The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-03-05

Iernment assault guards on July 13 The whole country was aroused and the spark which set Spain afire had been struck. Yet the government did nothing; it forfeited it's right to rule a country in which it refused to protect life and property and to exercise its authority. It was de- liberately anticipating Red upris- ing at the end of July. Under such conditions and dangers the Army rose against the government on July 18. 1886, with the purpose of re-es- tablishing order. Thus was caused the Civil War.
 Propagandists, including the secu- lar press, delighted in continually re- beating that the Madrid government was legitimate, democratic govern ment and that therefore General Franco and his army were rebels. I have already shown that the Madrid Government was powerless and pa- ralyzed, and no wonder. The Freute Popular was made up of at least six parties with 87 Red Socialists and 81 Red Radicals dominating the coali- tion. Such 8 government dared do nothing to maintain order for fear of antagonizing the Reds and losing their support with consequent fall from power. Betraying its trust it forfeited the respect of the Spanish people. This Freute Popular was it. legitimate and undemocratic on yet another count. In 1881, following the abdication of AlphonSo XIII, the LeftiSt first arrogated power into their own hands. They immediate ly passed an Act for the Defense of the Republic" which effectively destroyed freedom of speech, meet ing, association and press and thus prevented all democratic attacks on the government. Moreover, the Spanish Constitution of 1881 forbids an election when and where Martial Law is in effect. The Freute Popu- lar, in defiance of these conStitu- tional prescriptions, held the Feb- ruary elections in 1886 and then ar- bitrarily annulled some 40 mandates in Granada, CacereS, BadajoS, Lugo, Potvedra and elsewhere because the results here favored the Right" Moreover, the Electoral Act, drafted by the Socialist Government of Aga na in 1881 was unfair. It gave more seats per number of votes to indus trial zones than to agricultural dis tricts; in industrial cities. where the LeftiSts were best organized, bare majority of the votes was given four-fifthS of the seats-a manifest travesty of democratic elections. Even with this system so extremely favorable to the Reds, the LeftiStS failed to get a majority of the votes on Feb. 16, 1886. In this election, the Rightists obtained 4,570, TIA bal lots, the LeftiSts received 4,356,559 votes and the Basque Nationalists and Centrists (with rightist tenden- cieS) garnered 81,210 votes, while some 4 million voters, mostly Mon- archists and therefore Rightists, ab- stained from voting, either through intimidation or through a desire to diScountenance the republic. (Ref. New York TimeS) However, despite the minority vote and by means of illegitimate and undemocratic man. ipulation, the Leftists gave them selves 264 seats and the Right and Centre POS.
 A Government constituted in this way is certainly not democratic nor legitimate. These facts clearly in- dicate how the Leftists were trying to bring about communiStic dic- tatorship, On June 2, 1886, Cabel- lero had clearly said "The proletar- ian dictatorship cannot be a dicta- torship of the majority. The avow- ed aim of Cabellero and the Social ist party was not the preservation of democracy but the establishment of a red dictatorship.
 l Against this menace to the demo- cratic form of government the army revolted. It is obvious that before, during and after the election of 1886 the government had defied the constitution and was therefore illeg- itimate and undemocratic. Moreover, this government aimed at Red dic- tatorship and sought the very de- struction of democracy. It is there fore evident that the army assailed no legitimate government. Indeed the Army, as bound by its oath, had to intervene ill July to protect life and property. It acted constitution ally and legitimately in aSSailing an usurped, illegitimate government, and in endeavoring to establish peace and order where chaos pre-