POLICY OF FRANCO

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19269, 10 March 1937, Page 5

POLICY OF FRANCO

“CASTILIAN OBSTINACY” GUARANTEE TO BASQUES LONDON, Feb. 22. ‘‘The Castilian obstinacy of the rebel eommunder-m-chier, General Traneo, is likely to prove a factor in prolonging the trouble m tjpaiu,” states a diplomat who nas spent two years in bpain and knows both Barcelona and Madrid .well. "The alliance between the strongly Catholic Basque Nationalists and the Valencia (formerly Alaurid) Government largely dominated by Anarcho-Syndical-ists, is a most unnatural bond. ‘‘The Basques would have been strongly on General Franco's side if he Had guaranteed their historic right, at Uiey see it, to ‘homo rule.’ this diplomat predicts that Tortuga) will co-operate heartily in non-interven-tion provided that her “face” is saved. The .Portuguese dictator, Dr. Salazar, could not consistently agree to foreign control of tlie country’s non-intervention methods. He began Ins rule by stoutly rejecting proposals for an international loan to Portugal with League of Nations supervision. Observers in both the Right and Left wings of politics see signs of cracking in tlie Spanish Government front. The cooler-headed agree that it is going to be a long, hard light still, however, unless some compromise is reached ; and for this, too much bitterness seems to have been engendered. An obvious .way out would be some kind of federation in Spain with a large measure of autonomy for Galicia, Biscay, Catalonia, Valencia, and possibly Andalusia ; but if General Franco is ready to grant autonomy anywhere, the wisest thing would be for him to begin with tlie Biscay Province. If he also granted home rule to Galicia, which is almost entirely under his control, it would be a convincing move.