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General View of Toledo
Threepence
blished by SPANISH PRESS SERVICES UP
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CONTENTS
Spain Betrayed to Russia, by Major Norman Bray
Salamanca in Winter, by Cecil Gerahty ...
The Reds' Miraculous Peseta
Moors' affection for Spain ...
Spain on the Road to Peace
Barrack Life in Nationalist Spain..............
The Greatest Scandal of the Century, by the Comte de St
Aulaire ...
Expectation, by Pio Baroja
Teruel...
Franco as a Leader and a Man
1
3
5
6
8
13
14
15
17
18
Festival of the Fatherland at Bu
'b
os ... ... ••• ••■ 18
Poetry, the Voice of New Spain ... ... ... • ■ ■ ■ ■         20
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SPAIN BETRAYED TO RUSSIA
A Warning to the World
By
MAJOR NORMAN BRAY
Its first act was of sinister omen : it released from
prison the ringleaders and men who had been respon-
ible for the Asturian revolt in 1934. In regard to that
revolt, however, two facts are well extablished : It was
supported by Russia with money, arms, and tanks ;
and it was carried out with a savage cruelty that defies
imagination.
In the five months of Popular Front misrule that
followed, a wave of anarchy seemed to have swept over
the country. What the Government preached in
Parliament, the mob practised in the street to the cry of
" Viva Rusia !"; and if any patriot dared to raise the
counter-cry of " Viva España !" he was sure of being
brutally attacked under the very eyes of the police,
who had orders not to interfere.
Revolutionary Adepts.
The Communists who had fled to Russia after the
collapse of the 1934 revolt, now returned en masse. In
the meantime they had been taught terrorist methods,
and they brought with them numbers of Russian
agitators, who were adepts at organising revolution.
A stream of money flowed in from Russia, and arms
entered through the ports of Barcelona and Valencia.
Everything was thus prepared for a Communist
rising, the success of which, with the armed support of
Russia, seemed assured. A Communist coup d'état was
astutely arranged under cover of the Popular Olympic
Games to be held at Barcelona at the end of July, 1936.
The anxiety felt by Franco and all patriots at these
terrible provocations and dangers may readily be under-
stood. They were confronted, not only with an internal
chaos that is unparalleled in the history of governed
peoples, but with the outrage of an armed invasion of
their native country. True to her promise, Russia sent
her mercenaries, enlisted in all parts of the world, to
Spain. The vanguard of the invading army, composed
of 12,000 men, was already in Barcelona. The fact is
significant that Soviet Russia for the first time was
firmly supporting her agents, not merely politically or
financially, but militarily.
By thus lending armed support to the Popular Front
Government, Russia established a precedent against
which all civilised nations will have to take measures.
MANY people are a little loth to give frank approval
to the Nationalist Cause, as they would do if
they trusted solely to their humanitarian
feelings. Their minds are influenced by an honest
belief that the Popular Front Government against which
Franco rose in arms in July of last year is the legal and
constitutional Government of Spain.
I am sure that, if I could demonstrate the falseness
of that belief, my readers would no longer hesitate to
give General Franco the unreserved support he so fully
deserves.
It should be borne in mind that the vast majority of
Spaniards are on Franco's side, because they are of the
opinion that the Popular Front Government neither was
elected legally nor governed constitutionally. The
reasons they have for their belief are founded on facts,
not on the quicksands of propaganda, and it is those
facts I wish to set out. After all, the convictions of
the great majority of Spaniards in regard to what has
happened in Spain are worth taking into consideration.
The very elections by which the Popular Front came
into power were tainted with illegality. The Popular
Front was a medley of mild Republicans, moderate
Socialists, and men of the rabid Left—Communists,
Syndicalists, and Anarchists. The Pórtela Valladares
Government, which called itself a Centre Government
and pretended to be neutral between Right and Left,
betrayed the Country by handing over power before
the elections had been completed.
Mob Takes Charge.
The mob then invaded the streets of the larger towns
and acclaimed the Government of the Popular Front,
which had assumed power. Any further attempt at
consulting the country could then only result in their
favour ; and, in addition, a large number of deputies of
the Right were later deliberately unseated by the
majority in Parliament.
The Popular Front had hardly assumed power when
it became torn by dissension. As always happens in
these circumstances, an organised minority, supported
by Russian money and prepared to enforce its demands
by violence, imposed its will upon the rest ; and the
Government acted at the behest of the extreme Left.
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Spain Betrayed to Russia continued
We are accustomed to the incessant poisonous pro-
paganda spread by Russia and realise, it is to be
hoped, that if it is not counteracted, the results
will be fatal ; but now, after what has happened in
Spain, every nation will have to reckon with the
possibility, not only of an internal revolution, but
of armed intervention on the part of Russia, dis-
guised perhaps under the form of the enlistment
of volunteers.
Of this menace to civilisation the
Spanish Popular Front Government is guilty in the
eyes of its own country and of the world.
Forced to Act.
Though fully alive to the situation, General Franco
and his collaborators, being well aware of the bloodshed
and tragedy that any armed rising would inevitably
bring in its train, forbore to act. They remained alert,
but inactive, hoping against hope that the saner ele-
ments in the Government would realise their responsi-
bility and take some measures of redress before it was
too late. Whilst they were thus waiting, however, the
MADRID'S WEEK OF HOMAGE
TO SOVIET RUSSIA
Popular Front Government threw off its mask and, by
the cowardly murder of Calvo Sotelo on July 13, revealed
itself in its true colours—as an enemy of Spain.
That crime, which shocked the world, was committed
at the instigation of some members of the Government.
Hans Beimler,
International Brigade
Political Commissar.
That has been proved up to the hilt when the main
assassin stole across the French frontier, he was in
possession of an official passport and money provided
from official sources. The murder of Calvo Sotelo was
the final outrage that sounded the call to arms. There
could no longer be any douot or hesitation ; only a
heroic remedy could save the country from the desperate
situation into which it had evidently fallen.
Franco rose and called upon all true Spaniards to
help him—not against the Constitution, but in its
defence ; not to betray his Country, but to defend it ;
not in opposition to the working classes, but to free
them from the tyranny of a malignant minority.
Franco is Defending Civilisation.
It is impossible for any fair-minded person to remain
neutral in this clash of systems and ideals. To me and
thousands of Englishmen, General Franco represents all
that is worthy and decent, in contrast with all that is
low and degraded.
I have always lived under a regime oí liberty, as my
f zirefathers did ever since true liberty arose in England ;
and I realise that General Franco is defending my free-
dom as he is defending the freedom of all of us. Let us
make no mistake ; there is no freedom under Socialism,
and real slavery under Communism.
I consider it a duty to express these opinions of mine,
which are shared by thousands of my compatriots, and
I am grateful to the Nationalist Government for having
enabled me to do so.
I have said that I am heart and soul on General
Franco's side. I do not, however, render him homage
blindly, but of full conviction and with full responsibility.
Giant Statue of Lenin in the [Glorieta) Place de
Bilbao.
(" The citizens of the Soviet Union live
happily," according to the leering figure on the left).
