Evening star., 1934-03-25
BY ALBIN E. JOHNSON.

Il racy in Europe overnight
with the dethronement of
King Alfonso, is experiencing a back
swing of the political pendulum. Un-
able to make good their promises, the
Spanish Socialists are going the way
of their Italian. German, Austrian,
British and French brethren. If the
tide of reaction continues to rise, and
the Left groups-Socialists, Com
munists, Anarchists and Syndicalists
are unable to unite for their COM
mon defense, Spain may again find
herself under g. dictatorship. But it
will be a Republican dictatorship. The
Bourbons are as dead in Spain as the
Hohenzollerns are in Hitler's Ger
many.
The recent formation of his Sec
ond cabinet by Alexandra Lerroux,
Moderate political leader, has given
the nation a makeshift government
for a time. But the crisis, which
caused the collapse of his previous
cabinet, has not been solved. Eco
nomic problems are becoming more
and more complex. Economic depres-
sion is deepening. Unemployment is
growing. Social reforms, instituted
by the Socialists during their short
tenure in office, are not working out
particularly we'll.
Ierroux's first cabinet, formed aft
er the defeat of the Socialists in the
recent elections, was based upon the
support of the Moderates and the
Right Wing parties-the Catholics,
Agrarians, Conservatives and Mon
archists. 1t lasted only as long as
the premier was able to satisfy the
Right Catholics. headed by the re-
doubtable Gil Robles.
Demand Revision.
The clericals demanded that rela-
tions with the Vatican be resumed
and that church properties eXpro-
priated by the State be returned or
adequate compensation granted. The
Catholics also demand a revision of
the constitution, so laboriously drawn
up by the constituent assembly after
Alfonso's abdication-a concession OBJ
viously impossible under the republic.
When Lerroux refused to play the
game of the reactionaries, they i'm
mediately voted with the Socialists
and threw him out OF office.
President Zamora, however, in
trusted Lerroux with the responsible
ity of forming a new government
largely because he had no other al
tentative. The Left parties are now
demanding dissolution of the Cortes
and new elections The reaction
aries would take over Office exclusive
ly and rule with an iron hand, forc-
ing through revision of the constitu-
ton by decree If necessary and call
ing out the army to maintain order.
Particularly they seek to rehabilitate
the fortunes of the church, which was
shorn of temporal power and much
of its riches with the establishment
of the republic Either course is al
most certain to bring serious civil
disorders, which most leaders in
Spain wish at all costs to avert.
Socialists Make Errors.
Generally speaking Spain today is
at least 90 per cent anti-monarchist.
But there are great differences of
opinion among the various groups
which form that 80 per cent.
The Socialists position is similar to
that of the Socialists in both France
and Germany Socialism and parlia-
mentarianism have fallen into disre-
pute. Like their colleagues in Ger
many and Austria, the Spanish So
cialists have made the mistake of
being too sincere and too lenient.
They granted votes to women only to
find that the opposition took advan-
tage of their liberalism.
The Spanish Socialists abolished
the death penalty (as did KerenSky
in RUSSIA and Immediately the an
archists and syndicalists brought out
their pistols, daggers and bombs. Lib
erty became license. Some leaders Of
the C. N. T. Confederation Nacional
de Trabajo) are reliably reported to
be indulging in political robbery"
following the tactics of Stain, who in
Czarist times held up trains and
looted banks to obtain funds for
carrying on the revolutionary struggle.
AS result the syndicalists and an
archists are well supplied with funds
funds which it is said could not con-
ceivably have been amaSsed through
the regular contributions exacted from
workers, although revenue from that
source alone is considerable.
Platform Crashes.
The Socialists, while they were in
power, also made a serious mistake in
indulging in wild promises-promises
which might have been possible of
fulflllment had they been given time
to carry out their program, but which
certainly could not have been put
into effect in their short tenure in
Office.
The unavoidable delays in land re-
distribution is one of the counts on
which the Agrarians withdrew their
support from the Socialists.
Another mistake the Socialists made
was their complete removal of bans
on subversive literature. Since the
overthrow of the monarchy, during
whose last years it was not unusual
for newspapers to appear with blank
columns, deleted by censors, splatter-
ing every page, literature of all kinds
has deluged news-stands. Porno-
graphic publications, especially. run
riot All sorts of infammatory po-
Itical periodicals and pamphlets,
some openly preaching Communism,
anarchy, return of the monarchy,
violence and even calling for armed
rebellion against the government, can
be purchased freely.
The following revolutionary song
for children was given wide circula-
ton by Ateneo Libertario, an organi-
zation in Barcelona:
"Hurl straight the fire-spitting bomb
Plant we'll the mine;
Grasp firmly the star Crevolver);
Pass along the call for revolution
Until liberty finally becomes reality.
Help the anarchists!
Stand by your guns until death!
With gasoline and high explosives
Destroy Zamora's government"
Crime Record Scars.
The startling increase of crimes in