all the problems, without renouncing, as is natural, his own point of view."[1]
I thought it would be useful to give the readers of the Daily People a review of Simarro's work, as clearly and succinctly as possible, but furnishing them with all the necessary data to meet an adversary in a discussion of this now historic question. To avoid overloading the text, I have placed much of these data in footnotes. I have preserved the titles of the five chapters in which the original book is divided.
1. THE EVENTS IN BARCELONA.
Since Francisco Ferrer Guardia was accused of, and tried for, having led the insurrection which took place in Barcelona[2] during the week of July 26th–30th, 1909, it is important first to form an opinion of what happened during that week.[3] The trouble hinged on the war which the government of Spain was waging in Morocco at the time. It was started on the pretext of avenging the killing of four Spanish soldiers at Melilla, in reality to enable a society of Spanish and French capitalists successfully to operate mines in that district. The people of Spain knew this, and the war became unpopular in spite of the patriotic drum-beating of the capitalist press. The discontent was especially marked in the province of Catalonia, which has always been a hot-bed of anarchists, Socialists, republicans, separatists,[4] and in general, of people ever ready to start
- ↑ Some people seem to think that to judge a question impartially one must bring to its study a mind free from any opinion on the subject. Such a state of mind, especially in a political case like this, is evidently impossible to any but a hypothetical man who would not only know absolutely nothing about the case in question and have no interest whatever in it, but would be devoid of all political opinions. All that is necessary to an impartial judgment is to bring to it a mind free from prejudice. In this sense it may be said that although the author's opinion was in favor of Ferrer while he wrote the book, he wrote it without any prejudice.
- ↑ Barcelona is the Capital of the province of Catalonia, and the first industrial center in Spain.
- ↑ The reader will find a complete account of the events in the Daily People of January 23, 1910.
- ↑ The "Separatists" want an autonomous government for Catalonia. They are the Irish of Spain, in that respect.