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SALAMANCA IN WINTER
By CECIL GERAHTY
IN a quiet street not far from the University, stands
the modest dwelling in which I have my room. One
sleeps peacefully there, as no through traffic (and
curiously enough, no cafés) disturb the calm of the
neighbourhood. My shutters are opaque and hermeti-
cally seal the windows, a fact which is not at this time
of year a disadvantage, as by November the nights are
chilly whatever the weather may be. As one is rarely
asleep before two, seven o'clock sunshine is apt to be a
bore, and shutting it out is worth a little sacrifice of
fresh air. Dreams at about this hour are apt to be
inspired by the roaring of lorry engines, as a widening
of the road some fifty yards away has generally tempted
a few vehicles to pass the hours of darkness by its curbs.
The inspiration of dreams merges into the destruction
of sleep a little before the arrival of my nine o'clock
coffee. The automobile motif changes to a sea refrain
at the sound of copious water surging about the tiled
landing. This way and that it dashes about at the will
of a scrubbing brush, till a climax is reached when the
brush hits my door with a loud bang, or its full throated
wielder bursts into song. In the latter event I am
particularly lucky, as the voice is a fair, if untrained
contralto, and not the shrill soprano which generally
rends the air in the modester of Spanish patios.
#                       #                       *                        *
The arrival of breakfast is announced by a loud series
of raps on the door and sounds of a hushed bui dynamic
conversation. I leap out of bed and turn the key, and
leap back off the cold tiles, whose chill hastens me even
more than my natural modesty. Mother and daughter
proceed into the room, I say proceed because it is in
the nature of a procession. Desire for exact knowledge
of the state of my health causes a duet of kindly, cheerful
questioning. I sometimes feel that their overwhelming
optimism and cheerfulness would make it quite
impossible to convince them of my ill-health should the
dire necessity arise.
Mother pours out the coffee, daughter, the milk. No
steam arises but I have no heart to request them to
take it away and warm it. Days have passed but there
is no diminution of their wonder at the small piece of
sugar I select from an enormous bowl. A roll, a knife
(no butter) is placed beside the cup which, incidentally,
is itself a large unhandled bowl. A napkin is spread
where I might be expected to let drips fall, and the
party withdraws. I find myself half expecting a curtsey,
as without it there always seems a slight anti-climax
in the order of their going.
By this time life is in full swing in the street below.
Shrill voiced paper-boys, motor cars with their klaxons
going full out, odd church bells from near and distant
quarters, odd bits of conversation in all tones from base
to treble and not infrequently the uncharted tones of
infants. It all seems very homely to me, and my toilet
finished I settle down to work, profiting by the warm sun
which streams in at the window.
-i:                             *                             *                              *
It is some time after noon when I next look at my
watch, which decides me to step briskly forth into the
sunny side of the street. A brief glance round the
Plaza Mayor, the loveliest in Spain, if not in Europe,
but nothing unusual is taking place, no line of strange
cars indicates the arrival of interesting people from the
front or the South.
I stop a moment under an archway, buy the morning
papers and glance through them, while my shoes are
being cleaned. Nothing startling in the news so I
continue to the Gran Hotel. Here I find some people
I know from Seville, they have just arrived by car
having stopped the night at Montemayor. People
from the south insist on telling one how very much
colder it is here, as if one needed any reminder after
using a typewriter in an unheated bedroom. This kind
of conversation may be pleasurable, but does not lead
to anything useful, so along to the press office.
A desultory exchange of shots on some fronts is the
sum total of the news here, but there are some fresh
papers from London. Bill is here, almost crying with
vexation at a leading article in his own paper, written
one supposes with the express purpose of demolishing
the effect of some news, (so definite that it had to be
published) and which normal people, without the
beneficent help of the leader writer, would otherwise
have deemed to be entirely satisfactory to the Nationalist
cause.
*                *                *                *
Two Frenchmen are glancing at a Paris news sheet
on the table. Something in it has upset one of them and
from his mouth pours such a stream of invective that
one feels that the Front Populaire will undoubtedly
be submerged once and for all.
The Spaniards know that I once adorned the navy,
and one who is reading one of the local papers, gives
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Salamanca in Winter continued.
me a withering look, from which I gather he is reading
something about ships under our flag. Nothing can
interfere with my loyalty to the senior service, so I
pass some remark to the effect that one would have
to haul Judas Iscariot on board if he appealed to the
white ensign (under which one commanded), from the
face of the waters. " Pity you did not command the
British Embassy in Madrid," comes the retort. I then
make for the more sheltered waters of one of the cafes
on the big square.
*                *                *                *
O'Duffy's comet has set in the kindly mists of the
north, but some of the sparks in its tail remain. A little
before lunch some of them emerge to refresh their
fading brilliance, with the sunlight. Salamanca in the
winter does not always provide this, so they keep it
stored in bottles, stolen from the sunny south, where
there is so much of it that it will not be missed. It is
already uncorked and some of the famous victories of
Caceres are reflected in its glow. Again the brogue
is heard as the legionaries charge to the sound of falling
glass. ' A ' recalls the victory of the first picket to
arrive upon the scene and the copious slaking of its
thirst after the heat of combat. ' B ' remembers how
picket No. 2 (a picked bunch of sergeants) overpowered
picket No. 1 and got them safely under key. ' C '
remembers . . . but it is time for lunch.
I am invited to lunch with a Spanish friend, who
arrives about half-past two or a little later. A short
walk brings us to what looks like the entrance to a coal
cellar. I follow him carefully down a dark staircase
into a vaulted room, so dark that for some minutes I
am unable to see our surroundings. There are some
half-dozen tables, occupied by a mixture of peasants,
officers and townspeople. My host orders omelette,
partridge, sweet and fruit. It would be hard to imagine
them improved upon. The firmly built Spanish
omelette, the fat and tender little bird are washed down
with a jolly little wine from somewhere near the Escorial.
A choice of almondy and creamy pastries follows, to
be rounded off with a piece of cheese—just too warm in
flavour.
There has been no particular news of a military
character, so conversation turns to that equally impor-
tant struggle, the forming of a new state out of the old
chaos . . . The satisfactory result of the control of
imports and exports has already led in some zones, to
an increase of the latter over last year's figures. The
maintenance of the old cost of living—our lunches cost
less than eighteen pence—all seems and indeed is, so
satisfactory that one wonders where is the catch.
My host returns to his office and I to the hotel where
I have an appointment with a charming young Señorita
who wants articles to translate into French. From
practical matters concerned with the affair in hand the
talk turns to Spain in peace as well as in war. We agree
that no two cities are more Spanish than Salamanca and
Seville, the baroque perfection of the former being
essentially more typical than the mediaeval perfection of
Avila, which might be in France or elsewhere. We speak
of the people and my friend suggests that the hardness
of the slate on the great northern plateau is res-
ponsible—through the difficulty it causes in extracting a
living from the soil—for the primitiveness of its people.
My suggestion that the church is very largely responsible
is received with a shrug of the shoulders and the—to
me—new suggestion that the ease of life in the south
where a living can be so easily earned as regards the
necessities of life, and where the sun softens the rigours
of existence is, like the hardness of the north, a greater
bar to progress than the church.
