LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[Correspondents are requested to keep their letters as brief as is reasonably possible. The most suitable length is that of one of our News of the Week" paragraphs. Signed letters are given a preference over those bearing a pseudonym, and the latter must be accompanied by the name and address of the author, which will be treated as confidential.—Ed. THE SPECTATOR.] IN FRANCO'S SPAIN [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I think it fair to say that after reading an article under the heading In Franco's Spain, published in The Times of May 24th, most people who had not lived recently in. Spain would conclude that General Franco's supporters were by now tired of war to the extent of wishing for it to end at any price, or, as the writer expressed it, " no matter how." I live in Spain and have just returned from . Malaga ; and as such a conclusion would be in my opinion, and in the opinion of every foreigner with whom I talked in Spain, utterly false, I should not care for it to rest unchallenged. The writer states that " the majority of Spaniards in insurgent Spain still pay lip-service to the Nationalist cause, and pay it honestly. But in a great many cases determination to win the war has yielded to a longing for the war to end, no matter how." (The italics are mine.) And again " the population is prepared and eager to see the movement win, but is neither eager nor prepared to risk too much for victory." These statements appear to me not only a slander upon the fortitude and endurance of the Spanish people, but meaningless unless intended as such. In this war it is impossible for either side to long for the war to end, "no matter how." . The vast majority of Spaniards now under General Franco's rule know that they must either win the war or lose it and with it every possession they have, and most of them their lives. This is no exaggeration. It would not be denied by any Government supporter unless, perhaps, he was talking to the Dean of Canterbury or some other unnaturally credulous soul, such as General Quiepo de Llano has termed " the inevitable British Churchman." For this reason, together with the fact that the opponents of General Franco know equally well that, if they do not win, the war will not stop till those responsible for communism and anarchy in Spain have been eliminated; instigation from abroad towards peace by settlement or through foreign mediation is of no interest to Spaniards.
Let us consider recent events in Malaga, a town in complete subjection to the Madrid Government until last February. The mob, armed by the Government, and finding that they were in control of the town, proceeded to celebrate the fact by burning a large part of it to the ground. This was easily accomplished ; and at the end of four days all the big shops, cafes, clubs and most of the large private villas existed no longer. This was accompanied by looting, though still the crowd often preferred destruction to possession, and most of the treasures taken from the churches and private houses were stacked in piles and set fire to. All private cars were stolen and burnt. The remainder of these seven long months was Spent in hunting down and killing all whom they could catch. of those whom they had "robbed. This is literally-true; When all who were able to do so fled from the town on the approach of the Nationalist soldiery, they left behind therrino trace at all of any constructive work, not even any plan of defence of the town. They left a town half-submerged in, 41 litter of refuse and filth, its remaining inhabitants wan with hunger and disease ; five rotting corpses "in the nave of its Cathedral ; churches stinking with the manure of mules ant cattle ; 68 million pesetas of bad paper money in the banks ; and a sinister array in the 'park of lorries loaded with inflammable spirit. .When I arrived in Malaga a few weeks later the work of cleaning the town was §n11 id progress.' Mitch. had been accomplished. All the town services were functioning, 414 Ociently. Food could be obtained at reasonable pric0 Soap was scarce because of the sudden universal demand for it. The first day, I met a friend at work in the Cathedral,'s sculptor who had always abjured politics. He explained' me why he wore the uniform of the Phalange ; and as I knet him as essentially' a -man of peace his words" impressed me. They were' more be less as follows f" -- " The English tall us Fascists. I am not rule what that Mini signifies. The Phalange is a group the nucleus of which was formed some time ago when it had become obvious to most people that any hope of order and security under the so-called popular Govern-
ment was in vain. I have joined it because it is the largest disciplined, body of men and women in Spain approved by General Franco,' and absolutelY at his command ; and because in its :ranks one is told what to do to assist in winning this war. I don't care what I am told to do, with that end, and that end .only, in- view. - I have no political aims. None of us has. No one talks politics. The
Requetes wear a red boina and are said to wish for the return of a king . but they will not discuss that with yOu. Like everyone else here, they are occupied exclusively with winning the war. After- wards ? Given a Government strung enough to ensure order- and security in which to build up the new. Spain that must now arise, and to preserve our heritage of culture, and art, and Christianity, let it take what form it may. A Government supposedly elected by popular vote we have experienced. Have you an acquaintance here who is not in mourning ? We have endured not only acts of atrocity, but a method of rule by systematic savagery. . . . We do not execute here now without fair trial. You English pride yourselves on your love of animals, yet you have killed more wild ones than any other people on earth : leave us to settle with the wild beast that has attacked us, and to eliminate the people who have done these things, and thosi who have permitted or encouraged them ! "
I have Spanish friends in every walk of life and I found none who did not share this man's sentiments. When I left Spain two weeks ago these people were not expecting an immediate end to the' war ; but they were profoundly confident of ultimate victory, and prepared to make any sacrifice to that end.
History teaches us that the Spaniard has always proved himself in courage and endurance at least equal, in endurance often superior, to any foreigner. There is certainly no reason to suppose that he has changed. - - All the English people whom I know in Nationalist Spain are watching these people, who hold their respect and admir-. ation, fighting to preserve their country from chaos and dis- integration ; and while they deplore the policy of their own Government which would seem to prefer in the Mediterranean a weak Red State—a dependency of Moscow—to-a strong and prosperous country, they echo in their hearts the cry that is on the lips of Franco's soldiers—arriba Espana !—I am, Sir, Bryanston Square, W. r.
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