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The Commoner.
JBR 26, lOt
3
HE
'f.
e interior of tho mosquo Is a succession
hcs supported by nearly a thousand pillars
these pillars, the traveler Is told, were
;ht from Carthage, France and Italy. Work-
wero secured in Constantinople by one of
aliphs and it is possible to find almoBt evory
ty of architecture in thd columns themselves
their capitals a.nd bases.
,rhen Cordova was recaptured by tho Chris
in the thirteenth century a part of this
ling was , converted into a cathedral and to-.
it presents a curious combination of chapel,
r, shrine and mosque, The most attractive
rations in the mosque are the mosaics and
superb wood carving in the principal choir
df rare merit , One, series of these pictures
dod illustrate Old Testament history, while
ther por.trays the principal events in the life
Christ.
The road from Cordova Cordova, once tho
tor of art, Arabic learning and religion, but
a prosaic town of less than sixty thousand
to Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors
rth of the Mediterranean, leads through a suc-
ssion of olive groves. Nowhere, not even in
alestine or about the mount that bears tho
,Te's name, have we seen such an abundance
these trees From the importance of this in-.
ustry one would suppose that southern Europe
uld supply olive oil enough without Importing
lyotton seed from tho United States and yot we
Laave been assured by shippers tnat a great deal
the olive oil which we buy from Europo is
really cotton seed oil which has twice crossed
the Atlantic.
The city of Granada is situated at the foot
of the Sierra Nevada, upon whose summit some
snow still lingered when two-thirds of the month
of August had passed. The city stretches back
toward the mountains and derives Its food supply
from a splendid valley which extends toward tho
west to the Atlantic. At one time Granada had
a population of two hundred and fifty thousand,
but today Jess than a third of that number can
be counted in the city. In the height of its
glory Granada's kings held court in oriental fash
ion and surrounded themselves with a luxury
which the colder countries of the north did not
attempt to imitate. When the Indians rdamed
over tKe prairies and hunted through the forests
of? .the v western hemisphere the Arab ruler had
his palace on tlie height of Alhambra and turn
ing his face toward Mecca prayed for the ex
termination of the infidel; his warriors went out
from this fortress to ravage the surrdunding
-country .and, returning laden with spoil, held
high carnival on tho banks of the Darro. The
fairest of the women of his rAce were gathered
into the harem and flowers, and fountains gave
perfume and freshness to his habitation.
, , Washington, Irving has contributed so much to
..literature on the Alhambra and its legends that
it, is not, neqess, ary to undertake a description of
this fascinating palace of tho Moorish kings. Tt
crowns a hill much as the Parthenon crowns
the Acropolis or as tho summer rosldenco of
Mexico's president crowns Chapultepec, Irving
found tho palace neglected and occupied by wan
dering families whoso members felt no Interest
in Its preservation. Ho helped to arouse an in
terest In tho place which has lead tho govern
ment not only to protect it from furthor vandal
ism, but to restore many of its parts. Its rooms,
halls, audience .chambers, courts and baths aro
all finished In most elaborate stylo. As In othor
Mohammedan buildings the ornamentation is In
geometrical figures and flowers, as tho followers
of this religion carry their aversion to idolatry
so far that they do not use human figures or
even figures of animals In decoration. The ma
terial employed in the Alhambra is stucco and it
Is surprising what delicacy and grace character
ize tho works. Ono finds hero a reminder of
tho screens which play so Important a part In
the tombs built by. the Mohammedan conquerors
In India, except that in India marble is used.
To the American tho room known as the Hall
pf the Ambassadors is especially Interesting be
cause in this room, if tho word of tho guide can
be relied upon, Ferdinand and Isabella received
Columbus just before ho embarked upon his voy
age of discovery,
A part of tho Alhambra was torn down by
order of Charles the Fifth, who early In the six
teenth century conceived tho Idea of building
himself a palace of modern design. The struct
ure was never finished, however, and stands to
day a ruin, more substantial but less beautiful
than the palace which it was intended to out
shine. Tho Moors built a great cistern within
the outer walls of Alhambra and brought water
from the mountains to supply it. It Is so far be
low tho surface that the water is always cool
and the water Is so perfectly filtered that even
now It Is greatly sought for drinking. This far
sighted provision not only for present wants, but
for possible siege seems to havo been character
istic of the Moors, for tho city of Constantinople
was likewise protected by immense underground
reservoirs.
