FRANCE AND THE SPANISH FRONTIER
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR]
Snt,—As a fellow member with Mr. Roach of the ignorant rank and file may I ask what the " class interest of a small minority " has to do with the question ? It is usually possible to make some sort of a guess how any domestic policy will affect one personally ; but (if we are to assume•that self interest always moves us) must we apply this to foreign affairs and line up, for example, the top half of the super-tax paying class as pro-Franco and the rest as Republican ?
To hold that Franco's victory would be harmful to this country is a legitimate point of view, but to try to assert that the victory of one side or the other would be to the advantage of a paiticular class as opposed to the rest of the citizens of this country is so much rubbish. As M. Bayet stated in his letter, Frenchmen, whatever their party, are agreed that Franco-Mussolini-Hitler rule would be a mortal danger to France. If we assume that such would be the result of a victory by Franco, we may well think that a danger to France would be a danger to Great Britain, but let us not bring class warfare into everything. If Franco's victory should harm this country the class interests of this " small minority " would suffer just as much as, and perhaps more than, the interests of us ignorant rank and file.
Some people, all of whom have not considered the possible results of his victory, have a sentimental preference for Franco, but to ask whether their " class interest " is a factor in the policy of Mr. Chamberlain is as reasonable as to question the effect on the proletariat of the victory of the " Gentlemen " over the " Players " at cricket !—I am, Sir, your obedient
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