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AROUND THE WORLD WITH WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
In Dreamy Spain, Where Time Has Practically Stood Still Over Monuments of Medieval History and Scenes of Heroic Exploit, and. Where the Primitive Methods of Ages Gone Still Prevail.
TINCOLN, Sept. 10. (Special Correspondence of The Bee.)
Thn nnlnanla wktiih aj . .. . . .
I ' i "unu ovia ana ronugai aiviae oetween
v 1 J them ,8 the Prt of western Europe least visited by Amerl-
j S- can"' lthugn t stretches out like a friendly hand toward
ri Vhe western hemisphere and has furnUh.i nnt o.i. th. iron
of North America, but the colonizers of Central and South America.
When early last June we attempted to secure homeward passage we
found the ships sailing from Hamburg, Bremen and Antwerp al
ready filled and had to look to a Mediterranean boat for accommo
dation. I mention this experience in the hope that it may help
some other traveler who finds himself in the same dilemma, ?or we
not only secured satisfactory accommodations on one of the North
German Lloyd steamers, the Princess Irene, but had In addition an
opportunity to see the most backward country in Europe, the strong
bold of the Moors during the middle ages and one of the great fort
resses of the globe.
A fast train makes the distance from Paris to Madrid in a
little over a day, the only drawback being that it passes through
the Pyrenees In the night. As we had remained in Paris longer
than we expected we were deprived of a view of the mountain scen
ery and of the summer resorts of northern Spain. Morning found
us In the very heart of Castile and the landscape resembles soma
parts of Mexico. The country is in the midst of the dry season and,
the grain having been gathered, the fields look quite barren save
for the vineyards. These are numerous all over Spain and recall
the fact that Spain, like other colonizers, tried to make her colonies
tupplement her own products rather than compete with them. She
forbade grape growing In. Cuba, and In Mexico not only prohibited
the culture of the vine, but the production of silk also. Speaking
of grapes, It is only fair to say that in this fruit Spain cannot be
surpassed. Nowhere have we found grapes so abundant, so cheap
or to delicious. At a Vienna hotel last June they were asking $3
for a cluster probably raised in a hot house that in August could
be bought In Spain for 10 or 15 cents. The large white grapes
- exported, to the United States and sold as a luxury during the win
ter months are here within the reach of all. .
Agriculture of Ancient Days
All along the railroad one sees primitive agricultural methods.
The old-fashioned threshing floor is in common use, but instead of
the flail they employ a machine resembling a light disc harrow
- which is hitched to a pair of mules and drawn rapidly round and
round. When the wheat is separated from the straw men go over
the threshing floor and winnow out the wheat, the wind blowing
away the chaff. We were Informed that they had had a prosperous
year in the graln'dlstricts, but the stubble did not Indicate as heavy
a crop as we raise In the United States.
Madrid surprised us. It contains more than half a million of
Inhabitants, Is about 2,000 feet above the sea and is really a very
attractive city. It la not an ancient city, being less than a thounand
years old, but It has substantial blocks, a beautiful boulevard aud a
picture gallery one and a half centuries old. In the different gal
leries at Madrid are some of the best canvases of Velazques and
Murlllo. "
As In all other Spanish countries, one finds here reminders of
the national sport, the bull fight. Each city has Its amphitheater
or circular bnll pit, and It Is often the most conspicuous building In
the place; the fans and In Spain the fan Is omnipresent and often
ot great value are ornamented with scenes from the bull fight
and the billboards blaze with announcements of the next Sunday' "
combat. The bull fight Is probably a lineal descendant of the glad-
iatorlal contests of Rome, a surviving relic of brutality which must
disappear when Spain follows her northern neighbors is the adop
tion of un.iersal education. . At present her percentage of illiteracy
Is disgracefully large.
While Spain has a constitutional government and goes through
the form, of electing a legislative body, her elections do not seem
to be characterized by the freedom and fairness that attend elections
In northern Europe. There Is, however. In this country as in others
a growing spirit of reform which is already demanding more schools
and less religious Interference in the government. Much Is ex
pected of the present king, both because of the Independence which
he has manifested and because the new queen corns from England,
whre parliamentary government has for centuries been an estab
lished fact.
Before leaving Madrid a word should be said in regard to the
Toledo ware iron and steel inlaid with gold. It resembles some
what the Damascene work of Japan and the old inlaid work of
Damascus and Constantinople. The far-famed Toledo blade was
not less dangerous in war because It was ornamented with delicate
tracery of gold.
