The high hopes which were roused in the breasts of the supporters of the Republican government of Spain, following the defeat of General Franco at Teruel in January, have been dashed to the ground by the events of the last week or so. They were considerably diminished by the recapture of Teruel by the insurgents, but the recent rapid advance on Catalonia, and the new developments in Huesca suggest that, at any rate for the moment, General Franco is in a winning vein, and that unless the re~ publicans can make a better showing, than they have been latterly, the end of the struggle in Spain will become a foregone conclusion, and only a matter of time. The renewed rebel activity in Huesca is for the purpose of attracting more government forces from the lower Aragon front and thus assist the insurgents on their drive through Catalonia to the Mediterranean coast. That would mean the splitting of the Government forces into two, and depriving them of the unity of command which they have had up to the present, and cutting Barcelona from Valencia and Madrid, except by the sea route. The subjugation of Catalonia is one of the most important aims of anybody who seeks to dominate the whole of Spain, for the Catalonian separatist movement was the most important of the several which marked the history of Spain prior to the establishment of the Republic. It was the Catalonian nationalist movement which played so considerable a part in the events which led to King Alfonso's downfall, by its demand for the dismemberment of the country. After the revolution, however, and the accession to power of a Socialist Government, the industrial workers of Barcelona—the largest city in Spain—in opposition to the peasants and middle classes of the rest of Catalonia, stood for a unified republic. In the event of General Franco gaining complete. control of Spain ¿Catalonia will still desire separation: it only wishes for union in a socialistic Spain. The province is, therefore, the main spring which animates socialistic Spain, and its subjugation would be the most important factor in weakening the rest of the republicans.
General Franco in the last two months For Salamandres, Stoves, etc.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.