gra- nada called Washington Irving, in honor of the American who made that city and the Alhambra famous, had had its name officially changed. MIRANDA MASON. CHANCES IN THE WORLD FOR BOYS. By Henry E. Highton. Manifestly, it would be impossible even to consider the deeper and under- lying reasons which in recent years have affected industrial conditions, and still less possible to ‘discuss the remedy. The unnatural con- flict which has ©been so long raging between capital and labor has tended to destroy the middle men, through whom the greater part of the business of the: world was formerly transacted; to derange the equipoise of industry, and to illustrate what Tenny- son calls “the falsehood of extremes.” Of the terrible evils affecting labor of every kind which have already resulted from this conflict I have no doubt whatever; but I am equally convinced that they constitute -phenomena, de- plorable in - themselves, but through which a better order is to be secured and a higher development attained. First—You ask me whether, in my opinion, a boy has as'good a chance in the world now as when I was a boy. My answer'is “Yes” and “No.” THat a boy could have as good a chance to make his way now as then I firmly be- lHeve. That the average boy actually has I do not believe. The reason is to be found in the average boy him- self, and that not through his own fault. When I came to.this Coast, nearly tions. These facts are due to the re- laxation of home training and to edu- cation, which rises intelligence and stimulates ambition without a definite object. The result is that the profes- sions and mercantile business are ovel crowded by men who are above man- ual toil and unfit for intellectual achievements, and, in the struggle for existence and for unfruitful and lux- urious existence, the standard of right gnd wrong is lowered. Hence the enor- mous increase of politicians, to whom government is a goose to be plucked, and who aim to convert official life into a form of paternalism which is supposed to supply the deficiencies of the people themselves. It is true that combinations, both of capital and of labor, have obstructed the approaches to many forms of industry. But, when this is conceded, still the chief troublé~ with the average boy of the present day could be removed by the resurrec- tion of the home and by such improve- ments in our splendid educational sys- tem as would prepare every boy and every girl for some definite employ- ment as well as for the discharge of their ordinary duties in relation to each other and to the world. Secomd—Do you think industrial con- ditions have become so harsh in this country as to mak: the outlook gloomy? Answer—Undoubtedly there is much hardship in existing conditions, but I do not consider the outlook “gloomy.” With all our faults, and notwithstand- ing the evils against which we have to contend, the average standard of ma- terial and intellectual life in the United States is- higher than in_ any other country and much higher than it was fifty years ago. Our resources and our opportu- nities are virtually unlimited. As we approach the end of the century, amidst al]l the darkness which has overspread industry for a number of years, the dawn of a brighter epoch can be distinctly observed. . Third—What trade or business do you think offers. the most hope for the rising generation? Answer—No segregated trade or business, but, referring ' comprehen- sively to the Pacific Coast, all the trades and all the business included in agriculture, horticulture, sugar-beet culture and mining. Fourth—Do you believe - machinery and trusts have made it practically im- possible for the average poor boy to get far above the station in which he was born? Answer—As to machinery, I answer in the negative, because I believe that machinery has increased the demand for labor and improved its quality. As to trusts, in their relation to “the aver- age poor boy,” as in many other rela- tions, I regard them as injurious, but not to the extent suggested by the question. All forms of monopoly, in- cluding trusts, tend to place the poor at the mercy of the rich, and thus to obstruct the aspirations of youth. But I am quite satisfied that, in spite of the trusts in the TTnited States, the “aver- age poor boy” can raise himself, by study and industry, good habits and reasonable economy.