CITY OF COURAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23593, 1 September 1938, Page 7

CITY OF COURAGE

LIFE IN BARCELONA CONFIDENCE IN OUTCOME HOW WORK GOES ON Leaving Barcelona was an experience filled with strange contrasts (says a writer in the Manchester Guardian). Red tape was rampant in Consulates, police offices, and other parts of the official machinery of government. On the other hand, getting a car to the French frontier was easily arranged; luggage, both that taken and that shipped, was promptly and efficiently handled; and the necessary military and Customs inspections were conducted thoroughly but courteously and expeditiously. The roads from Barcelona to the north are in excellent condition as to surface, and in only one place was there a short detour as the result of a recent bombardment, although we saw plenty of evidence of the repairs which had been made after previous bombings. A most regrettable feature of war in Catalonia has, however, been the destruction of the superb avenues of plane trees. Shortage of fuel has been the cause, and these old trees yielded a large quantity of suitable wood for the substitution of coal. Wherever possible, the main trunks have been left, in the hope of a new growth, but the sacrifice has been a great one. Vegetables Rule In the same way, although the effects will be less lasting, flower gardens have disappeared, with such luxury fruits as strawberries, and their places have been taken by pota-

toes, turnips, cabbage, and other easily-grown and nutritious vegetables.

The food situation in Barcelona is more annoying than dangerous There is sufficiency, but little surplus, and the emphasis has been so strongly laid on simple nutritive values that meals are monotonous in the extreme. On the other,hand, necessity has spurred the people to search out unusual foodstuffs, such as mushrooms, edible wild greens, and other wild foods formerly eaten only by the few who had accidentally learned their value. These now lend the desired variety to city meals.

The enormous refugee population is the principal sufferer from present food conditions. Since virtually every town and village withm the territory loyal to the Government of the Republic is caring for at least double its normal population, if not more, and these people are for.the most part unproductive, either because of natural age, infirmity, or extreme youth, or because of the privations through which theyJJi ve already passed, they are a heavy load upon their hosts, and in the poorer places there is genuine want

Doinfe Fine Work

Foreign relief organisations are doing fine work, but there is need for still more of this, although strict lines of demarcation between local and foreign relief agencies and their branches have almost entirely disappeared, largely eliminating duplication and delay in food distribution.

The spirit of co-operation among the various departments of Government is daily growing. The threat of the Fascist thrust to the sea was answered by a call upon both physical and spiritual reserves among the Spanish people, which received an instant response. Dr Negrin's clear and definite statement of his Government's policy for present and

future was received with great enthusiasm on all sides and by members of all parties. Particular approval was everywhere voiced of the fourth, seventh, and thirteenth of his points.

Point four, which provides for an after-war plebiscite to decide upon the future' political and social structure of the republic, and point 13, which offers ample political amnesty as a basis for the physical reconstruction of the country, have greater internal than international interest. Property Rights Point seven, on the other hand, is of equal interest to Spaniards and foreigners. This point guarantees property rights to both, with the exception of persons who have assisted the rebellion, and covers business and personal property, inherited or otherwise. It also makes provision for compensation for damages suffered by property as a result of the war, for which an investigating commission has already been appointed. The general meeting in Barcelona is of determined optimism. This is evident from the highest to the lowest among the people. There is a will to win despite all the serious handicaps, a bending of energy and ingenuity to the end of creating substitutes for the goods and supplies which are lacking, and active indigi nation against the aerial bombardments, which have been resumed of late, although with somewhat less appalling effects, due to the, everincreasing efficiency of the defences against them. One result which has been noted is that on the day following each bombardment the figures for voluntary enlistments rise sharply. These enlistments. are those of men too old or too young to be included in the regular military classes but able-bodied enough ;to be-of service to the army in one

The effects of the bombs have varied considerably, bearing out the theory that different kinds of new material are being tested. On one occasion a single bomb, falling somewhere about the middle of a wide avenue, destroyed eight houses on one side of the road and six on the other, all of them from sjx to eight storeys high and of fairly modern construction. The ruin is so complete that the remains remind one of a gigantic sugar-bowl, huge blocks of white stone and cement being tumbled about in a confused heap. The wreckage makes the work of, extracting the victims both slow and dangerous,, as a hastily-disturbed block may bring down an avalanche, causing more deaths and injuries among both rescued and rescuers. After a recent, bombardment a man and a child, both uninjured, were extracted from the cellar of a ruined house five days after being entombed. Both were in a coma, and their sanity will probably always be in doubt. This house had been directly struck by a bomb, and the houses on both sides had collapsed upon the wreckage during the work of searching for dead and wounded.

Despite such terriffic destruction in a few sections of the city, general" conditions of life approach astonishingly near to normal, and the people adapt themselves promptly to necessary hardship. Homeless people sleep in the .stations of the Underground, but work during the day at their ordinary occupations and keep clean by some mysterious means. No one questions eventual victory. No one leaves the city except those who have business outside it, and they return when their business is finished. The keynote,of most of the farewells which were said to me Was: "Wars in the past have been won by-unflinching resistance rather than by individual battles. We shall i<win-this war."