Neither Gentle nor Anarchic

...It suggests, wrongly, that he is an a c c o m p l i c e in the p r i n c i p a l confidence- trick by which General F r a n c i s c o Franco's collaborators s e e k to justify the dictatorship...

...H i s chapter on the Spanish economy may be a little o v e r - o p t i m i s t i c , a n d in t w o passages he p r a i s e s F r a n c o excessively for his c o n t r i b u t i o n to t he e c o n o m i c progress of r e c e n t years...

...I t h i n k , generally sound...

...I t w a s a grim, ugly m o m e n t . F r a n c o t u r n ed wearily t o t h e O pus Dei ministers, w a i t i n g for h i s d e c i s i o n : reform or drift...

...H e w a s b e t r a y e d by a n i n f o r m a n t of t he s e c r e t police w h o h a d w o r m e d h is way into a Socialist circle in M a d r i d . (Welles obviously has a g e n u i n e affection for Spain: He w o u l d d e m o n s t r a t e it b y h a v i n g h is p u b l i s h e r s insert a r e p u d i a t i o n of t h i s ugly s m e a r in as m a n y copies as p o s s i b l e of h i s b o o k .) T h e eight pages of photographs w i t h which The Gentle Anarchy is i l l u s t r a t e d include an i l l u m i n a t i n g, if s a d d e n i n g , h i s t o r i c a l document—• a d o c u m e n t that d i d m o r e for t h e c a u s e of C o m m u n i s m in Western E u r o p e than a year's output of I'Humanite and t h e Daily Worker...

...T h e y a c c e p t e d a t e m p o r a r y alliance with t h e C o m m u n i s ts i n precisely the same spirit as W i n s t o n C h u r c h i l l d i d — b e c a u s e no o t h e r ally was willing, in a time of d e s p e r a t e need, to s t a n d u p a n d be counted...

...H a d t h e A m e r i c a n s, B r i t i s h a n d F r e n c h of t h e ' 3 0 s been a little m o r e faithful to t h e i r t r a d i t i o n s t h e S p a n i a r d s would not have b e e n driven t o r e l y o n S t a l i n ' s a i d. As t h e L o n d o n Economist observed r e c e n t l y , Communism in Spain " m o v e d into the v a c u u m left by A n g l o - F r e n c h c o w a r d i c e ." Welles also hits t h e e x i l e d Socialist l e a d e r s h i p b e l ow the belt...

...Spaniards are g e n e r a l l y more convent i o n a l , more conformist in social m a t t e r s , m o r e consciously hijosdalgo, than either the British or t he F r e n c h . " F o r m a l , " very n e a r l y an i n s u l t in p r e s e n t - d a y England, is still a c o m p l i m e n t in S p a i n . Spain's c r i m i n a l fringe, in o r o u t of p r i s o n, e x p r e s s e d as a p e r c e n t a g e of t he t o t a l population, is half that of B r i t a i n and F r a n c e a n d a fraction of A m e r i c a ' s . J u s t as a n t i - c l e r i c a l ism is n o u r i s h e d b y clericalism, Spain's p e r i o d i c l u r c h e s in t h e d i r e c t i o n of a n a r c h y — n e v e r " g e n t l e " — a r e usually p r o v o k e d b y a surfeit of mis-rul e , generally of t h e a u t h o r i t a r i an v a r i e t y . As E d m u n d Burke said, two centuries ago, t h e cure for a n a r c h y is f r e e d o m , n o t s e r v i t u d e. F o r t u n a t e l y , Welles is t o o good a j o u r n a l i s t t o allow a cachphrase to dictate his t h e m e . He tries out t h e " g e n t l e a n a r c h y " idea briefly in his first chapter, fails to ignite any s p a r k s with it, a n d h u r r i e s on to deal with the things that matter...

...Hagan lo que les de la gana,' he s n a p p e d . ' D o a s y o u w a n t . ' " On t w o o r t h r e e occasions Welles is unfair to t h e e x i l e d Spanish R e p u b l i c a n s . F o r e x a m p l e , he w r i t e s: " T h e exiles h a v e seen C o m m u n ism at work a r o u n d t h e globe for 25 y e a r s a n d t h e i r illusions a r e g o n e . ' Most of S p a i n ' s exiles, w h e t h e r Socialists, a n a r c h o - s y n d i c a l i s t s , liberals, T r o t s k y i s t s , C a t a l a n or Basque a u t o n o m i s t s , or simply (the m a o r i t y ) d e m o c r a t s without p a r t y affiliation, never h a d a n y s e r i o u s ill u s i o n s about K r e m l i n - b a s e d Comm u n i s m to begin with...

...Even then, as Welles himself shows, F r a n c o left t h e crucial decision t o his m i n i s t e r s : " T i m e was r u n n i n g out...

...T h e result is a clear, competent, lively account of G e n e r a l F r a n c o 's Spain...

...In a n account of t h e a r r e s t of Antonio A m a t , a c o u r a g e o u s Socialist u n d e r g r o u n d organizer, h e w r i t e s : " H o w A m a t was b e t r a y e d remains a s e c r e t , but some suspect that his g r o w i n g prestige l e d t o his b e t r a b y exiles unwilling to relinquish c o n t r o l . " H e r e — q u i t e i n n o c e n t l y, I a m sure—Welles is r e t a i l i n g a libel c o n c o c t e d , for a n o b v i o u s p u r p o s e, by F r a n c o ' s psychological warriors a n d c o m m u n i c a t e d , circuitously, to s e l e c t e d foreign correspondents...

...a n d what illusions they h a d t h e y shed about 10 years before Anglo-American p u b l i c o p i n i o n finally got wise to Stalinism...

...W e must have a firm hand.' Pillars of t h e regime h a v e similarly told m e : " W e a r e a n a t i o n of a n a r c h i s t s . F o r u s d e m o c r a c y m e a n s d i s o r d e r . " F r e n c h Gaul-lists, Portuguese apologists for S a l a z a r , and I t a l i a n reactionaries, s a y t h e s a m e of t h e i r c o m p a t r i o t s. I t is t h e p e r p e t u a l refrain of R i g h t - wing p r o p a g a n d i s t s in s o u t h w e s tern E u r o p e : D e m o c r a c y is for l i n e d " n o r d i c s " ; we " L a t i n s " need a F i r m H a n d , a Chef, or Duce, or Caudillo A n d what nonsense it is...

...A n t o n i o A m a t has himself assured me that it is q u i t e false...

...I t is a p h o t o of the famous Eisenho w e r - F r a n c o abrazo of December 1 9 5 9 . N o one who studies it can d o u b t that Ike just did not have a c l u e as t o w h a t t h e c o l d w a r was s u p p o s e d to be about...

...W h a t a pity Benjamin Welles gave his b o o k such a silly title...

...T he F r e n c h are, o n t h e w h o l e , far m o re " d i s c i p l i n e d , " far m o r e respectful of a u t h o r i t y — e s p e c i a l l y uniformed a u t h o r i t y — t h a n the British...

...W e l l e s ' s comments on t h e p o l i t i cal and ecclesiastical line-up are...

...I n fact, by 1 9 5 9 , F r a n c o had l ed Spain to t h e b r i n k of b a n k r u p t c y. T h e credit for t h e c o u n t r y ' s subsequent transformation should go p r i m a r i l y to the A m e r i c a n and E u r o p e a n bankers and economists w h o rescued him, a n d insisted, as t h e price of t h e i r aid, o n stringent e c o n o m i c reforms...

...W e l l e s , ' a S p a n i s h Cabinet minister told him, " S p a i n is a gentle a n a r c h y . We dislike discipline b u t we n e e d it...