A night's ride brought us to Cordova, once the Moorish capital
of Spain. It had been a city of sonde note under the Romans before
the Christian era and the Moon undertook to make It a western
Mecca for the Mohammedans. There are still to be seen two gates
and a wall which were built by the Romans and a bridge which
rests upon the foundations laid by the great builders. The bridge
with its massive arches and ponderous piers is Interesting for other
t-. '
nasi
! .- J.. if M !VrH
THE OLD BRIDGE AT CORDOVA.
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than historic reasons, as it gives evidence of the fact that the
Moors were quick to appreciate and to follow the example of their
predecessors. In the stream near the bridge are three grist mills
dating from the middle ages, one of which still supplied flour to
the neighborhood. t ,
Mosque of Cordova
The old mosque, however, is the overshadowing object of in
terest in Cordova,' and in itself well repays a visit to this city ol
narrow, winding streets and oriental appearance. The ground plan
of the mosque covers about 240,000 square feet nearly as much as
St. , Peter's at Rome, but one-third of the space is occupied by a
court.' All well-regulated mosques have a -court where the wor
shipers assemble and purify themselves before entering upon their
devotions. The mosque was some four centuries in building, one
ruler after another extending Its limits in order to accommodate
the increasing number of converts. In appearance the structure
is low and flat and gives little Idea of its immensity. It is sur
rounded by a strong wall heavily buttressed and Is entered by huge
gates. One of these gates bears striking testimony to a remarkable
agreement entered Into by the Christians and Mohammedans
whereby the two antagonistic religions divided the church between
them. These gates are -covered with plates of bronze on which
Catholic and Arable symbols alternate. The Joint occupation did
not last very long, but Abderrahman when he desired to secure more
room for the followers of the Prophet was considerate enough to
purchase the other half from the Christians.
The Interior of the mosque Is a succession of arches supported
by nearly a thousand pillars and these pillars, the traveler is told,
were brought from Carthage, France and Italy. Workmen were
-secured in Constantinople by one of the Caliphs, and It is possible
to find almost every variety of architecture in the columns them
selves or In their capitals 'and bases.
When Cordova was recaptured by the Christians in the thir
teenth century a part of this building was converted into a cathe
dral and today It presents a curious combination of chapel, altar,
vhrine and mosque. The most attractive decorations in the mosque
are the mosaics, and in superb wood carving in the principal choir
are of rare merit. One series of these pictures in wood Illustrate
Old Testament history, while another portrays the principal events
in the life of Christ.
The road from Cordova Cordova, once the center of art, Arabic
learning and religion, but now a prosaic town of less than 60,000
to Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors north of the Mediter
ranean, leads through a succession of olive groves. Nowhere, not
even in Palestine or about the Mount that bears the olive's name,
have we seen such an abundance of these trees. From tho impor
tance of this Industry one would suppose that southern Europe could
supply olive oil enough without importing cotton seed from the
United States, and yet we have been assured by shippers that a
great deal of olive oil which we buy from Europe Is really cotton
seed oil which has twice crossed the Atlantic.
Granada and Alhambra
The city of Granada is situated at the foot of tie Sierra Nevada
upon whose summit some snow still Jingered 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 the west to the Atlantic. At one time Granada had
a population of 250,000, but today less 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 fashion and surrounded themselves
with a luxury which the colder countries of the north did not at
tempt to Imitate. When the Indians roamed over the prairies and
hunted through the forests of the western hemisphere, the Arab
ruler had his palace on the height of Alhambra and turning his face
toward Mecca prayed for the extermination of the Infidel; his war
riors went out from the fortress to ravage the surrounding country
and, returning laden with spoil, held high carnival on the banks of
the Darro. The fairest of the women of his race were gathered
into the harem and flowers and fountains -gave perfume and fresh
ness to his habitation.
Washington Irving has contributed so much to literature on
the Alhambra and its legends that it is not necessary to undertake
a description of this fascinating palace of the Moorish kings. It
crowns a hill much as the Parthenon crowns the. Acropolis or as the
summer residence of Mexico's president crowns Chapultepec. Irv
ing found the palace neglected and occupied by wandering families
whose members felt no interest in Its preservation. He helped to
arouse an Interest in the place which has led the government not
only to protect it from further vandalism, but to restore many ot
its parts. Its rooms, halls, audience chambers, courts and baths
are all finished in most elaborate style. As In other Mohammedan
buildings the ornamentation Is In geometrical figures and flowers,
an the followers of this religion carry their aversion to Idolatry so
far that they do not use human fl&ures or even figures of animals
In decoration. The material employed In the Alhambra Is stucco
and It is surprising what delicacy and graco characterize the works.
