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 new Government 
from bringing justice, order, and enlightenment to a country 
where military reaction, social injustice, religious obscurant-
ism, and economic misery prevailed.

The armed revolt began on the 18th July, 1936, 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 their struggle is of vital significance to all men and 
women concerned 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 munitions 
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 to convert the struggle 
into a foreign invasion instead of a local rebellion. 

On the other hand the so-called Neutrality 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---not 
to mention its supposed guarantees under the Covenant of the 
League of Nations.

The Spanish Government, we repeat, is a democratic gov-
ernment, elected by the people, and, like our own, responsible 
to the people; it is fighting against military despotism and
Fascism for liberty and for what we have for more than a 
century considered to be the bare minimum of political civili-
zation.

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