Page:The "Trial" of Ferrer - A Clerical Judicial Murder (IA 2916970.0001.001.umich.edu).pdf/17

 III. TIHE SNOW BALL. In this chapter the author studies the genesis of the accusation against Ferrer. Ile compares it to a snow ball, which, starting from the merest nothing, increases in size as it rolls along. At first nobody thought of accusing Fer- As a matter of fact, publie opinion seemed for a time to point to the followers of Lerroux, the republican leader. But the clerical elements had sworn for a long time to rià themselves of Ferrer at the carliest opportunity; he had already cscuped them once, the occasion was too good now rer. not to make the best of it. They procceded to prepare, through the clerical press, publie opinion for a formal ac- cusation against Ferrer. At first they made vague hints in his direction; the revolution is the moral fruit of Ferrer's teachings, they said. From this they passed on to insinuation such as, "It was believed in Bareclona that the infamous Francisco Ferrer had spent a month in Barcelona with Soledad Vil- lafranca," and that he had brought much money."24 The next day the sane paper would publish a letter from a cor- respondent in Barcelona saying mysteriously, "Someone came here with money-some suppose that he is the in- famous Ferrer, who, it is now certain, has spent a month in Barcelona-and according to information which I regard Es trustworthy, a cheque for 50,000 pesetas was cashed at the Credit Lyonnais, on a day just previous to the trouble, and during the night that money was distributed at the 23 Ferrer's wife, man, lavishly to the revolutlonists, how could it be that some of the work- ing men of "Solidaridad Obrera," that Barcelonese workers' associa- tlon, who were delegated to Ma- drid to meet Garcla Cortes, the secretary of the Spanish Socialist party, could not go because they were unable to find enough money for the trip ? money B0 4 From the "Epocr" of March 8, 1910, This accusation, or rather Insinuation to speak cor- rectly, is both bynocritical and absurd; hyp0critical. because it lends an alr of Becrecy to Fer- in Bareelona, when in taet he went to Barce- lona on business errands almost every day and everybody knew it; absurd, because if Ferrer, a rich rer's appearance