Foreign News: Potato Toasted

Off the Spanish Basque harbor of Bilbao, H. M. S. Hood, most potent warboat in the world, plowed ponderously through mountainous waves with Vice Admiral Geoffrey Blake on its quarterdeck. Between the Hood and the harbor was the ancient Spanish battleship España, flagship of the Rightist fleet, and a half-dozen battered codfish trawlers armed with machine guns. Less than 100-mi. away a half-dozen British freighters were in the harbor of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, loaded with food for beleaguered Leftist Bilbao, but by orders from London the Hood, with all the awesomeness of its 15-inch guns, could not protect them past the menace of the blockading España, kept them anchored in the French harbor.

Agitated telephone calls between London and British diplomatic agents in Saint-Jean-de-Luz were not made clearer by the fact that the captains of three of the stymied British freighters were named Jones. A consular clerk speeded matters considerably by naming them after their respective cargoes: Potato Jones, Ham & Egg Jones, Corn Cob Jones. Bravest of the lot, because he is part owner of his ship, was Captain David (Potato) Jones of the Marie Llewellyn. Attempting to run the blockade, he nearly ran down the British destroyer Brazen, was shepherded back to port where his cargo began to spoil. Finally, purple with rage, spewing rotten potatoes behind him, Captain Jones put out to sea again, officially to return to Britain. All the other Joneses wagered he would make one more attempt to get through to Bilbao.

Back in Britain, Potato Jones became at once a hero to Laborites and Leftist sympathizers. Not since the British Government’s worried acceptance of the Italian conquest of Ethiopia has the Baldwin Government been so attacked in Parliament as it was last week over its refusal to guarantee safety to British ships attempting to run the Bilbao blockade.

Shouted Laborite Clement Richard Attlee, official leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition:

“The hopes of Franco depend on starving women and children. The British Government is going to help him in this! The greatest maritime nation in the world has run up the white flag.”

Turning savagely on Sir Samuel Hoare, First Lord of the Admiralty he snapped: “One must remember that the First Lord of the Admiralty is the man who trailed the honor of this country in the dust over Ethiopia. He has a special habit of being friendly with pirates.”*

Sir John Simon attempted to reply for the Government, but scarcely a word could be heard thanks to John J. (“Jumping Jack”) Jones, Laborite from Silvertown, who kept hopping up & down chanting: “We’ve got a Navy! We’ve got a Navy! Order yourselves! Which side are you on?”

Added Laborite Ernest Thurtle: “Is the First Lord aware that the entire British Fleet is now toasting Potato Jones?”

Additional help to the pro-Leftists came from the pious Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, the white-thatched Very Rev. Hewlett Johnson, who reached Valencia last week after a personal tour of the Basque provinces and other Leftist territory in Spain.

“Nothing is so un-British,” said he, “as to advise British seamen to avoid risk when they desire to carry foodstuffs for starving children. We can only hope Holland and the Scandinavian countries show greater humanity and courage.” Un-British it might be, but most M. P.’s believed the Baldwin Cabinet’s thesis that to blast the Rightist blockade would mean carrying the war over the Pyrenees to all Europe. A vote of censure on the Government’s policy was defeated by a majority as solid as Squire Baldwin himself, 345-to-130.

*As Foreign Secretary 17 months ago, Sir Samuel (and France’s Pierre Laval) attempted to save a portion of Ethiopia from Italy with a deal whereby Ethiopia should deed a fat slice of her territory to Italy (TIME, Oct. 14, 1935 et seq.).