*                  *                *                *
A spell of work in my room and then at about eight,
another visit to the press office. All quiet on all fronts.
A friend from Barcelona describes to me the system of
voting in Spanish elections, quoting an incident at which
he assisted in the elections of I think '33. The booth
was open from ten to four. He arrived to vote a little
before one and found about 2,000 people lined up, but
ONLY 14 HAD VOTED. The police had been squared
by groups of the extreme left. Three parties had
candidates and their representatives at the polling
booths. The ' left ' representatives were disputing every
' right ' voters' credentials to delay matters, the division
was one that had a large ' right ' majority. Their
supporters brought up chairs and arranged for lunch
from a restaurant for the waiting ladies. By four
o'clock some 40 had voted. A judge from the court
seeing what was happening, came with an escort of civil
guards and announced that the booth was going to
remain open till the voting had finished, but it was not
before the early hours of the morning.
The British public is expected to understand ! !
Just before nine I crossed over to an official's private
house to join him in listening to the third news from
England. We learned that the ' insurgents ' had
violently attacked on the Aragon front and been
repulsed. That is the beauty of the B.B.C. : it brings
insurgent ' news ' to the insurgents.
Though I do not generally dine myself I like to watch
the gathering at the Gran Hotel, diplomats and their
ladies, aviators, soldiers and others, at least five
languages are being spoken. Official car drivers, all
in leather, an aristocratic head above a suit of dungarees
talking to a rough looking customer in resplendent,
furcollared uniform. Generals with their red, and
staff colonels with their blue, sashes. By eleven the
hall is empty, they have at last all taken their seats at
table. I nod good-night to the two soldier sentries at
the door as I pass into the night.
#                  #                *                *
Across the road in a tavern, I get my " Pepito " a
nice hot, greasy neat sandwich, made from a roll, and
a small beer. The din is terrific and the turnover in
small sums, is enormous. Possibly there are already
sounds that indicate an outbreak of Hibernian guerilla
warfare. One more stroll round the collonaded square
and I make for home.
The streets are now quite quiet and hardly have I
left the square than midnight sounds and the lights
go out. One little blue light remains in the corner of the
square. It is high up and only its cold and eerie glow
can be seen lighting up the arched and pillared opening.
I wait a few minutes, but Hamlet's ghost refuses to
oblige, so I continue home.
It is very dark indeed in the narrow streets, but from
time to time a match is struck and cloaked figures can
be discerned examining the doorways—passing soldiers
looking for their temporary lodgings.
The last thing I see from my window, is the tower of
the Cathedral, momentarily floodlit by the beams of an
anti-aircraft searchlight. Then I close my shutters.
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THE REDS' MIRACULOUS PESETA
DR. NEGRIN affirms, to everyone's surprise, that
" the effective value of the peseta is higher than
it was before the Rising." And this after losing
35 out of Spain's 50 Provinces, after 18 months
of war, and after creating a vast and costly mercenary
army ! Truly a great Minister ! As he says, " This
will surprise many people."
The ' Government ' peseta quotations abroad do not
uphold Dr. Negrin's dictum. The Bank of Spain notes
issued by the Negrin Government were worth 180
francs per 100 pesetas in July, 1936 ; but as the accom-
panying chart shows they were worth only 120 francs
in September after the liberation of San Sebastian,
and in November, 1936, when General Franco's armies
were knocking at the gates of Madrid one could only get
100 francs for 100 pesetas in spite of the fact that
M. Auriol had devalued the franc.
After the fall of Malaga last February, 80 francs were
enough to buy a ' Red ' 100-peseta note, and 70 were
sufficient after the breaking of the ' Iron Ring ' at
Bilbao. When Santander surrendered on August 24
last, 100 pesetas were worth only 50 francs and to-day
the Barcelona peseta finds purchasers with difficulty at
33 francs per 100.
A mere descent from 180 to 33 francs for 100 pesetas !
The Republican peseta has 0.027% its gold value
according to Spanish monetary law, compared with
30% gold value before the war. But Dr. Negrin says
with a smile ; " The actual fact is the guarantee the
Spanish Treasury has for its issues."
" There has been no extraordinary issue of notes,"
he says.
The alleged refusal to issue too many notes is there-
fore the cause of Dr. Negrin's optimism. True, billions
have not been issued as in Germany in 1923, and there
are not yet notes for ten-million pesetas. What use
, would they be ?
But it is none the less true that the notes issued
by the Bank of Spain alone total more than 11,000
million pesetas
which, compared with about 5,500
million
in circulation before the war (July 18, 1936),
is, if we remember that 2,000 million of these remained
from the first in General Franco's territory, just three
times as much as was in circulation in Republican
territory on that date.
Now fiduciary issues, namely notes, require a security,
and economics has so far found only two—gold which is
the cash guarantee, and sound government, which is
the personal or political guarantee. The great 2,248
million pesetas gold reserve of the Bank of Spain has
been squandered and Republican Spain, as Dr. Negrin
admits, " has now to pay for the spendthrift past."
Yet Dr. Negrin says " the situation is frankly good."
His own, or his country's ? Not that of the economic
situation ! Contracts have to be met with pre-war
notes, such as National Spain alone recognises. Holders
of Public Debt on short term accept frequent renewals
in order not to lose what little they may get for their
holdings as they have been stripped of all else and do not
want useless notes. Their only hope is for a National
victory when the huge debt will have to be shouldered
by the Patriot Government.
Finally, the quadruple cost of commodities in the
Republican zone is proof of the peseta's fall.
Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, sagely remarked that
" Propaganda is perhaps the saddest legacy left by the
War," and Dr. Negrin has shown himself to be an
enthusiastic Trustee.
Graph of the value of the Red peseta in Paris.
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MOORS' AFFECTION FOR SPAIN
not obey their officers. The troops possessed that
willing obedience which springs from enthusiasm for a
Cause, in which officers and men were as one. There
was keen competition to be the first to follow the officers
to Spain.
In vain, too, did the Madrid Government broadcast,
in the Berber tongue, appeals to the tribes to rise and
wipe out the Christians ; and in vain the henchmen of
Moscow preached the Jehad up and down the stolidly
indifferent and contemptuous Riff. As moved by a
common impulse, those warriors descended from their
hills for a Jehad indeed, but a Jehad directed against
the Red enemies of Allah, and flocked to General
Franco's standard, only a decade after the victorious
banners of Spain were floating over the Bay of
Alhucemas. Honour and manhood are virtues that the
Moor understands. Intrigue and double-dealing are
for cowards.
Untamed and Haughty.
In one instance, in the present war, five huge Moors
captured a machine-gun and 20 soldiers of the Inter-
national Brigade. One Moor rebuked these men. They
did not understand his words but there was something
compelling about them : " Thou art a Red, Thou art
not with God." He said this twenty times and ended
imperiously : " Throw away your gun," which the 20
men in the trench did immediately.
