Sept.
Spain, wit vivid and picturesque history which has inspired other nations to greatness, bby the measure of its achievements or failures, continues to present an extremely sorry picture to the world, Ten weeks of fighting have produced relatively little beyond a confusing record of victories and defeats and an appalling death roll. With two armed forces of a purpose indeterminate beyond maintenance of control or desire for control in conflict, and Madrid still the capital of the' country despite insurgent claims of its weakness, the situation continues to be as obscure as ever.
It is now reported that the capture of Maqueda has placed the key to the capital in the hands of the insurgent forces, and the Burgos headquarters of General Mola are broartcasting optimistic expressions of its early capture as fervently as they were in the carly stages of the revolt when General Franco reached the mainland from Morocco, Strategically and psychologically, the capture of the capital of a country venerally means a degree of decision by which the course of a military campaign cane estimated. In Spain, however, there is such a welter of political professions and no solid basis for political objectives except on the Government side that the observer may truly. pose the question: What are they fighting for? There has been an attempt to establish a difference between the constituted Popular Front Government na, which has re~ the accredited representa-powers, and the semi-Fascist opposition of General Franco, but events of the past few weeks have indicated a disintegration which is likely to produce no definite programme of political reform but the inevitable process of anarchy. with its disastrous consequences of death, destruction and national ruin, In the course of revolt against the Government the dominating figure is that of General Franco, brother of the famous Atlantic airman, Major Franco, who was up to a date when political decisions had to be made, Spanish Air Attache at Washington. Before the outbreak, he was Chief-of-Sta in Morocco where he established an excellent record for colonial admini= stration, In the Oviedo revolt of 1934 he led his Moroccan cops against the rebels and established a precedent for their use in the present revolt. He was also repre sentative of the Spanish army at the funeral of His Majesty King George last year. His entry into polities was comparatively recent and although he has denied any Fascist inclinations he has admitted to the ambition that if successful he will establish a military dictatorship. When he landed in Seville fon August 17 he declared that he was leading a patriotic movement of reform and urged the people "to defend the Catholic and Spanish heirloom of civilization against the Marxist heresy and the Russian plague." If the general connota~ tion of these terms is accepted in the light of the Russian revolution, General Franco can hardly be said to be acting the part of reformer in view of the terrible narrative which has been written daily about the country during the last ten weeks, Blood, may be the price of admiralty, but with nothing more than a record of destruction and a vague national statement to offer a clearer definition is needed be fore an honest opinion can assert itself.
The future of the situation is as vague as the course of the revolt, Even if Madrid does fall into the hands of the insurgents and a military decision is reached, that guarantees no brighter prospect for the country. Anarchy seems to be as strongly embedded in the army conception of policy as in the con ception credited to the present Government, The diverse character of the people and the physical and provincial differences of the coun: try, complicated by the importation of alien political ideas will all play their part in the ferment which a military decision might superficially terminate but will not easily solve, The history of Spain in recent years has been one succession of revolttions symptomatic of desire for a change but showing uncertainty of methods and precise objectives, A mission of slaughter may be one way to enforce authority but it is no way to meet aspirations, Even to people less homogenous than the Spanish these processes have had the effect of prolonging rather than diminishing unrest, and only con= siderable modification of original intentions has overcome the rubse~ quent opposition. In the case of Spain, the army's record has been described as "a long history. of risings against the central authority and possessed by the same anar~ eliism." Whichever way the battle Kees, the only lasting solution for the country appears to lie in a form of political agreement which takes into account the personality of the people, and if out of the present struggle - emerges an appreciation of these factors now in opposit the trial through which the country is passing may not be in vain.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.