Granada has a considerable gypsy population.
From the Alhambra one can see their dwellings
on an opposite hillside. The rooms are hewn out
of the stone, vlth only the door visible. All in
all, Granada offers as much of variety as oho-can
find anywhere in Europo and more glimpses of
the oriental life of the past than can be seen
anywhere else west of the Bosphorus.
The rock of Gibraltar has no advertising
mattor on it In this respect only does it differ
from the photographs with which every reader
is familiar. - It is, however, larger than tho
pictures indicate. It is an immense limestone
formation rising abruptly from the water to a
height of fourteen hundred feet. It is about three
miles long -and at the widest point three-quarters
of a mile across. It is evident that' it was once
SAM JONES ,
Sam Jones, the famouB evangelist, died last
week, and his death removes from the scene of
action a man whose life work resulted in great
rarid permanent good to 'the world. His
earnestness, his evident sincerity and his plain,
commonsense way of putting things, made him a
favorite with the people. No ono ever was in
doubt as to where Sam Jones stood on any ques
tion confronting the people, and many of his
quaint and blunt sayings have passed into prov
erbs. Many years ago Sam Jones was engaged
in a great union revival meeting at Plattsburg,
Mo. One of the visiting ministers asked him one
day why he did not use better language and re
frain from so many "slang" expressions. "My
dear brother," replied Mr. Jones, "I am a fisher
of men. I judge the efficacy pf "my bait by the
results I get. When one of your soft-spoken,
namby-pamby little preachers can show a bigger
etring of fish than I can I'll try his kind of bait."
For a quarter of a century Sam Jones was a
prominent figure in the pulpit and on the lecture
platform, and if life is measuredtby what men put
Into it, instead of what men get but of it, then
Sam Jones' ' life was a success.'
JJJ
THE NEBRASKA CAMPAIGN
The democratic campaign in Nebraska is be
ing prosecuted with vigor and most encouraging
!rQports come from all parts of the state. Mr.
Shallenberger, the democratic candidate for gov
ernor, is making a winning campaign, and hjs
'masterly presentation of the issues at stake in
v the" state is winning support every day, Mr.
Thompson, the convention nominee for the United
States senate, is also prosecuting a strong cam
paign and Is being greeted by large and enthu
siastic audiences wherever he goes. The con
gressional campaign is especially interesting and
the outlook is unusually good from the demo
cratic standpoint. In "the First district T. J,
Doyle is facing great odds, but the weakness of
the republican candidate and the apathy of those
who are usually most active in tho republican
campaign encourage the belief that Mr. Doylo
will win. In the Second district G. M. Hitch
cock is making a vigorous fight. He has served
in ono congress, but was defeated in the land
slide two years ago. His record while in the
house was such that he can confidently expect
to be elected this year. Judge Guy T. Graves
In the Third district Is being met with such
generous receptions everywhere he goes that he
is confident of taking the district out of the re
publican column. In the Fourth district J, J.
Thomas is especially active and has bright pros
pects. In the Fifth district B, D. Sutherland,
ex-member of congress, is once more the demo
cratic candidate.- He is an experienced and able
campaigner and although the district is heavily
republican he is making great Inroads on the
enemy's lines. In the Sixth district G L. Shum
way is making u fine Impression and In view
of the opposition the republican candidate finds
within his own party Mr. Shumway's chances for
election are fair, The democratic state ticket is
strong and the candidates are well known as
men who will stand firmly upon the platform
adopted by the state convention. . The state
ticket is as follows: For governor, Ashton C.