These fierce and formidable fighters are the same
courteous well-bred gentlemen we see walking in our
cities ; the same who end their Fast on the nights of
Ramadan, singing psalms in the chilly autumn fields of
Castile, who, in the cafes of Saragossa and Toledo, offer
one sweet tea mixed with mint ; who shield their women-
folk from prying eyes in the Moorish village they have
established at Arroyomolinos, and who collect objects
of Catholic worship stolen by the Reds from the wrecked
churches and deposit them reverently at the broken
doorways.
Such are the Moors who fight for Spain.
Franco as Leader for Islam.
The identification of Moor and Spaniard in the fight
against Anti-God in this war has removed the formerly
ever-present bogey in Spain of trouble in Morocco. The
Moors now feel and know that they are Spaniards.
Franco always has his Moorish Guard at official
events and is lcoked upon as a new Chieftain for Islam,
with a sincere policy. It is not generally known that a
Moorish mosque has been opened at Seville, that
city redolent of Moorish memories,
and pilgrimages
to Mecca ar^ organised and conveyed in Spanish
steamers. For Hispano-Moorish brotherhood means
religious tolerance.
General Franco in one of his greatest speeches spoke
of " that great comprehensive spirit of the golden age
of our history . . . wherewith Mosques and Synagogues,
welcomed by the comprehensive spirit of Catholic Spain,
were enabled to flourish under the aegis of the Catholic
State."
THE Moors who are fighting with such gallantry
and fidelity for the Nationalist cause in Spain
observed with characteristic austerity the Fast of
Ramadan. They were given the same facilities to do
so as they enjoy in Morocco.
In the trenches of Aragon and Castille, and in en-
campments from the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean they
assembled at fountains, streams and springs, to perform
their ablutions, in obedience to the precepts of their
Faith, heedless of snow, cold and wind. The bivouac
became for the time-being a Mosque where the Faithful
recited their prayers and the Kaids expounded the
Koran.
Perhaps, a short distance away, the Requêtes of Old
Navarre — not a
whit less devout—
were reciting the
Rosary.
            Each
party regards the
other with pro-
found respect ; and
would be hurt and
not a little shocked
if the other neglec-
ted its religious
duties. The Moor
expects the Chris-
tian to practise
his religion no less
assiduously than he
himself observes his
own rites.
The adhesion of the
Typical Moorish Regular Soldier. Moors to Franco's
Jr
                                                     cause with sich
zeal is the logical outcome of the behaviour of the
Spanish Army in Morocco ; its frank, generous and hearty
relations with the inhabitants, which sprang from the
Spanish character rather than from interested design,
have borne unexpected fruit.
Misrepresentation.
It has been attempted by systematic hostile pro-
paganda to misrepresent to Europe the noblest features
of the rising in July, 1936, of the Spanish Colonial Army.
This Movement from the start was supported in Africa,
where the officers remained true to their traditional
virtues of doggedness, faith and courage. When they
raised the cry of " Spain for ever !" every garrison in
Morocco, Moorish Regulars or Spanish Legionaries,
rallied to its leaders and the troops made their epic dash
to the Peninsula. This was the start of the lightning
campaign that carried General Várela in a few months
to the gates of Madrid.
It is in vain for chagrined Communists to call these
magnificent soldiers " mercenaries." Whoever saw
" mercenary " troops behave with the fiery zeal and
reckless valour of those Moors and Legionaries ? In
vain did the Madrid Government seek to drive a wedge
between officers and men by telling the latter they need
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GENERAL FRANCO'S MOORISH BODYGUARD
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"SPAIN ON THE ROAD TO PEACE"
WINSTON CHURCHILL has said it. And
although his new attitude regarding the Spanish
war only half discerns the truth at present,
the fact must be recorded with great pleasure.
nakedly at the sphinx-like sky. It has not restarted
the abandoned mills and workshops nor bred fresh cattle
to replace the slaughtered herds. Outward peace hides
an inward agony ; democracy is dead or dying. Read
for instance the " Vanguardia " of Barcelona for
November 28, 29 and 30, with advertisements like the
following : " Bread. Old man who lives on soup will
pay well for it. Offers, Córcega 405." " Exchange
young rabbit for bread. Write ' Vanguardia ' No. 726."
And this which reveals both moral and material misery :
Photograph by Marques Santa Maria del Villar
Shepherdess of Lugo (Galicia).
For Mr. Winston Churchill's is an outstanding figure.
He is soldier, traveller, politician and no mean writer.
His varied career has much of a romantic adventure.
At first his position towards the war in Spain rather
disappointed, for he has always enjoyed Spanish
sympathies throughout a long, varied and intense
career. He fought as a volunteer in Cuba helping to
defend the last inch of Spain's Empire.
He writes to-day that Spain is on the way to peace.
But it is not, as he believes, that order and the return
to normal life are making themselves felt in both zones.
Not exactly order. Possibly the growing Soviet
power in the Red zone is wiping out the Anarchists by
the same methods employed against the Conservatives.
But this is merely making a desert to call it peace.
This kind of order cannot be called " normal." Death
brings peace ; illness enforces quiet. Normality is
active, orderly life.
The Soviet terror in the Barcelona zone has not tilled
the fields where the wind and rain-swept soil looks
Photograph by Marques Santa Maria del Villar
Home with the hay in the Baztan valley of Navarre.
8
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Spain on the Road to Peace continued
' Youth good employment wishes relations
with girl 18 years; will supply her with food.
Vergara II."
Mr. Churchill is right. Spain is on the way to
peace, for Franco is recovering her soil. As the
communique of October 21 said, when it
announced the end of the Northern campaign :
" Order, peace and justice go in the wake of the
Nationalist Army." And this is no more than
a fact, not a boast.
Look on these photographs of lands that were
always Spain's ; some among many that have
been reconquered. There is PEACE in the
fields of Spain—a peace of laborious peasants
not of a dreary wilderness. We dedicate these
pictures with pleasure and friendship to the
distinguished author of " The World Crisis."
Reaper in the vales of Navarre.
Photographs by Marques Santa Maria del Villar
.' \ Flocks in Navarre during the hour of siesta,
9
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SPAIN ON THE
Tn old N'">arre : The historic Vale
of Roncesv alles.
.«íSC^á;
Typical carts and peasants in the vicinity of Noy7T * ^ *** ^ " ^
10
-ocr page 13-
ROAD TO PEACE
Vineyards at Ontevio.
Photographs by Marques Santa Maria del Villar.
Work in the Ontevio vineyards.
11
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Fine bunch of grapes at Ontevio.
fc8> ft
Photographs by Marques Santa Maria del Villars
Navarre of bygone days.
12
-ocr page 15-
BARRACK LIFE IN SPAIN
BARRACK Life in National Spain " is the title
of an article by M. Roch Oliver in the Algerian
newspaper "Oran Matin" of November 15,
some of which is well worth quoting :
" The barracks I lived in in Salamanca was installed
in the former Jesuit Novitiate . . . wrested from the
Society of Jesus when the baleful Azana Government
thought fit to apply Article 26 of the Republican
Constitution.
" There is still a trace of the old Novitiate ; there is a
lectern in the Refectory with the name of Jesus carved
in the middle. When the Great Hall is full of soldiers,
and a short grace is said as they bless themselves, before
sitting down to the meal, we raise our eyes to the
lectern as though the usual novice were about to stand
up and read a piece of devotional matter during the
repast.
