Montana labor news., 1938-04-14
what was happening on his island

what was happening on his island
was happening in varying degree all
over Spain. He knew the criminal
ity of it. He knew with what suf-
fering and confusion the old tradi-
tional life on his island would be
replaced with new ways. The poet
in him rose in fury against the sense
less destruction Of so much that was
beautiful. His love of humanity was
outraged to the point of madness.
Yet he does not paint his picture
wholly in blacks and whites. His
intelligence prompts him to ac-
knowledge that much of the wrong
ness and brutality arose out of
ignorance and confusion. Many of
the islanders who aided the Fascist
rising were without any clear knowl-
edge of the issues involved. Some
of the extreme instances in this re-
gard are touching in pathos. A car
penter's son, bored with his dull
existence, seized a rifle and marched
away. To a mopping-up squad of
Loyalist militia, he declared, because
he liked the romantic sound of the
word, that he too was a Fascist. In
a hurry, they shot him.
The Fascist coup left the island
paralyzed. Bombing planes came;
men escaped into hiding; stores of
munitions were uncovered; arrests
were made; families were torn apart.
Modern time moved in upon Santa
Eulalia to the tune of machine guns
and the explosion of bombs. Pris-
oners massacred when per-
sonal vengeance ran uncontrolled.
Finally government troops took the
Fascist garrison, but nothing could
restore the serenity and peace that
once had been. The Ibicencos knew
nothing of governing themselves. No
boats came from Barcelona; there
was no incentive to work or trade.
Even the dogs ranged the streets
unhappily, many of them unable to
find their former masters. The
proud yellow tomcat now lay with
out food in his trampled nasturtium
bed.
Elliott Paul did what he could to
keep spirits up. He showed the
islanders that they could live COM
fortably on foods the island pro
duced. He helped drill a volunteer
militia after the government troops
had been recalled to fight on more
important fronts. But most of his
being was feeding a flame of hatred
toward the criminals Germany and
italy, who had sponsored the Fas-
cist movement; and toward those
other criminals britain, France, and
the United States) who stood pious-
Iy aside maintaining 'strict neutral
ity."
Black Italian bombers came, drop
ping death without warning on
women and children. Shocked and
outraged guards massacred Fascist
prisoners. Towns crumbled. Elliott
Paul was fortunate in getting away
on a German steamer. To him it
was the end of his world.
Part II marches swiftly, and stabs
and stings with the fierceness of the
events Paul describes. It is far the
better of the two parts. No one can
blame the man for his fierce emo
tionalism. Which of us would not
have felt the same? But we can
wish that his journalistic training
had stiffened his lip and prompted
him to cut the sentimentality of the
Part !, and omit the often boresome
%apostrophes to eternity, and the con-
tinual forewarnings of horror. If
Part I had been shortened to one
chapter, the reader would have been
spared much dullness that is I'M
necessary to the book. Part II sum
mons its own characters to life, and
depends scarcely at all upon the
long and elaborate Characterization
and descriptions which precede it.
Part II is relentless and beautiful,
and sharply convincing.
'The Life and Death of a Spanish
Town is not great poetry. 1t is an
agonizing one among many books
of varying shade of emotion that
will come out of the Spanish up
heaval. . That which was thought
would endure forever was cruelty
smashed away; and many persons
died knowing nothing of what the
conflict was about. It is one of
the truest books that tell of the rape
of Spain.-Richard Lake, graduate
of the English department of the
C4,A- TT-s..A