Evening star., 1939-06-04

JOSEPH STAIN.
pleased, without any coordination
with the land and sea forces.
The naval and air minister, In
dalecio Prieto, cynical and humble,
made fun of his Office to any one
who visited him, declaring he was
not minister Of anything, because
he received no obedience from the
air force. The real minister for
air was the Russian Gen. Duglas.
Many operations of disastrous
consequences. like those of Brunette,
Teruel and others, were carried out
through the imposition of the Rus
sian advisers against the opinion
OF the more competent Spanish
soldiers. And when the Spanish
government prepared an operation
that was not to the liking of these
advisers, or which they claimed
conflicted with their interests, they
boycotted it, as happened in the
case Of the action planned at Merida.
Because he would not agree to use
in this action units commanded by
Communists, Largo Caballero, min
lister OF war, was refused the de-
spatch of the brigades that he
desired by Gen. Miaja, who at the
time was a Communist and obeyed
only the orders of the Russian staff.
while the air force, entirely under
the control of the Russians, likewise
refused him its cooperation. Thus
the Soviet soldiers obeyed Moscow's
instructions" both before and after
December. 1895.
AS last resource they threatened
to abandon Spain. 1 have here
the interchangeable testimony OF
Largo Caballero himself, as related
by him in book as yet unpub-
hshed: The Spanish government
and, in particular, the minister
responsible for the conduct of op-
erations, as well as the general
staff, particularly at headquarters,
were not able to proceed with alb
solute independence because they
were obliged to submit. against their
will, to irresponsible outside inter-
ference. without being able to free
themselves from it under pain of
jeopardizing the assistance that
Russia was giving us through the
sale OF war material.
On some occasions, on the pretext
that their orders were not being
carried out with the punctuality
that they desired, the Russian EN-
bassy and generals permitted them
selves to acquaint me with their
displeasure, declaring that if we
did not consider their cooperation
necessary and helpful we should
tell them so plainly, so that they
could notify their government and
take their departure This threat
was also implied in Stains first
letter.
The last and fatal action in Cata-
lonia, which was rather in the
nature of a gift, the suspicious end
of which is not yet fully explained,
was directed by Russian staff. The
letter is knowingly misleading: The
soldiers that arrived from Moscow
were not obliging advisers, but des-
potic dictators. Plus, as already
stated, an astounding incompetence
Such mental war equipment was
not the most suitable for winning
the war, or even for prolonging it
for long
Political Agents in Saddle.
But all the blame must not be
thrown on the Russian soldiers. Be-
hind them were the innumerable
political agents who were disguised
as commercial agents and were in
real control of Spanish politics
Nothing is said of them in the let
ter, and their presence was also not
requested by any government in
Spain. They came alone, and few
Spaniards were aware of their exist
ence and of their operations in the
dark. They directed the Russian
soldiers, the Communist party and
Rosenberg himself. who in reality
was only an Ambassador of straw
The real Ambassadors were these
mysterious men who entered Spain
under false names and were working
under direct orders from the Krem-
lin and from the Russian police.
Largo Caballero was able to advise
change OF scene for Rosenberg,
but it was these men, the pseudony-
nous agents of Stain, who prepared
the downfall of Largo Caballero and
his replacement by. a man more
amenable to the advice expressed in
the letter and to much other tacit
advice or to counsels conveyed in
other circumstances and through
other channels. This man of tragic
destiny was Juan Negrin.
At the very beginning of the let
ter Largo Caballero is addressed on
the policy that Spain is to follow
The Spanish revolution must not
initiate the Russian: it must be
parllamentarian. Then follow the
four counsels, likewise not requested
by anybody; attract the peasants
whom nobody was driving away !;
attract the small and middleclass
bourgeois, avoiding confiscations
and not following Russia S example
on this point; pacify the Republican
leaders in order to get them to COL
laborate in the government and to
make it impossible for any one to
say that Spain is a Communist re-
public; appease foreign capital. To
sum up policy OF the popular front;
an apparently democratic policy
controlled by a dictatorship, more
or less effective or concealed, by
the Communist party.