" Barrack life is most interesting and brings new
sensations : Think, for instance, of that moment at 6.15
in the morning and at 6 in the afternoon at the end of
the soldier's day when retreat is sounding, when they
fall in to salute the three flags that are slowly hoisted—
the National flag of red and gold, the black-and-red of
The Basque patriot, Lt. William Eizaguirre, who
acted as goalkeeper in the Spain-Portugal encounter
at Vigo. Practically all the Basque athletes have
come to Franco's allegiance.
the Spanish Phalanx, and the Carlist white flag
with the red " St. Peter's " type cross. Then
the drums and trumpets add ceremony to the
occasion by playing the National Hymn.
" Rations are good and plentiful. You just
ought to see how those youngsters eat ! As a
rule they get thick soup, a dish of meat, fruit,
as much bread as they like, and quite good wine :
and on holidays a special banquet. One of
them said to me, apropos of this :—
' ' ' During 15 months of war we have, not once
had to go without dessert and wine.'
" When half-past nine strikes all activity
ceases. In hall arïd dormitory silence broods.
Only outside the barracks the sentries stand in
their boxes, keeping watch and ward to safe-
guard the peace of their comrades.
" Such is the life of Franco's soldiers."
Spain-Portugal football match.
13
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"THE GREATEST SCANDAL OF
THE CENTURY"
By COMTE DE SAINT-AULAIRE
had fallen, and I saw how eagerly those charity volun-
teers came forward to relieve the population that had
bsen freed from the Red Terror. Sacrificing their
night's rest in order to reach their destination early
next morning, they tumbled into the lorries, singing
and flashing looks of such joy and pride as made their
eyes seem in the growing darkness like terrestrial sisters
of the stars.
Indalecio Prieto, who, be it said to the disparagement
of the rest, is the ablest member of the Red Government,
stated "
" We shall win, for we have the gold."
Nationalist Spain had no gold, but it had faith ; and,
in the absence of gold, its faith has given it, in addition
to victory, a peseta that is worth three times the peseta
of the people who had the gold. It is the triumph of
the spirit over matter. It is the modern world turned
upside down, that is to say, the world set right again.
Whilst the Reds have been heaping up the ruins of
the spirit, Nationalist Spain has raised a building, in
which matter is better cared for than by her adversaries
and the columns of which, like spiritual caryatides, are,
as Abel Bonnard has said, strong souls. This is a
challenge to every dogma of Capitalist Society. It is the
greatest scandal of the century. The real revolutionary
is Franco.
MY evidence derives its authority from my
unworthiness.
I am only an old diplomat rendered doubly
insensible by age and a profession which is the driest
of all and the most refractory to admiration, emotion,
enthusiasm, and a true comprehension of the part
played by spiritual forces in the destiny of nations.
One needs to be a great poet, like Claudel, not to lose
one's sensibility in such surroundings and even, as he has
done, enhance it by reacting against them.
Yet I have returned from Spain with the illusion of
having regained a heart and with the certainty of its
being full of those feelings which I thought my diplo-
matic career had withered up. Hardened, however,
as was the subject, it could not withstand the impulsive
swing and warmth of the object.
The truth is that Nationalist Spain vibrates with an
enthusiasm that outshines her sunshine, and her moral
pulse beats more strongly even than her August sun.
She.is at ease in heroic circumstances. The heroic is
her natural climate ; the one in which she yields her
rarest flowers and fruits. Heroism is her fertile native
soil. She is so much at home in those surroundings
that she now wears an air of gaiety I didn't find about
her in the times when she was happy as other nations
understand the word.
This atmosphere of heroic gaiety clings to every
countryside. Everywhere one finds a smiling readiness
for sacrifice, as if Spain, having reawakened to her
mission of crusading for a universal cause, had redis-
covered, together with the meaning of life and death,
her own high spirits.
To stress the heroism displayed on the field of battle
would be an affront to Spanish chivalry ; her herosim
takes every form, sublime and obscure, civil and military.
For instance, what strikes a hrenchman all the more
since he is less accustomed to it, is to find civil servants
performing out of pure patriotism, gladly and without
pay, duties that our paid officials are taught by their
Unions to do grudgingly and badly. There is the
heroism of the women and young girls who, regardless
of social distinction, devote themselves to charitable
work and the care of other people's children and who
only laugh good-naturedly when the little Communists
among their charges salute them with clenched fists.
I was at Salamanca when the news came that Gij on
THE ISSUE.
" It is not quite correct to say, as has so often been
repeated, that it is a matter of Fascism fighting against
Communism. Or else of Christianity against the
Anti-Christian spirit. It is also incorrect to speak of a
generous tendency towards progress against the forces
of reaction which would fain make us return to the so
calumniated Middle Ages. For, as a matter of fact, it
was in their breast, filled with dynamism and suffering,
that absolutely all the glories of modern times
germinated. . . .
" It is the greatest effort that has ever been made to
arrive at the golden mean of things ; to harness tradition
to progress, combine hierarchy with liberty, usefulness
with beauty, and strict observance of technique with
art in execution."
( Dr. Gregorio Maranon in a Speech delivered at a Banquet
of the Latin Front on December
18, 1937).
14
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EXPECTATION
By PIÓ BAROJA
I never believed in the Republic that was to come,
and I said so often. " Why don't you believe in it?"
my acquaintances would say. I would reply : " It will
be like the Republic of 1873 or perhaps worse. The
tendency is similar, the same commonplaces in the
mouth of the same type of man—the professional
orator, or lawyer. We shall hear new versions on a
smaller scale of Castelar's famous speech : Great is God
on Mt. Sinai ; He is preceded by thunder and wrapt in
light, etc. It will just be a competition among stars.
Azana, Alcalá Zamora, Jimenez Asua, Hilario Ayuso,
Fernando Várela, Bugeda, and others were all stars or
would-be stars. To them and their friends acts were
accessories ; the main thing was rhetoric. Nobody
suspected that there was a great deal of truth in what
our old colleague and countryman, Huarte de San Juan,
said in Chapter XII of his " Examen de Ingenios :"
Wherein it is shown how eloquence and skill in speaking
cannot be found in men of great understanding.
In the Cortes they held rhetorical or juridical tourna-
ments. " Our revolutionaries," I said in the course of a
lecture I gave at Villene in January, 1932, and published
later in my book ' Rapsodias,' " are like the cubists ;
they want to palm off a few threadbare platitudes as the
discoveries of genius heralding in a great future."
In practice the Republican politicians committed
acts of injustice, illegal acts and even acts of stupidity.
Pride, conceit and greed were rampant among high
and low, and all were inebriated with the exuberance of
their own verbosity.
Several of us who used to gather at a secondhand
bookshop in the Calle Mesonero Romanos in Madrid were
speaking one day about the catastrophic state of our
politics when a young bookseller from a neighbouring
shop who was a great admirer of Marcelino Domingo,
chimed in, saying :
" Señores, the Spanish Republic is like a little boat
that is tossed about by the waves of a stormy sea and
is thrown first to the right, then to the left ..."
