SPAIN: Baker’s Council

Herbert L. Matthews, who for four months has been Madrid correspondent for the New York Times, last week was in London. Released from the strait-jacket of Spanish press censorship, he was able to cable his paper what he considers the amount of help the Spanish Leftists are getting from abroad. Gist: 20,000 to 22,000 foreign volunteers are fighting for the Leftists. Of these 7,000 have been fighting on the Madrid front. All Leftist tanks are Russian, but paid for with Spanish gold. Some 2,000 Spaniards are undergoing training as pilots now, presumably in Russia. At least 90% of the officers in the Spanish Army went over to the Rightists when war broke; the Leftists have been advised by Russian regular, and French volunteer, officers.

There was no Newshawk Matthews to provide a trustworthy analysis of the number of foreigners fighting for the Rightists last week, but most impartial reporters on the spot agree that there are 40,000 Italian soldiers on Spanish soil, 20,000 Germans. Thousands of Italian troops unappreciative of the political differences which have set Spanish brothers at one another’s throats, have genuinely volunteered for Spanish service for the sake of a bonus dangled before them by Dictator Mussolini, of from 1,000 to 3,000 lire ($53 to $159). Other Italian soldiers have simply been notified that volunteers are wanted. Colonels reportedly say to their battalions: “All men not prepared to volunteer fall out of the ranks.” In still other cases Italians have been shipped to Spain from Italian East Africa, or have been “sent” to Italian East Africa only to find themselves disembarking at Cadiz.

Civilian Rule. The smell of spring survived the stench of corpses in Madrid last week. A few almond trees bravely retained their bloom as the Rightists continued to flail Madrid day after day with unremitting shellfire. And from Valencia, where Leftist Premier Francisco Largo Caballero was still seeking refuge, an order was sent to Madrid dissolving Madrid’s Supreme Defense Junta, headed by formidable General José Miaja who for almost six months has been the Capital’s all-powerful boss. Because Madrid had been shelled for 13 consecutive days Premier Largo Caballero felt that General Miaja had better concentrate on fighting the Rightists. In less than 24 hours a municipal council of 33 civilian antifascists was formed to administer Madrid, which thus again reverted to civilian rule. Elected to head the new Municipal Council was 45-year-old Rafael Henche de la Plata, onetime head of a bakers’ union, a prominent Socialist politician in Madrid for the last 20 years. By week’s end Civilian Boss Henche had already taken over the huge task of feeding and disciplining Madrid’s besieged million.

And on his side, General Franco formed his own 20-man Junta, modeled on Italy’s Fascist Grand Council, to help him rule Spain’s Rightist territories and eventually “to supplant the Madrid-Valencia Government.” All political parties were outlawed by General Franco except the one under his command, which received this impressive title: The Spanish Phalanx of Traditionalists and Offensive National Syndicalist Juntas.

Beleaguered Bilbao, Though British freighters finally succeeded in getting food supplies to the hungry Basques of Bilbao (see p. 19), this last Leftist stronghold of the northwest seemed crumbling at week’s end. After weeks of hard fighting and skilled maneuver in the mountains of Vizcaya Province, the Rightists under General Mola finally captured Durango and Eibar, key towns, but 16 and 25 mi. from Bilbao. With Eibar in flames and the road to Bilbao teeming with Basque troops in “headlong flight,” rumor spread from Hendaye on the French frontier that the Loyalists in Bilbao had asked foreign diplomats at Saint-Jean-de-Luz to attempt to arrange a peaceable surrender.