One finds here a reminder of the 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 Hull of Ambassadors
le especially interesting because in this room, if the word of the
guide can be relied upon, Ferdinnnd and Isabella received Columbus
Just before he embarked upon his voyage of discovery.
A part of the Alhambra was torn down by order of Charles tha
Fifth, who early in the sixteenth century conceived the idea of
building himself a palace of modern design. The structure was
never finished, however, and stands today a ruin, more substantial
but less beautiful than the palace which it was intended to out
shine. The Moors built a great cistern within the outer walls of
Alhambra and brought water from the mountains to supply it. It
1b bo far below the surface thaf 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 have been characteristic of the
floors, for the city of Constantinople was likewise protected by Im
mense underground reservoirs.
Granada has a considerable gypsy population. From the Al
hambra one can see their dwellings on an opposite hillside. The
rooms are hewn out of the stone with only the door visible. All In
all, Granada offers as much of variety 'as one can find anywhere In
Europe, and more glimpses of the oriental life of the past than can
be seen anywhere else west of the Bosphorus.
Gibraltar's Rocky Height
The rock of Gibraltar has no advertising matter on It. In this
respect only does It differ from the photographs with which every
reader Is familiar. It Is, however, larger than the pictures indicate.
It Is an immense limestone formation rising obruptly from the water
to a height of 1,400 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 an island, for the low, flat strip of ground which connects
It with the mainland seema to have been formed by the washing
In of the sand. The triangular face of the rock, which is usually
photographed, looks toward the land Instead of toward the sea,
the water front being much less imposing. A town of 26,000 in
habitants has grown up around the base of the rock, fully 20 per
cent of the population being made up of the English garrison. It Is
strictly a military town and the government does not encourage
the settlement of civilians there. The rock Is full of concealed
cannon and Is supposed to be Impregnable. ,It seems to be per
forated with galleries and one Bees the nose of a cannon poked out
at every commanding point. When the wind is from the east a
cloud hovers over the rock, sometimes concealing Its summit.
While the harbor at Gibraltar Is not an especially good one, it is
one of the most frequented in the world, and the d docks will
accommodate the largest ships. Just beyond the rock of Gibraltar
there is a strip of neutral ground, one side sentinelled by the Brit
ish, the other by the Spanish. Several thousand Spaniards enter
the city every morning, for all the manual labor Is done by them,
and" return to their homos at night. Just across the bay or harbor
is the Spanish city of Algeciras, and from both Algeciras and Gibral
tar boats cross the strait to Tangier, the Morrocco capital.
We had planned to make this trip, but were deterred partly
because a revolution in Tangier made it uncertain that we would
be able to land, and partly because unfavorable weather threatened
to delay our return.
I found at Gibraltar an iastance of hereditary office-holding
which 18 not often paralleled among our people. The position of
American consul has been In one family for eighty-four years con
secutively. The present occupant, Mr. Sprague, is the third of his
line to represent our government, his father, who held the office for
over fifty years, in turn succeeding his father. The present consul,
Sprague III, is Intensely American notwithstanding the long resi
dence of his family outside the country.
As the traveler leaves Gibraltar for the west ho bids farewell
to Africa and to Europe at the same time Gibraltar and a some
what similar rock on the opposite side of the channel, the two an
ciently known as the Pillars of Hercules, stand out In bold relief
against the Bky. These rocks are not the last land, however, al
though the 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 Tarifa; If it be true that the two words are related it is fitting
.hat Tarifa should be the last thing seen by the traveler on his de
parture, for the tariff is the first thing which he encounters 'upon his
arrival in America. W. J. BRYAN.
(Copyright, 1800.)