This high-flown speech was cut short by another
secondhand bookseller saying :
" Who are you to speak to us like that ? . You're only
a secondhand bookseller like we are."
The young man of the boat was simply intoxicated
with his own eloquence.
As for me, my opinion of the Republic and of Azana
cut me off from my literary friends. I didn't believe
in Azana and said so several times, not now when his
WE Spaniards of the older generation have had sev-
eral periods of expectation and optimism since the
disasters at the end of the 19th century. The first
was at the beginning of Alfonso XIII's reign. A young
King, married to a British Queen, the offspring of a power-
ful Royal Family, all seemed to suggest that Spain would
leap ahead and that the future was auspicious. But it
was not so. The Monarchy with its old style politicians,
who were clever merely at the tricks of the game, was
like a stage on which the people never appeared, not
even to swell the chorus. The people remained mere
spectators.
Then came the Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. The
Dictator, according to those who knew him, was well-
intentioned, kind and cordial ; but the same thing
happened to him as to all Spanish politicians—he kept
aloof, he didn't seek the help of others ; he didn't call
upon the people nor attach himself to them, and his
Government, carried on behind closed doors, spent its
force and lost all prestige. When the Republic came in,
evidently the people did intervene, but only a part of
the people, the self-seekers who regarded politics as a
means to their own advancement.
15
-ocr page 18-
Expectation continued
power has waned, but in the time of his splendour, when
everyone, including Alfonso XIII, praised him.
" As to Pio Baroja, he adopts the same tactics with
Azana that he has adopted with regard to all his con-
temporaries. He is an adept at making them look
foolish." That is what Giménez Caballero said in his
book " Manuel Azana" published in 1932.
I don't think I used those irritating tactics with all
contemporaries. With some 1 did. As a matter of
fact I could never bring myself to believe that Azana
was a great politician or even a great writer. To my
mind he was simply conceited. He thought Spain
should serve him as a pedestal. To be so self-centred
as all that may suit a Napoleon, but not an Azana, who
at bottom is a mediocre man. One of the signs of his
mediocrity was his inability to make use of the clever
and famous men he had around him, men like Unamuno,
Jose Ortega y Gasset, and Maranon. He and his friends
also showed themselves to be jealous of the success of
the inventor, La Cierva.
To do as Bonaparte did when he admitted men of the
capacity of Fouché and Talleyrand, who in addition
were his enemies, into his Government and made use
of them, one needs to be a genius ; and Azana is anything
but a genius. He is given oyer to pomp and vanity.
When he was Prime Minister,, they say he furnished
the Prime Minister's Residence with the best furniture
from the Palaces of La Granja and Riofrio. At the
Royal Palace and El Pardo he intended to lay out
sumptuous gardens. He hadn't the wit to understand
thatH if sumptuousness and a fine appearance were the
aims, it would have been better had those gardens
served as'a background for some decorative prince and
not for a vulgar sort of person like himself.
That craving for magnificence was to be found to
some extent in all the politicians of the Republic. When
in the early days, they bought superb cars worth about
a hundred thousand pesetas each, Largo Caballero
complained to ..the agent at Irun that they weren't
provided with the wireless set they should have accor-
ding to the catalogue,, and demanded it imperiously.
" Now is our time," said the big and little leaders, not
thinking of the people, but of themselves. Those were
the days when the placemen thrived. Largo Caballero
also thought of his education, which sounds comic, and
that was the time when he bought an Espasa encyclo-
paedia at second hand, with a view to his education.
That and a few books on Marxism formed his whole
library.
It cannot be said that the Republic lacked any men of
talent or insight. One of them has been Prieto ; but it
must be admitted that his talent and insight have been
harmful rather than beneficial to their cause. I have
read two or three of his speeches, among them the
one he delivered against Alcalá Zamora, and certainly
it was as clear and forcible as could be, but it did the
Republican cause a great deal of harm.
This last period showed, what many of us thought,
that Parliamentarism is barren. There is no means
of getting anything useful done with speeches, meetings,
manifestations and shouting. That is impossible. In
the bonfire of Parliament everything is consumed.
Compared with it, a Dictatorship may mean salvation.
Of course it will depend on the country and the man.
We Spaniards are now in the fourth stage of expec-
tation known to us of the older generation. It is the
most tragic moment of our history. I do not know
whether there has been any larger war than this in
Spain, but it is the gravest moral conflict of the centuries.
AH the youth of Spain is engaged, whilst the whole
world is looking on. The end of the war with Franco's
triumph is clearly to be foreseen, but the all-important
organisation of peace is still obscure and will remain so
for long. A really great talent and great qualifications
will be required to overcome the difficulties. I have
Residence of Pio Baroja.
myself seen what a miracle has been performed in
Germany. Some years ago, after the war, I stayed in
several German towns, and at that time everything
seemed on the verge of ruin. Materially and morally
the Germans were sinking into decadence. Perversity
was the fashion and society was a prey to caprice, like
a sick and morally bankrupt man. The swastika was
an antisemitic emblem that a few madmen wore. I still
have one that was given me. Years have gone by and
the country and the people have raised themselved in a
marvellous manner. The swastika has been converted
from a mere trinket into something gigantic and over-
whelming.
The effort of man is capable of achieving extraordinary
things. Franco's triumph appeared impossible at the
beginning of his movement considering the scanty means
at his disposal, yet that triumph is on the way.
16
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TERUEL
The Government are still winning the battle at which
they are most adept—the battle of words. They have
even contrived, for the moment, to deceive certain
newspapers. Many of these, some of the most respected
among them, gaily published a photograph showing the
Red troops " in the centre of Teruel." All who knew
The Government, at all events, had a joy day to
celebrate the capture of the city. Srs. Negrin and
Prieto went to the spot and looked towards the city as
Napoleon must have looked upon Moscow. They had
intended to enter it. But they could not. A fortnight
ago General Miaja said : " Now we shall go more rapidly
LAS OLLERÍAS
QUARTER
SAN JULIAN
QUARTER
to victory." Unless it lies in the direction of Valencia,
he, too, is sadly at fault.
In actual fact the Nationalist relieving troops achieved
contact with the garrison a week ago. They have
captured almost 200 tanks This is a splendid gift since
General Franco is short of these heavy Russian tanks.
Two generals and their staffs have been captured ; a
vast number of prisoners have been taken, and the enemy
losses are immense.
The one sad feature of this magnificent riposte is the
death of three journalists, one of them a well-known
and deservedly liked Englishman—Mr. R. Sheepshanks.
the city recognised the bull-ring which, as the block
shows, is outside the city.
So the battle has continued. The Reds at one
moment, in a characteristic outburst of charity, evacuate
the civilians from the city. A little later when the
troops are driven to fall back in disorder along the
Valencia road, they have apparently brought them
back since their communique reports that the Nation-
alists are bombing the civilian inhabitants. Similarly
they capture the Bishop of Teruel and somehow,
miraculously, he is later found with the heroic garrison.
