58 Modem Spanish Literature
their industries and up-to-date methods, are gradually de-
veloping and bringing in new methods. And these hydraulic
schemes I spoke of are intended to transform the marshes in
the south and give them to agriculture, thus enlarging the
cotton-and fruit-producing districts. Then too, you have the
trade with other countries, and especially the trade in Cata-
lonia. Let us take Barcelona as an example—its population
was one hundred thousand a hundred years ago, and now it
is eight hundred thousand; it is the most important port of
the whole Mediterranean, and its trade has developed by
leaps and bounds. Catalonia only represents about one-half
of the country, yet it dominates Spain as regards trade.
One of the greatest boons that the present government in
Spain has conferred on the country has been the termination
of the war in Morocco, which had been continually waging
since 1921, the year in which Abd-el-Krim came to the front.
In May 1926 he surrendered, and since then there has been
a very great increase in the power of Spain, as less money
has to be spent on the army.
During this period there have been attempts to reform
the education of the country. A great work is being done
by certain bodies, in Madrid especially, mainly through the
great influence of such men as Francisco Giner de Ios Rios.
It was through his great influence that non-sectarian teach-
ing was introduced and as a result of this reform various
schools have sprung up that compare with the best in Europe.
We find such European scholars as Menendez, Pidal,
Cotarelo y Mori, Rodriguez Marin, and Amenco Castro,
who have done great service to their country by their in-
vestigation of the ancient manuscripts. It is interesting to
notice that there are two methods, in a sense, in Spanish
scholarship—the French and the German. In the schools of
Spain you find some following the German method, with its