Rightist Revolution

Cheered by 100,000 gathered at El Campo de la Victoria outside Saragossa, the swart little President of Rightist Spain, Generalissimo Francisco Franco, celebrated the first anniversary of his Cabinet last week by having a radio chat with the people of Leftist Spain. Cried Spain's Robert E. Lee, purporting to address Spain's Abraham Lincoln, the Leftist Premier Dr. Juan Negrin:

"It is time that all people whom you have got beneath your tyranny should know that your prolonged and absurd resistance is only a means to prepare your escape. It seems unnecessary to say it, since everyone knows it, that you are beaten! Each day you prolong your resistance, each additional life you waste, every fresh home you sacrifice, each new crime you commit is a new count in the indictment you will be brought to face before our justice. For we have won the war!"

The Rightist President announced that he and his followers have set out on a "quest for social justice." He postulated that "Liberal regimes have always failed in Spain" and that "agents of international Communism as well as Democracy" have helped Leftist Spain. In its territory, charged the Generalissimo, 400,000 civilians have been executed as political opponents of the Leftists "for the sole reason that they believed in God and their Fatherland," Catholic Spain.

The Rightist President said that during the past year his Government, in addition to prosecuting the war, had stabilized prices, held down rents, abolished civil divorce and civil marriage (restoring these matters to the Catholic Church), and had given the people in Rightist Spain a Charter of Labor.

Under this Charter, according to President Franco, his adherents are now in course of staging a Social Revolution, and he warned Spaniards of the old regime they are completely deceived if they think the Spain of Franco will be a repetition of the Spain of Alfonso XIII. According to Harold Callender, the New York Timesman present at the broadcast, the Generalissimo is trying to build a State "expected to be neither capitalistic nor socialistic, which will respect private property within limits, and which yet will be highly socialized."

Thus, on the first birthday of his Government last week, President Franco came near parting company with the Spanish Monarchists and Great Capitalists (landed proprietors), instead aligned himself politically with the much more radical Spanish Phalanx of Traditionalists called in Spanish, "La Fet." This includes all Spaniards serving in Franco's army, navy and air force, plus members of the former Phalanxist and Carlist militias. La Fet today calls itself "a party intermediate between Society and the State." Evidently what this party and President Franco propose to give Spain is something politically similar to the system under which China is governed and her wars fought by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and the congress of his party, the Kuomintang. This congress is not elected by anything remotely approaching nationwide democratic suffrage, and China has no parliament, but the Kuomintang is probably about as much and about as little representative of the Chinese people as would be the Spanish party and militia groups which support Generalissimo Franco. Generalissimo Chiang calls his regime "The Revolution," and in effect Generalissimo Franco announced last week that his regime is "The Revolution." Other nations governed by more or less dictatorial regimes which call themselves "The Revolution" are Russia, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Turkey.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (1775-81) held their annual meeting in Washington last week (see p. 13).

In Rome last week the Supreme Pontiff conferred apostolic blessing upon President Franco, hailed "the hereditary faith of Catholic Spain, whose crown of saints has been enriched for its better fortunes by a new hero of Christian fortitude!"

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.