17
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FRANCO
The Grenoble newspaper " Republique du Sud-est," of
November 19, publishes an article under the above
heading signed by " H. C."
" AS LEADER.
Franco is a Leader in every sense of the word. He is
45 but had already behind him a brilliant record in
military studies. He especially distinguished himself
in Morocco where his kindness and understanding of the
Moors made him beloved by all. Thus his bodyguard is
entirely Moorish. He was a model organiser who never
wearied his men but spared their lives and respected
the Moslem faith. He won his General Staff Commis-
sion and before the Republic was Chief of the Saragossa
Military Academy. The Republic exiled him. He is
the youngest General in Spain to-day. His memory is
prodigious and he knows exactly where his artillery,
land, sea and air forces are. In this sad war, where
some desire to destroy everything and others the
integrity of Christianity, Franco is the man he always
was, just, upright, without personal ambition and of a
proverbial kindness. He has just reprieved three
Russian pilots who could not believe their ears when
they heard the news."
"THE MAN.
Franco is a man who loves above all his inward
judgment. At bottom, he is an excellent Christian who
practises his religion and communicates often. His
chaplain tells me he has managed to attend Mass every
Sunday since the Movement began. He is no leisurely
soldier as some have tried to make out, and no fitter
comparison could be made of him than with the
admirable Sr. Salazar, saviour of Portugal. A moving
feature is the way he recites the Rosary every night with
his wife who waits up for him late, before retiring for
the night. He enjoys splendid health and is very
temperate ; he neither smokes nor touches alcohol.
Throughout the country none can be found to criticise
in the slightest degree his public or private life. He is
a complete vir Justus loved and venerated by all."
FESTIVAL OF THE FATHERLAND OF
BURGOS
Goma, Primate of Spain, eminent as theologian and
philosopher officiated at the Mass of the Holy Ghost.
It was a magnificent ceremony supported by the prayers
of so many famous persons and adorned by so many
gorgeous vestments and brilliant uniforms.
Afterwards, when all had been prepared by prayer to
the Almighty, there took place the solemn swearing in
of the Chief of State and of the National Councillors.
It took place in the Chapter House, one of the purest
examples of Gothic Art wherein is conserved the Moorish
Standard captured at the decisive battle of Las Navas de
Tolosa in 1212. On an old parchment edition of the
Gospels General Franco took the oath of allegiance ■
BEFORE GOD I SWEAR TO DEDICATE MYSELF
TO THE SERVICE OF THE UNITY, THE GREAT-
NESS AND THE LIBERTY OF SPAIN TO LIVE IN
BROTHERHOOD WITH THE TRADITIONALIST
SPANISH PHALANX AND TO LEAD IT AS ITS
CHIEF.
Concise, flaming and enduring words which harmonise
with the hard and simple style in which Liberated Spain
expresses the anguish of her Creation.
The National Councillors followed, with clear words of
loyalty and the same noble gestures. Finally, amid a
silence where the beating of every heart could be felt,
General Franco pronounced the Words : " May God
reward you if you do thus and may He punish you if you
do not."
At the end General Franco made a short speech giving
guidance and expressing the theory of the Movement,
a speech suitable to the Leader of Spain. With a
reception the magnificent and solemn act came to an
end.
DECEMBER 2, 1937, is in the History of Spain,
not only a day of happiness, but a glorious
affirmation and the final and definite proclamation
of the regime which has been born of the blood of this
War of Liberation. On that day there was constituted
solemnly at Burgos the first National Council of the
Traditionalist Spanish Phalanx of the J. O. N. S.—at
Burgos, centre of the region which forged Spanish
Unity in the Middle Ages, hard and smooth like an
anvil. The Cistercian Convent of Santa Maria la Real
de las Huelgas, a Gothic jewel from the rich artistic
patrimony of Castile, lent an air of severe greatness to the
act.
The swearing in of the new National Councillors had
a magnificent solemnity which it drew not only from the
pomp of the ceremony but from the historic importance
of the event. For with the constitution of the National
Council, an integral part of the new state, the latter
enters upon the fullness of its efficacy and functions.
It would be difficult for those who were present at
the ceremony to eradicate its grandiose impression from
their minds. General Franco was surrounded by
learned prelates, by generals whose names are in them-
selves a whole chapter of the National Epic, by the
Ambassadors of friendly nations, by leaders of the
Phalangist and Traditionalist Movement joint authors
with the Army of the victorious National Rising, by
illustrious sailors and by leading members of the oldest
families of Spain and of Spanish Art and Letters. The
whole gave a fine picture of the New Spain.
The Ceremony began in the Chapel of St. John which
has great charm and architectural grace. Cardinal
18
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General Y ague, celebrated Foreign Legion General, takes the oath of allegiance as Councillor of the Spanish
Phalanx.
Spanish Phalanx Militia Volunteers marching through Vigo during the Spain-Portugal international
football match.
19
-ocr page 22-
POETRY, THE VOICE OF THE NEW SPAIN
JOSE ANTONIO PRIMO DE RIVERA said on a
memorable occasion : " No one has moved the
Nations more than Poets and woe betide those who
cannot bring forth over against the Poetry which they
destroy that which they promise." The Poetry of the
New Spain is true to this advice : born of War it has a
wealth of promise while at the same time it moves and
is moved by the living breath of the Nation. True to
Spain it takes the form of the " Romance," the national
ballad form and metre directly inspired by the deed it
celebrates.
The vitality of the traditional Castilian genre through
the ages has been revived once more in the Romances
inspired by the Civil War. Serial writers of Romances
have arisen from it. Like those of the Fifteenth Cen-
tury they are spontaneous products of the deed which
they celebrate.
The " Romancero Guerrero " of Francisco Javier
Martin Abril is the first of the series. Published by
Martin, Valladolid, 1936, it consists of 16 Romances
preceded by a sonnet and is concluded by a prose eulogy
of Castile. Each ballad treats of a single theme, while
five of them are concerned with the Siege of Madrid.
N. Sanz y Ruiz de la Pena gives us the " Romances
de Guerra y Amor," Valladolid, Santarén, 1937. This
is a collection of 17 Romances which all, with the ex-
ception of one on the Conquest of Malaga, treat like the
previous collection of Castile. The same poet has
written the Romance " La Muerte del Algabeno,"
Valladolid, Santarén, 1937. This celebrates the Andal-
usian Bullfighter who served under General Queipo de
Llano on that unforgettable afternoon, when with less
than 200 men he conquered the city of Seville. The
poet already known for his " Romancero Carnal,"
issued shortly before the Rising, has reached heights of
lyricism in expressing the sufferings of Martyred Spain.
Baldomero Baron gives us " Romancero Popular
Navarro," J. Garcia, Pamplona, 1937, a successor to
that which won for its author a prize in 1936. Herein
he has collected 69 Romances around the central theme
of the glorious rising of the Navarrese under General
Mola. Everything which has stirred the Province from
the beginning of the War is here commemorated in
memory of the youth of Navarre, who like the poet's
own son are at the Front. The writer of the Preface
hints at a third volume of Romances by this gifted
writer.
