THE TABLET

A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER AND REVIEW

VOL. 168 No. 5024

ESTABLISHED 1840 R EG ISTERED AS A N EW S PA P E R

LONDON AUGUST 22nd, 1936

SIXPENCE

PRINCIPAL CONTENTS

THE WORLD WEEK BY WEEK

. 229

SIEGE WAR IN SPAIN; THE DILEMMA OF THE POWERS; WHAT THE ELECTIONS SHOWED ; A FRENCHCANADIAN ELECTION ; NEW ZEALAND FINANCE MODERNISING CHRISTIANITY . . . 232 “RATS ! ” SAID THE VISCOUNT . . . 233 BUCHMAMSM IN TRANSITION . . 233

By RONALD KNOX THE RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND OF THE

OLYMPIC GAMES—I I I ........................ 234 Bv ARNOLD LTJNN

AN AMERICAN GUIDE TO EUROPE . 238 THE CHURCH ABROAD ............................. 241

GERMANY; COLOMBIA LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

. 242

PAX BRITANNICA; THE MEANS TEST; SPAIN: THE TRUTH THE NEW B O O K S ........................................ 244

THE DESERT FATHERS; DR. MONTESSORI; BUTLER S LIVES; RECENT FRENCH BOOKS CHESS AND CROSSWORD............................. 251 THE DIOCESE OF L E E D S ............................. 254 THE CALENDAR ........................................ 256

THE WORLD WEEK BY WEEK The Sieges in Spain

There has been a lull in the Civil War in Spain, following the capture of Badajoz. The anti-Government armies are endeavouring to make sure that they will not be seriously attacked from behind, either in the north or the south, while they are investing Madrid. They have accordingly postponed the march on the capital while the northern army captures the Government strongholds of San Sebastian and Irun, and the southern army takes Malaga. Neither town has fallen, and it is obvious that, as a general rule, the defence of Spanish towns is stronger than the attack. Badajoz is, so far, the only example of a place of first-rate importance which has been captured by assault, and Badajoz was . only captured after the most sanguinary and appalling struggle by picked Moorish troops. The armies employed in these operations are small, and numbers need to be husbanded and cannot be thrown away on assaults. While the anti-Government forces are being held up both in the north and in the south, the militia from Barcelona are not making any progress towards capturing Saragossa. Saragossa, the ancient capital of Aragon, is one of the key points in Spanish defence, which has always looked towards France as the enemy. The defenders of Saragossa today cannot hold it indefinitely against the attack from Barcelona, but it is highly important for the insurgents that they should be able to hold it until Madrid is in their hands. The Aragonese have for the Catalans a deep and old distaste, which is playing a great part in the present struggle, in which very modern alignments based on economic theories cross and mingle with alignments that are centuries old and part of the very fabric of Spanish history. The numbers of Basques who have refused to join General Mola because he has made it plain that his movement stands for a strong and united Spain which is seen as a threat to Basque autonomy, is a leading illustration. The Basques like nothing about Left Wing Governments in Madrid except their ineffectiveness, but that is a quality so endearing that many of the Basques, thinking only of their local life, would prefer the present rising to collapse. The Dilemma of the Powers

Meanwhile, it is proving unexpectedly difficult to negotiate a pact of non-intervention. A great difficulty arises from the varying degrees of control exercised by the Governments of the great powers over manifestations of sympathy by their citizens. If Germany or Italy make a declaration of non-intervention, no movements will be set on foot in either country to supplement or correct the Government’s policy, but whatever the French and British Governments do, what the Italians call “ moral support” for the Left in Spain, will be forthcoming from the Left in France and Britain. It is obvious that the Italians and Germans know perfectly well that neither M. Blum nor Mr. Baldwin can, on this issue, control trade unions or newspapers. The point the dictatorships want to make is that neutrality from them means something much more than neutrality from more limited governments. From their point of view they naturally want to avoid tying their own hands and then seeing mass-meetings, subscription funds, and the despatch of all sorts of supplies from unofficial and uncontrolled elements in England. The Labour deputation which called on Mr. Eden and the forthcoming emergency meeting of the National Labour Council, are signs of a rising tide of Labour sentiment which wants to give active support to the Left in Spain. At the beginning, the Madrid Government, in the manner of governments,