people, began to plot an armed rebellion. In this they were aided and abetted by the Fascists forces outside Spain.

They were determined to prevent the Government

from bringing justice, order, and enlightenment to a country i where military reaction, social injustice, religious g.oibs~c:urant- .

ism, and economic misery prevailed. >

The armed revolt began on the 18th J uly,c1936, with the officers of the army in Morocco, and spread throughout the garrison towns in Spain. The officers carried many of the men with them. In this struggle against the rebels, the over-

whelming majority of the people of Spain supported the Gov- ernment and have willingly taken up arms in defence of Free-

dom and Democracy. ‘

They are fighting to maintain representative Government, and theirstruggle is of vital signiflicance -to all men and women concernedi with the triumph of Democracy Over Fas-

cism. The conflict would have been of short duration had it

not been for the assistance in men, money » and mrunitions

, which has been furnished to the rebels by the outside Fascist

powers since the beginning‘ of the outbreak- Such outside assistance has been so extensive as toyconvert the struggle into a foreign invasion instead of a local rebellion.

On the other hand the so-called N eutr:a.lity Pact between the European Powers who are parties to it has practically im- posed sanctions against Spain and denied to the «Spanish Gov-

ernment its established rights under international law--notl ltomention its supposed guarantees under the Covenant of the 4

League of Nations.

The Spanish Government, we repeat, is a democratic gov-

ernment, electedby the people, and, like our own, responsible

to the people; it is fighting against military despotism and

Fascism; for liberty and for wthat we have for more than a century considered to be the bare minimum of political civili- zation. S l

The issue is clearly put in the following Appeal of the Span- ish People to the world at large, which has the unqualified

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