From Spain's daughter states in America, who now
rally to her in the hour of need, comes another Roman-
cero. It comes from Eduardo Marquina in the Argen-
tine, and is called " Por el Amor de España," Buenos
Aires, 1937. It is written as an offering to the orphans
of our war for whom the poet gives these six ballads.
It ends with a prose epilogue setting out the motives
for his work.
Among other poems may be noted " Los Muertos de
la Guerra," which has been published in fragments by
José Maria Peman in the Anthology number of the
review " Acción Española," Burgos, 1937. Peman has
written another poem on the present war of which we
only know the fragments which he himself has read from
" Radio Nacional." The newspapers have also pub-
lished his " Exámetros en loor de los Tercios de Navarra"
in which his poetic skill overcomes successfully all
metrical difficulties. Finally he has given us another
slight poem full of tenderness and sentiment which has
been inserted in a newspaper. It is called " La Nina de
Talavera," and relates one of the minor incidents of the
War, the death of a working girl in the China Factory,
who falls a victim to aerial bombardment. This small
content gives him an opportunity to show the fine
poetic feeling of which he is capable.
Martin Abril has given us another magnificent poem,
" Castilla y la Guerra," Valladolid, 1937, in which he
treats of the typically Spanish landscape of the flat
plains and rough mountains of Castile, the region of the
Douro, beloved of Spanish poets since Juan de Mena,
the elms around the headwaters of the Arlanzon, the
Monastery of Cárdena, the lands beloved by the calm
and peaceful Luis de Leon and by the ever active St.
Teresa. The poem has the precision and simplicity of
the crystal clarity of Castile.
José Alvarez Rodriguez has returned to the Romance
in " La Muerte de la Margarita," Salamanca, 1937,
which is a classical elegy animated by a series of happy
images.
Felipe Cort.unes y Murube in his book " On the
Rising to preserve the Traditions of Spain " (Del Levant-
amiento por la Tradición de España), Seville, 1936, gives
24 vignettes of the principal figures of the National
Rising. There is also inserted a Romance written on
the bridge of one of the fishing boats which serve as
auxiliaries to the Navy.
Calle Iturrino has also been successful with the
sonnet, of which he gathers together 37 in " Cantos de
Guerra y de Imperio," Bilbao, Dochao, 1937. To these
are added another dozen poems all inspired by the
emotions of the War. The sonnet " Alférez " shows the
fine example given by the Youth of Spain.
Agustín de Foca, in 1935 published the collection of
Romances " La Nina del Caracol," has now given us
three poems full of life and energy, one on the death of
Calvo Sotelo, " El Canto de Roma " and " La Brigada
del Amanecer."
Alfredo Marquerie, whose work " Reloj " won the
National Literature Prize in 1934, has given us the
Romance " Canción de la Obra fecunda " in celebration
of the social help work carried out in National Spain.
Rafael Dyos has written a Romance on the death of
General Mola. There are innumerable others who have
written also, young poets have arisen to join Manuel
Machado and other older men, for as Teixeira de Pascoaes
said " When Truth first appears in the World, it comes
first to the Poet."
N.B.—" Romance " is in lines of 8 syllables with
assonance of even lines. Same assonance throughout
the poem. Reached its apogee in 15th and early 16th
centuries.
Romancero is a collection of Romances.
20
-ocr page 23-
RECOMMENDED
"Spain's Pilgrimage of Grace," by J. A.
Fraser,
former vice-consul of Spain in Bristol.
(Burns and Sons, Glasgow, 2d.). A documented
record of events leading to the Nationalist Rising,
and a justification of the Movement.
" The Church in Spain : Rich or Poor?" by
the Rev. Thomas J. Feeney
(Catholic Truth
Society 2d.). A carefully documented refutation
of the Communist charge that the Spanish Church
was fabulously wealthy.
' ' The Unpopular Front, ' ' by Arnold Lunn
(Burns, Oates and Washbourne 2d.).
"Democracy in Spain," by R. J. Dingle
(Burns, Oates and Washbourne 6d.). The case for
the Nationalist Movement.
" The Legend of Badajoz," by Major Geoffrey
McNeill-Moss
(Burns, Oates and W'ashbourne
2d.). The truth of the " atrocity " myth.
" Impressions and Reflections," by Douglas
Jerrold,
reprinted from the " Nineteenth Century
and After " (April, 1937). (Constable & Co. Ltd.).
' ' The Conflict in Spain, ' ' Refutation of Com-
munist Mis-statements, by the Marquis de
Merry Del Val
(Catholic Truth Society 2d.).
' ' Franco, Who Is He ? What Does He Fight
For?" by E. Lodge Curran, Ph.D.
(Inter-
national C.T.S., Brooklyn, N.Y.).
" Spanish Gold," (Reprinted from " The Times "
of August 30 and 31, 1937).
' ' Spain^The Truth at Last, ' ' by Sir Henry
Page Croft
(Bournemouth Guardian, L'td. 2d.).
An exposure, among other things, of the Red
destruction of Guernica.
" Conquest of Red Spain," by Maj.-Gen. J. F.
Fuller
(Burns, Oates and Washbourne 2d.).
" The War in Spain," Pastoral Letter of the
Spanish Bishops
(Catholic Truth Society 2d.).
" I Accuse France," by a Barrister (new and
enlarged edition), (Spanish Press Services, Ltd.,
6d.).
' ' Spanish Rehearsal, ' ' by Arnold Lunn
(Hutchinson 10/6). A clearly written and carefully
documented history of the conflict in Spain,
showing the relevance of the causes of the Spanish
tragedy to British affairs.
' ' The March of a Nation, ' ' by Harold Cardozo
(Eyre and Spottiswoode 10/6). A personal account
of a year's civil war operations in Spain by an un-
prejudiced observer who was the correspondent of
the " Daily Mail."
"A Correspondent in Spain," by E. H.
Knoblaugh
(Sheed and Ward 7/6). Personal ex-
periences in Red Spain. A vivid and objective
account of the actual conditions prevailing.
' ' Spanish Journey, ' ' by Eleonora Tennant
(Eyre and Spottiswoode 2/6). Mrs. Tennant, who
represents no political interests, gives a plain and
unvarnished account of daily life in Nationalist
Spain. Her interviews with British residents are
curiously at variance with quasi-official and B.B.C.
news.
" Conflict in Spain," by G. M. Godden (Burns,
Oates and Washbourne 2/6) )Paper covered edition
1/6). A detailed record of Soviet intrigue in
Spain which led up to the civil war, with copious
references and quotations from official Communist
documents.
"Franco Means Business," by Georges
Rotvand
(Paladin Press 2/-). A " close-up "
picture of the man Franco, what he is like and
what he stands for.
"Red Terror in Madrid," by Luis de Fon-
te riz
(Longmans 2/6). An eyewitness account of
the first six months' " terror " in Madrid, graphi-
cally describing the ordeal of all who were not
** Reds."
-ocr page 24-
THE SANTANDER HILLS
Photograph byeMarques Santa Maria del Villar.
Printed in Great Britain by E. S. Wheatley, Ltd., Barnet, for Spanish Press Services, Ltd., 99, Regent Street, London, W.l
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