Shallenberger; for lieutenant governor, William
an Island for tho low flat strip of ground which
connects it with tho main land seems to havo
boon formed by tho washing in of tho sand. Tho
tilangular face of tho rock which is usually pho
tographed loolta toward tho land Instead of to
ward tho sea, tho water front being much less
imposing. A town of twenty-six thousand inhab
itants has grown up around tho base of tho rock,
fully twenty per cont of tho population being
made up of the English garrison. It Is strictly a
military town and tho government doos not en
'courage tho settlement of civilians there. The
rock is full of concealed cannon and is supposed
to bo Impregnable. It scorns to bo perforated
with galleries and one sees the noso of a cannon
poked out at every commanding point. Whon
tho wind Is from tho oast a cloud hovers over
tho rock, sometimes concealing Its summit. While
tho harbor at Gibraltar Is not an especially good
ono, It Is ono of tho most frequented In the world,,
and tho dry docks will accornmodato tho largest
ships. Just beyond tho rock of Qlbraltnr there
is a strip of neutral ground, one side sentinelled
by tho British, tho o'hor by tho Spanish. Sev
eral thousand Spaniards enter tho city every
morning, for all the manual labor Is dono by them,
and return to their homes at night. Just "cross
tho bay or harbor Is tho Spanish city & Alge
clras and from both Algoclras and Gibraltar boats
cross tho strait to Tanglers, tho Morocco capital.
Wo had planned to make this trip, but wore
deterred partly because a revolution In Tanglers
made It uncertain that wo would bo .able to jand
and partly becauso unfavorable weather threat
ened to delay our return.
I found at Gibraltar an Instance of hereditary
offlcoholdlng which Is not often paralleled among
our people. The position of American consul has
been In one family for eighty-four years consccu
tlvely. The present occupant, Mr. Spraguo, is tho
third of his lino to represent our government, his
father, who hold the offlce for over fifty years, In
turn succeeding his father. Tho present consul,
Spraguo, Is Intensely American, notwithstanding
the long residence of his family outside the coun
try. As the traveler leaves Gibraltar fqr tho west
ho bids farewell to Africa and to Europe at the
samo time Gibraltar and a somewhat similar
rock on the opposite side of the channel, tho two,
anciently known as the Pillars Qf Hercules, stand
out in 'bold relief against tho sky. Those rocks
are not tho last land, nowovor, although tho most
striking features. There Is a point a few miles
farther west known as Tarlfa which, according
to tradition, was once occupied by bold robbers
who exacted tribute from all who passed by, It
Is even said that our word tariff traces its, origin
to this Tarlfa; if It bo true that the two words
aro related it is fitting that Tarlfa should bo the
last thing seen by the traveler on his departure
for the tariff is the first thing which he encount
ers upon his arrival in America.
Copyright
H. Green; for secretary of state, Carl R. Gouchor;
for treasurer, Frank Babcock; for auditor, J. S.
Canady; for land commissioner, Jacob V. Wolfe;
for attorney general, Lysle I. Abbott; for state
superintendent, R. H. Watson; for railway com
mlssloners, George Horst, J. W. Davis, A. P. Fltz
slmmons. The voters who are In earnest about
their desire to achieve needed reforms can make
sure of them by giving their support to the above
ticket.
JJJ
VOTE FOR MR BELL
Commoner readers in California should re
member that the gubernatorial contest in that
state Is between Theodore A. Bell, the democratic
nominee, and James Gillett, the republican nomi
nee. William H. Langdon is the Independence
League candidate for governor. The Commoner
believes that it will be a mistake for California
voters, who are opposed to monopoly, to cast
their votes for Mr. Langdon, because that would
serve -to divide the anti-monopoly forces and thus
make possible- the electlQn of the republican can
didate. Mr. Bell, as a citizen and public official,
has made a good record. While this may also
be said for Mr. Langdon, It Is reasonable to be
lieve that the California contest will be between
Gillett and Bell, with Langdon third In the race;
and, therefore, a vote cast for Langdon is a
contribution toward Gillett's election. r
JJJ
The superintendent of the Washington pub
lic library says there. is less fiction read in that
city than in any. other city of similar size in the
world. But he may be deceived by the notion
that the rest of us read the Congressional Record.
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