Jurned Back a! Ellis Island The Tragedy of the
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Rejected
Immigrant
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Broughton Brandenburg, President of the National Institute of Immigration, Writes in
T WAS first brought home forcibly to ma seven years ago, this that she could see.no sign of her own on the dock, though Bhe had
blighting misfortune that falls on the immigrant returned as written that she was coming, and her worry was increased when she
Inadmissible to the United States, whan I saw a lonely, be- was hustled from the ship aboard a barge and towed down to an
institutional place on an Island, where a close guard was kept on
aU who came or went, as if they were prisoners. The exigencies of
the laws protecting a gTeat country seemed quite absurd and cruel
to her, all the mora so when, after a hurried physical inspection by
a young doctor in a uniform, she was put aside for a more thorough
examination, which came after hours of heartrending suspense, only
to be followed by a close questioning into her personal affairs before
three severe men in a court-like room. She was so utterly alona
and their English speech was so strange that the interpreter aeemad
her only tie with the happy world she had known. After a brief
deliberation they decided to send her to a large chamber with iron
beds, floors smelling of cleansing chemical and with bars across
the windows as if the place were a prison. In answer to her tear
ful entreaties she was told that the authorities were trying to find
her children, to be sure that they were able to give a bond that their
mother should not become a public charge." For three days ahe
stayed immured, torn with doubt and fear and growing more and
more 111 dally from the discomforts to which she was unaccustomed.
A kind German missionary often talked with her, and once brought
an official from the German consulate to see her. On the fourth day
this subordinate came with another official from the Immigrant sta
tion, and, as kindly as they were able, they told her that her son
could not be located by telegraph, her daughter In Chicago was in no
position to help her and her daughter In Hoboken was 111 in the
hospital, with the municipality caring for her children; therefore
the papefs in the case had been marked "'Excluded?" She must go
back by the ship on which she came. Jn a few more days. Just how
many she could not tell in her wretched state, in a party of forty
others, all weeping and wailing, the barge took her to the- docks
again and she was returned to Hamburg.
This is but one of thousands of cases in which the facts as I
was not afraid, especially when assured by her neighbors, eager -have gathered them, are pathetic in the extreme. All over Eurone
I have found these scattered unfortunates who have been ruined in
life by failure to enter the United States. This last year there were
wildered old woman, a gendarme at her elbow, led off the
Kalsar-qual la Hamburg and up to the municipal refuge in the
Bweide-atrasae, there to await the disposition ot her future aa an
object of charity.
She made her way with difficulty over the cobblestones,
weighted as she was with an old leather, vails and a bundle done
up in a ahawl. Her chin quivered with ber anguish and the diffi
cult tears of the aged ran slowly down over her yellowed and
wrinkled cheeks. It waa a pitiful home-coming to the native land
to which, as she thought, ber last goodby bad been said a month
before.
I made particular Inquiry for the facts la ber case, and this
was ber story. She had lived all her life near Salonsburg, close to
Potsdam, and reared a large family. Her children were scattered
over the face of the earth, some in South Africa, tome in Bratll and
one son and two daughters in the United States. The Bon was a
laborer in Texas, one daughter was the wife of a poor tailor in Chi
cago, and the other daughter, a widow with three children, kept a
cheap boarding house in Hoboken, N. J. When her husband
bad died she burled him in the village churchyard, sold her few
belongings and with less than $100 set out for the United States,
having no conception of how widely scattered her children were
there and not dreaming that aU of them would not come down to
the dock to meet ber and form a happy party that would take her
at once to the home of some one of them where she might spend
ber last days In peace. She had some misgivings when the agent
who sold ber the ticket insisted on a deposit out of her small store
of enough to pay her return fare, should she "not be admitted at
Ellis Island." Then and there she learned for the first time that
ahe must pass some sort of an examination at New York, but, know
ing full well that she was good, honest and had done no wrong, she
was not afraid especially when assured by her neighbors, eager -to
rid themselves of any chance of caring for her, that her children
would arrange the trouble about the examination. Then came the
long voyage, with its squalor, Its filth, iu seasickness and its mixed, sent back from the United States over 12,000 immigrants who had
howling steerage mob in which she waa compelled to keep company wagered their lives' desUnles on being admitted. To accompany
day and' night with persons whom she would have chased away from the children or the sick, or to prevent the separation of families,
ber own door with a broom. When the good day came that the other admissible aliens were compelled or volunteered to return!
treat hlp drew up to the wonderful harbor it distressed her greatly to tho number ol 10,000 iuaLlug the total returned acroaa aeai to'
the Outlook of How Lives Are Wrecked on the Rock of
the porta ot embarkation 22,000. My private reports from the great
ports ot Hamburg, Bremen, Liverpool, Naples and Flume show that
in these, through which five-sixths ot the immigration passes, at
least on the steamship companies' records, 68,000 persons were
refused embarkation from June 1, 1905, to June 1, 1906. The
North German Lloyd doctors at Bremen prevented 5,300 from sail
ing In the month of May. The majority of these had traveled from
east central or eastern Europe, and, barring the double sea voyage,
the hardship was Just as great as with the 22,000. The life plans
of almost 90,000 persons overturned annually by the present system
of administration of our Immigration laws! Surely so enormous
a tragedy should command world-wide attention. Surely such an
Inhuman system should undergo an Immediate reorganization.
