The Washington times., 1936-12-03
ALL CATALONIA
IN GRIP OF
RED TERROR

French and Russian revolutions"
grips Catalonia, tDriteS Lee Dick
son, International NetDS SerUtce
staff correspondent, in the first
of four articles of conditions in
this WGr.torn group OF proDtnceS,
Which mdny obSerUerS beIteUe
1DiH be the site of the nert So
Uiet state. Dickson tOrote his
articles after returning to Paris
from a tour of CGtGlontGJ
By LEE DICKSON
copyright. 1885, by International
News service)
PARIS, Dec. 2.-Anarchy and
Communism hold all Catalonia,
and particularly Barcelona, its
capital and city of over million,
in a grip of terror comparable
only to that Of the French and
Russian revolutions.
Few Of the facts Of present
day, nerve e-wracked Catalonia are
so far known abroad. And this
is due to two reasons.
First, q general miSunderStand-
ing of the term popular from"
government as it applies to Bar
ceIona, and
Second, the strictest censorship
the world has ever known.
Reds Tighten Grip
After the befuddled army gar
rison of Barcelona had come into
the streets on July 19 and been
slaughtered in it's abortive at
tempt to Subjugate the city, the
extreme radical element of work
ers and laborerS took things into
their own hands, and have tight
ened their grip day by day.
The terroriStic regime of con-
fiscation, wholesale executions,
SuppresSions of private rights and
property follows as closely as pos
Sible that employed in Petrograd
in November, 1917. The Cata-
lonian reds are worshipperS of
their Russian torchbearerS.
The Hotel Colon, once the finest
in Barcelona, is now Communist
headquarters. Its facade is dec
GRATED with huge pictures of Len
in and Stain, a red canvas
Streamer stretched between
them.
The Hotel Ritz is "gastronom-
ical Center No. ~ meaning a
soup kitchen where thousands are
fed daily. Minor hotels have been
permitted to remain open under
control of Soviet committees.
Bank Accounts Seized
All bank accounts were seized
by the government. In addition,
all public services were sovietized,
so that trains, trans and busses
are painted red and black and
bear identifying symbols.
Each carries the Inscriptions
o. N. T. and F. A. I.-WorkerS'
National Confederation and Iber-
ian Anarchists Federation, re-
Spectively-which are all-powerful
and merely tolerate the milder
q. G. T. (WorkerS General Union)
and the left republicans, headed
by President Luis CompanyS.
There also are many other red
groups and syndicates, for women,
for youth movements and so forth,
but the c. N. T. and F. A. I. con-
troll Catalonia and it's formidable
preparations for defense against
the Fascists. Third in Importance
is P. o. U. M.-the Trotsky group
of Soviets or power of the Marx
ist Workers Union.
Autos COnfiscated
Private cars were of course con-
fiscated. Their owners were in
some cases executed, sometimes
imprisoned or perhaps tolerated
pending eventualities-a sinister
position, with all avenues of eS-
cape cut off. These cars, too, have
been smeared with identifying
initials and Sovietized for govern
ment" service.
No one attempted to refuse sur
render of his belongings to armed
visitors" from the c. N. T. or
F. "A. I.-those who were the under
dogs Of monarchist regime, who
felt themselves hopelessly op-
pressed by the privileged grandees,
the army and the church, and are
now launching their own expert
ment, beginning with terrorism.