NEWS OF THE WEEK T HE raising of the seventy days'
siege of the Alcazar and the capture of Toledo by the insurgents has provided the most dramatic episode of the Spanish Civil War, and provoked, incidentally, a congratulatory telegram from Herr Hess, Deputy Leader of the German National Socialist Party. The military importance of the event is considerable. The road to Madrid is virtually open, and there is already talk of an impending siege, though the cutting of communications between the capital and the sea—if the rebels can effect this—would pro- bably be sufficient in itself to render the city untenable. The horrors of civil war continue unabated. Mass executions on both sides, including the murder of hostages, account for far more lives than casualties in the actual fighting, which, from all accounts, has been for the most part more vigorous than effective. Nor is any end in sight. Even the capture of Madrid would not he decisive. The latest news from Barcelona reports the formation there of a government in which orthodox Communists, Trotskyists, Anarchists and Catalan Separatists all appear to be co-operating. Catalonia, the only part of Spain in which there is a strong and organised working-class movement, is solid against the insurgents and it is likely to fight to the bitter end. General Franco's levies still have plenty of work in front of them before their leader is called upon to embark on the arduous task of governing Spain.
