The Grand Inquisitor

"One of the worst evils of a democratic state is public opinion. [It] must be subject to the vigilance of authority . . . Those who still clamor for so-called freedom of the press demonstrate that they are very backward people." Thus, Franco's Minister of Information Gabriel Arias Salgado explained the "philosophy" behind the proposed new press law that he was trying to have passed last week.

Arias Salgado's law would force Spain's 72 privately owned dailies to be even more subservient to the government than they already are. It would require a publisher to submit to the government the name of his editor in chief, who would be the boss of the paper, responsible not to his publisher and owners but only to Arias Salgado himself.

To prevent the "backward people" of Spain from protesting against his law, Arias Salgado allowed not a word of it to appear in the press. But Cabinet members protested that the publishers should be heard from before the law was passed. Dictator Franco agreed, put off action until the publishers have a chance to file their objections. Actually, Arias Salgado's proposed law would only put on the statute books powers that the government already exercises under a "provisional law" that went into effect 16 years ago.

For example, a year ago the editor of the monarchist paper ABC, one of the biggest dailies in the country (circ. 90,000), was removed by the government for publishing "news and editorials contrary to official policy." A fortnight ago Franco's Falange party struck at ABC again by drastically cutting its newsprint quota, after the paper neglected to print a "required" editorial praising government candidates for public office. So strong is government censorship that neither the actions against ABC nor the proposed new press law have been reported in the country. When the New York Times's international edition carried a full story on the latest attempt to control Spain's press, the Times announced last week, it was banned from the country for the seventeenth time this year.*

* To the embarrassment of Spanish Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Maria de Areilza. At a luncheon of the Overseas Press Club, he was asked whether the Times would be allowed to circulate in Spain with the story. Replied he: "Surely, and it will arouse great curiosity."

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