Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 August 1902 — ALFONSO ON A RAMPAGE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ALFONSO ON A RAMPAGE.

Young King of Spain Cauaeb a Very Bad Scandal. According to Madrid correspondents the eccentric behavior of King Alfontio is causing the royal household much anxiety for the future of the voung King, Who seems to combine the depraved tastes of his notorious grandmother with the irresponsibility of his half-imbecile £athex.After.aijgi'ring.the..nii.!it.ary.ofticials and antagonizing his ministers, he is now on strained terms with the Queen mother, whom he has repeatedly insulted grossly, and has estranged the sympathy of the family and of his court by the fondness he has developed for low associates. The household has made desperate efforts to conceal these facts and prevent a public scandal, but a portion of the truth has nevertheless leaked out in so? cial circles. The King’s attitude toWftrd the Queen mother is the most severely criticised part of his conduct, for he seems to have lost all sense of respect due to her and when in any way crossed by her, he curses her in thq language of a coal heaver, even though servants and others may be present. The King will have it clearly understood that his word is supreme and at the most trifling opposition to his whims he becomes abusive. He has frequently spat in the faces of servants who have neglected his orders. The most recent of these soenes very nearly resulted in an open rupture betwen the King and the Queen mothr. The King showered upon his mother all the oaths acquired from his low caste associates, and finally ordered her out* of the royal palace. The Queen remaining impassive, the King cried violently: “I shall call my guards to throw you into

the streets of Madrid.” He was ringing to give the order, when his confessor came hurriedly in, and succeeded in restoring outward peace. The Queen moth er has since then declined to see the King save in public and has passed most of her time in prayer. It is said that she thought of retiring from the court but that the King’s advisers have i>ersuaded her to remain for the present at least. ' Serious as the consequence of thes« events has been in the palace and in the government, the public, which is as yet imperfectly informed of the King’s ecoohtrtcities.tsTmpreswdratticrfirvnraMy than otherwise. His refusal to sign certain decrees, and the continual opposition he raises against ministerial projects. have given rise to the hope that the power is held by a man resolute enough to end the evils engendered by the unfirm rule of a woman swaying between political antagonism and religious pressure. His utter disregard of military precedents has been much relished by the populace as an act of independence, while his personal investigation of an explosion in the outskirts of Madrid at 7 a. m. was interpreted as a -sign of praiseworthy initiative. But those within the palace consider the King’s conduct not so mnch the result of enterprise as the freaks of a young and hereditary weak mind, deranged by the sudden acquisition of power.

ALFONSO XIII.