Show EUROPE WATCHES SPANISH WAR Anxiously Await Outcome of Struggle Between Right and Left Factions f 1 May y Change V World orld History By WILLIAM C. C UTLEY n revolution Greek ORDINARILY you can take a Spanish as a revolution or you ou can let it alone The general custom among the laity of observers in America in the past has been to let em alone In Greek revolutions the government changes hands between matinee and evening performances and although whole navies navies are captured no one ever gets hurt burt The ordinary Spanish rev revolution revo revo- revolution lution is much the same the one distinguishing factor being that murder and mayhem are present but nobody gets hurt burt except Spaniards Ever since Spain lost her la last t American colonies some ome odd 30 years year ago riot revolution and re rebellion rebellion re re- bellion have been rife In the sunny land But because in the past patt these revolutions have been of little lIttie consequence consequence con con- sequence outside the borders of Spain Itself other nations even those on the th European continent have been Justified In merely remaining remaining re reo re- re aloof and letting matters take their course until once more morea a Spanish government of one kind kindor or another is answering the phones Aloofness often Is ont only official as Itis it itIs itis is possible to do a neat little business business busi busl ness nes in do arms with both warring sides aides unofficially But Dut with this newest and most serious of Spanish revolutions the customary policy of laissez faire among her neighbors is II one difficult cult if not impossible to maintain For here her In Spain is now the ultimate ultimate ulti ulti- mate expression of a struggle that thatis thatis is II now going on among the peoples of nearl nearly ever every nation In Europe See Death Struggle This is not a civil war to determine determine deter deter- mine whether republic or monarchy shall shaU be the form of government Actually it does doci not Involve the question of how the nation shall be governed so much as os who shall shaU govern govern gov gov- ern it This Is a death battle between what have come to be called in Europe and are more and more frequently mentioned here in the United States the Right and the I A Gen OeD Emilio Slots lola n Rebel bel Leader I Left On the Right is Fascism on the left Is II Socialism On the one side aide are the monopolies the bureaucrats bureaucrats bureau bureau- and the big land owners on the other are the peasant farmers the small business men union labor and the proletariat It may be truthfully said that practically all aU Europe toda today Is divided di dl vided into Rightist and Leftist fac lions The sharp line of demarcation becomes more apparent with each new heated political debate with each new spirited election For that reason every European eye is di directly directly dl di- focused upon Spain Deeply concerned are France whose new i Leftist government has not yet proved the panacea It was heralded to be Germany which will find new cause to arm against the Reds If U the Left wins win and a new victory over communism If the Right flight wins Italy would welcome a strong Fascist nel neighbor and exclusive ex ex- elusive of her subtler political interests in Great Britain must protect Gibraltar While former revolutions in Spain have resulted In only qualified vie vic victories tortes tories or defeats it is generally conceded conceded con con- ceded that this one will be decisive It ma may string along for man many months even years but it will wW be bea bea a fight to a finish Europe Watches Struggle Yet what is Important about this lids civil war Is not which government Right or Left emerges victorious the choice of the majority of people It is the fact that there Is a serious fight This is a bloody and cruel war Homes theaters hospitals have become ammunition centers and barracks Snipers spit death out of store windows cannon wheels scar the surfaces of plains the drone of bombers disturbs the calm cf of fabled Spanish skies Right and Left have taken arms against each other AU All Europe watches For years the continent has been a Under box awaiting a match to set it off oft after crisis has been passed and another great war has been averted or postponed postponed post post- paned sometimes ever ev r so narrowly May not this develop Into the next of these great crises crise What will France do da If it Ital Italy sends aid to the Fascists What Chat will Germany German do da li ifRed ii if Red lied Russia Interferes on the other side lide The Spanish-American Spanish war may be arbitrarily taken as the real be be- ginning of the political tim tion of Spain It was less than a decade after that when she lost her last American colony Four years later came the first of a series of uprisings among the people It was quelled That was In 1909 In 1917 there was another unsuccessful re reo revolt volt When the crisis after the World war came the Spanish monarchy found Itself unable to look after the welfare of its subjects who were finding It next to Impossible impossible Im im- im possible to make a living An attempt at at- tempt empt was made to right conditions in 1921 when Primo de Rivera was set up by the Rightist factions as dictator It didn't work New Regime Falls Fails Ten years yeats later the republic was voted In hi and King Alfonso Altonso XIII was wason wason wason on his sudden way out Spanish citizens citizens citi citi- zens were free men mea All AU the ills of the old times were to be forgotten Their troubles were over But alas it didn't work out that way Actually the new government had lad been heralded a few months before before be be- fore its inception by a serious general gene gene- gene ene ral sal strike and an uprising among the military forces There was the world-wide world depression to be reckoned reckoned reck reek with and the fact that In Spain the Ae currency was deflated Industry frozen and foreign markets market for Spanish farmers hopelessly lost Primo de Rivera had been driven into exile by rising