But officialdom and the public seem calloused by the frequent
little stories of these deluded, helpless unfortunates. Only the un
usual ones are even printed In the newspapers now. A few sam
ples ot these which have dramatic qualities will suffice to convince
anyone of bow real Is the individual misery inflicted, how appalling
the aggregated anguish must be.
Lifting itself abgve the others is the case of the Molnars, father
and son, Hungarians who arrived at Ellis Island from Flume last
spring. The father was 55 and the boy 16. The remainder of the
family, dependent for support on them, had remained behind- It
had been a hard struggle to borrow the money to send the two
breadwinners. The youth was found to be admissible, but the doc
tors discovered a deep-seated disease In Ludwlg Molnar, the father,
and he was excluded. Being the son's guardian, the boy must re
turn with him. This spelled unutterable disaster for the entire
family. In an effort to comfort them one of the Inspectors ex
plained that If the boy had come alone be would have been ad
mitted, but he must return on his father's account. The day drew
near when they were to be taken on board to be deported. Father
and son were constantly together, talking tearfully over some plan.
At last the fatal morning came. A guard appeared at the grated
door of the detection rooms and called: ' .
"Ludwlg Molnar."
There was a shot, the crash of something falling tohe floor,
and a wild cry of grief from the boy as he threw himself across his
father's dead body. The sacrifice was accomplished, and was suffi
cient. Both were admitted.
The Fannie Diner case Is perhaps the most famous of recent
fears, much ado having been made over it at' home and abroad.
Defective Aclministration of Law
President Roosevelt having interested himself In the case and the
house of representatives having rapidly passed a bill In order to
help the unfortunate girl. Jacob Diner of New York, vice presi
dent of the Retail Druggists association, came to the United States
from near Odessa fifteen years ago, leaving behind a widowed
mother and three sisters. He built up a very successful business
and supported his family by remittances. At the tlmeof the great
Odessa massacre the mother and daughters fled in their night
dresses from before the mob ten miles across the snowy fields, and,
after frightful privations, hid in a peasant's house until they could
communicate with their brother Jacob, who cabled money and se
cured the assistance of friends In Russia to smuggle the family
over the German border, Fannie Diner, the oldest daughter, had
been ill since the night of the Bight across the frozen country, and
when the first German emigrant control station was reached the
doctors found her to be insane. The family were arrested and
compelled to give surety that they would not remain in Germany.
They sailed from Bremen for New York, and, as the immigration
law positively forbids the admission of the insane, Fannie Diner
was ordered deported, likewise her mother as her guardian, in order
that she might be cared for. To return to their Russian home
meant probable death. At best the family was forever divided.
Jacob Diner offered a bond of $10,000 that hU Bister should not
become a public charge, but this could not legally be accepted. A
Attorney General Julius M Mayer and Congressman William S.
Bennett headed an imposing body of influential men in an effort to
swerve Washington In the final derision, but the law is plain and
the facts were incontrovertible. President Roosevelt wrote a let
ter to Secretary Metcalf in the girl's behalf, but to no avail. The
deportation was ordered and she was sent back. Three months
later persons supposedly employed by ber brother brought her to
Philadelphia, but she was recognized, and on the Kroqnland, on
the 14th fit April of the precent year, slje was again deported, this
time in the charge of a man and wife named Cohen, suffering from
tuberculosis and being deported as inadmissible. Just previous to
ber deportation Representative Hopkins of Kentucky alleged mis
representations in the case and one of the liveliest scenes of the
session ensued on the floor. At this writing the girl is some thou
sands of miles from any. of her own family aud In the care of the
Russian authorities.
One of the many little dramas on Long Wharf, Boston, o
curred thia last July. Oa-ihe steamship Canoplc- there arrived
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