Evening star., 1937-01-09

BY John Langdon.D Davies
New York: Robert NJ. Nc.
Bride 6 Co.
Reviewed by
JOHN GUNTHER,
Author OF Inside Europe"
ITLER's Hessians-those totali-
- tartan mercenaries fighting in
another country's war; the
4 multilingual workmen of the
international brigade defending Mad
rid; the Moors of Gen. Franco, hoping
for an Islamic heaven by cutting the
throats of Christian infidels, while
fighting for the church; bombing
planes from the Soviet Union with a
cargo of dynamite, hammers and
ball of peace and ready to dive in their
convenient destroyers; an Italian ex-
peditionary force in apparent occupa-
ton of the Island of Majorca; the
population of Spain itself ripped saw
agely asunder-these are some OF the
results of what was to have been
quiet little week end coup by Gen.
Franco last July, and these are the
things which make the background of
Mr.. Langdon-Davies' book.
One must get the chronology
straight. The Spanish civil war is so
prickly because it rubs sharply against
two matters very close to the average
onlookers, his feeling about class and
his feeling about religion.
The other day in the London OBJ
server, which people used to think OF
as a fair-minded newspaper, read
the following editorial note in the lead
ing position abreast of j. L. GarVins
acreage. The note is worth quoting
for the incredible bias it shows:
1T was always to be expected that
the war In Spain would pe STUBBORN
and prolonged. 1t is proving even
more stubborn than was expected.
WHY? Because it has ceased to be a
Spanish war, and has become dis
cuised international war. Russia alone
disdains now to disguise that fact. IL
was Russian reinforcements. constl-
tuting the first infringement OF the
non-intervention agreement, that still
fened Madrid's resistance and insured
Madrid's destruction. The Russian
Intervention has been countered by
German and Italian intervention. On
Tuesday, for instance. it became
known that 5000 German volunteers
had landed at Cadiz."
For sheer perversity this paragraph
leaves one with eyes popping. Md
drid's destruction Is insured because
the legal and proper government OF
Spain decided to defend itself! Rus
sian Intervention has been counter
ed" by German and Italian inter-
vention! Five thousand German vol
unteers" have landed at Cadiz-pre-
sumably to save Spain from the nor
rors of further civil war!
incidentally, quite little storm is
blowing among people who still believe
that there is free speech in England
because Mr.. Garvins newspaper re-
fused to publish an advertisement OF
Mr.. Langdon-Davies book)
TT IS not only in England that the
l. facts of the Spanish story have
been distorted beyond belief. Yet lit
tie primary attention to the sequence
of events should make things clearer.
In February, 1886, Popular Front
government took power in Spain after
a free election. In this Popular Front
government there were no Socialists
and no Communists. 1t was Liberal
government of the Left, no more, no
less.
In july Gen. Franco led an armed
insurrection against this government.
His coup made comparatively little
headway. 1t might have been crushed
except for the arrival of German and
Italian reinforcements. Intervention
bv the Fascist side antedated by a
considerable period intervention by
the Russians and the international
q workers brigade. The Germans and
Italians were contributing munitions
at least by August. The Russians be-
came a factor of Importance only in
November. Frances terror was fol-
lowed by counter-terror No priest
was murdered in Spain before July 18.
Nothing happened to any rebel pris-
oner till Frances Moors massacred
the Loyalists he captured at Badajoz
in a bullring by machine gun. 1t
was Franco who started the war. And
It is Franco who will bear the re-
sponsibility If bolshevism comes to
Spain.
All of this is in Mr. Langdon- Davies
book, which is one of the first to ap-
pear in this country from the Spanish
battle line.
Mr.. Langdon-Davies writes with fer
vor and perhaps with bias-he is IA
natically on the side of the Loyalists-
but at least his facts are straight. He
has lived in Spain for many years and
has been a student of Spain for many
more; he knows not only Spanish but
Catalan and was in an infinitely bet
ter position to pick up information on
the spot than most newspaper corre-
spondents; he visited Spain just be-
fore the war and then during it; he
had friends on both sides, and was a
first-hand witness to events in BARGE
Iona and the siege of the Alcazar.
THE book begins with an impress
- sionist sketch of Catalonia in the
days preceding the outbreak. There
is vivid glimpe of syndicalist con-
= gress at Saragossa. The syndicslists,
odd fish, are given better break in
Behind the Spanish Barricades" than
In other books about Spain. Mr..
Langdon-D Davies quotes sentence Of
the Catalan code, you must learn to
kill without hate" but otherwise he
finds much to praise in the spirit and
courage of these volatile Irishmen Of
the Iberian Peninsula. He points out,
too, that the philosophic anarchists,
who believe in liberty from all political
interference, are now freely fighting
In collaboration with the others of the