governmental debts and deficits Political liberty was supposed to rectify all of these things Of course it didn't When the republic was born 75 per cent of the population was dependent dependent de de- de pendent directly or indirectly upon upon up on agriculture yet so evilly was it i distributed that only tenth one-tenth of the farm population could make a fair living from it Immense estates relics of feudal days held the really fertile land the poor peasant was doomed to watch thousands thousands thousands thou thou- sands upon thousands of acres of rich land carelessly wastefully cultivated cultivated cul cuI or even thrown open to pasture while he burdened with heavy debts had to work a tiny tiny patch of poor land The great hordes of landless farm hands working only half the year and then at meager wages were steadily growing Small private industries wallowed hopelessly in debt while great monopolies monopolies mo mo- monopolies were so entwined Into the government that when there were losses the taxpayers made them good but when there were profits the stockholders got them alL aU When the republic came into being be ing there were countless and needless needless need need- less bureaus eating the substance ol of the treasury A costly and overlarge overlarge over over- large army with many needlessly salaried high-salaried officers noted for blundering blundering blun blun- dering and extravagant colonial adventures was being kept Unemployment Unemployment starvation wages anc and continued repression from the Right had concentrated the mass o of poor industrial workers into a few large cities and had greatly Increased In creased their numbers Expected Drastic Changes The people rightly enough expected expected ex drastic changes from the theMen theMen theMen Men of the Republic The economic only a Left and naturally leaving result of hopeless conflict of policy conflictIng conflictS conflict The Right flight bewildered by between socialism one in lag Ing policy minute and Fascism the next froze credits paralyzed industry and agri agriculture agriculture agri- agri culture and hired armed bands of men to annoy the Leftists and thus provoke the government In the summer of 1032 1932 it all came to a boll boil bolland bolland and the Right provoked a military revolt but Intervention of civilian troops on the part of the government government govern govern- ment quelled It Economic conditions failed tailed to Im prove There were strikes riots and demonstrations The Left was still in a bad way The peasants led an uprising In 1933 So severely was it put down the government began to lose the loyalty of the peasants and kindred classes When later that year the Socialists were driven f ar I Women e Marksmen l Take ake pa Part Fart from the cabinet and the Right night assumed assumed as as- what amounted to almost aUthe all aU the power there were political scandals and months of continued unrest followed In 1934 the Left revolted revolted re re- upon the calling of Gil Robles into the cabinet This was nearly a successful revolution and was only quieted by the employment of the Spanish Foreign Legion and paid Moorish troops Never before in Spanish history had bad such measures been necessary to protect the government government gov gov- It was sufficient to instill more confidence and courage into the Left and to incite the proletariat riat further against the government of the Right Accordingly the Left forced elections elec and swept the existing government govern ment meet from power That was early this year The same old struggle has been going on ever since the since the power has not yet definitely come cometo to one side or the other to permit a continuity of action But Dut the new revolution openly and unmistakably a civil war to the bitter bit ter end will leave Spain at last completely completely com com- Right or completely Left Left Lert- completely Fascist or completely Socialist Americans Leave Spain The efficiency of the State department depart depart- ment and the foreign service has been strikingly demonstrated In the emergency precipitated by the revolution revolution rev rev- in Spain which required the government to conduct the first evacuation of Americans from a European country since the World war When the revolution broke Ambassador Am Am- Bowers Dowers was at his summer summer sum sum- mer house bouse at on the coast five miles from San Sebastian Sebastian Sebas Sebas- tian the Summer capital capita where were stationed Johnson and Cut off from communication communication by telephone with his Summer Sum Sum- m mer r embassy and prevented by barricades bar and fighting from going to San Sebastian Mr Bowers Dowers was taken taken tak take en off by the cutter Cayuga and subsequently established his em em- I Scene In Toledo Showing Snipers Fighting Rebels theory of the Rightists nominally second In power In the republic and today represented by the rebelling Fascist generals was that of ot repression repression re re- wage-reduction wage breaking breaking- up of labor concentration lion tion camps for tor forced labor labor all all the principles of Fascism The republic was to substitute higher wages new and fairer distribution of land gov gov- control of Industry reset Dement and rehabilitation projects and a security program But the earl early republican govern ment meat found Itself torn between two loyalties It attempted to steer a middle course providing l legislation only upon pressure from Right flight or bassy on the vessel to cruise In Spanish waters so as to be of aid to Americans At the outset the situation In the Spanish capital was serious with firing tiring in the streets The United States embassy stocked all aU the food It t could get and stored water In large reservoirs for a siege Then American nationals were directed to go to the embassy A total of went there Including Filipinos Filipino and Puerto Ricans The embassy also received official requests to harbor nationals of cf Belgium Sweden Fin Fin- land Turkey Chile Panama Cuba Cub and Austria and did s s so e UnIon uBon |