Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-03-31 | Page 6 | Unrest in Spain

UNREST IN SPAIN. A policy of neutrality has kept Spain out of the European war but not out of domestic troubles, and it has become necessary for the government to suspend sus-pend the constitutional guarantees in an attempt to suppress what might easily become a formidable uprising. There are several good reasons for unrest in Spain. To begin with the unrestricted submarine campaign of Germany has caused a shortage of food and the poor are suffering the pangs of hunger without with-out any prospect of immediate relief, so there have been food riots to begin with. Then the workmen planned a general strike for the purpose of ad-I ad-I vaucing wai-es in proportion to the high cost of living. A strike would of oourso paralyze the business of the country, the workmen would join tho food rioters and a revolution revo-lution would soon be in full blast. The Kursian rovolution, it will bo remem bered, began with food riots. At last f accounts the military had the situation well in hand, but it is too early to tell j, what will happen in the near future. The court and the government are said to be pro-German, and as the German f submarine blockade is held to be the f cause of the food shortage very natural- J ly there is great opposition upon the , j part of the people to the regularly con- j stituted authorities and the feeling will j grow rather than diminish as food be- f comes scarcer and the sufferings of the j I poor increase. Most men would prefer . . to die behind barricades in tho streets than to see their loved ones starve to ij death. i! Like the king of England Alfonso.! Ill is more or less of a figurehead, the ' government being a constitutional mon- j I arehy. The executive power is vested ; j iu the king, who is assisted by a conn- j cil of ministers. Under the constitution ; the king is irresponsible and his minis- j tors are required to countersign all his j official acts, thereby assuming response ; bility. Personally Alfonso has always ' been very popular with the people and he has strengthened his grip upon the throne by his democratic ways. Yet if ; the government is overthrown it is evi- j dent that the revolutionists will not stop short of the establishment of a republic, 1 although past experiences proved dismal failures. The complete success of the Bussians in changing their form of government gov-ernment will doubtless inspire similar efforts in all the other states of Europe not directly ruled by the people, and it would not be at all surprising if the world witnesses some startling transformations trans-formations before the end of the first quarter of the twentieth century is reached.