ON ARMY LINES

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 139, 13 June 1936, Page 9

ON ARMY LINES

BEDS ORGANISED IN SPAIN RUSSIAN DOCTRINES

" One aspect of present-day . Spai: which is causing deep anxiety bot in the country and abroad is th growth of Communism, wrote Sir Pei cival Phillips from Gerona to th "Daily Telegraph" on May 2. Red propaganda has undoubtedl: i made considerable headway during re cent months. Republicans, moderat Socialists, and other parties oppose< to a Soviet regime, while inwardly ap prehensive, still profess to regard thi movement with complacency. They point to the disunity of th< extremists as proof that no great dan ger exists. It is true that the Red elements o: the proletariat still, lack cohesion. Tht individualism of the Spaniard whicl prevents him from undertaking anj political adventure requiring discipline and submission to others, is apparent in the Communist campaign as well as in the opposite ranks. Nevertheless, the extremists, whose .goal is a revolution far beyond the .bounds of conventional Socialism, are showing more energy and tenacity of purpose than before, as well as a strong inclination to sink personal differences to achieve their ends. TREND TO ALLIANCES. The Syndicalists, who are practical Anarchists, are discussing proposals for an alliance with the Socialists at the Saragossa National Congress. Two -Communist groups hitherto in opposition have already combined. No such trend is apparent in the parties of the Right. The Marxists and Trotskyites, since united, stand for the doctrines upheld by the Bolsheviks at the time of the Russian Revolution. The so-called official Communist Party, which is recognised by Moscow, is in accordance with the policy of Stalin. - .The total strength of the professed ;Communists in the country is estimated by their leaders at approximately 55,000. .Of these, .the official party claims 40,000, of whom 4000 are in ■ Catalonia... This party was much weaker until shortly before the last General Election. - The Marxist Party, which includes many youths pledged to direct action, palled 7000 votes in the 1933 election, lost strength later, and was afterwards resuscitated by Joachim Maurin, the organiser. The' Trotsky Party was formed by .Andreas Nin, a Catalonian, the confidant and former secretary of Trotsky, .with whom he is in constant communication. • The Marxists and Trotskyites are now united as the "Unified Marxists." They are said to have between 80Q0 and 10,000 members in Catalonia and about 15,000 in. the entire country. The official Communist Party has behind it a youth movement akin to that of the Socialists, but on strictly military lines, with much attention to physical training. "RISING STILL REMOTE." Moscow's interest in the Communist movement is confined to the official party. Money has been sent, as the .leaders have admitted; to me, for '.financing a weekly journal and occasional reviews, but it is denied that the sums have been large. There is no evidence that Bela Kun, head of the short-lived Hungarian Soviet, or , any other Russian emissary has visited , Spain. A well-informed neutral observer ex- ' pressed the opinion to me that the : prospects of a Communist rising were j still remote. He based his conclusions on the sympathetic attitude of the pre- ' sent Government towards the working classes, the fact that revolutionary ' fervour has been largely expended in ! recent years, and the reforms which 1 have already been put in operation. { The Communists are confident, how- ' ever, that the present regime will fail « in its efforts to placate the proletariat, I and then they will be ready for action. 1