Taft and Friend

Senator Robert Taft is the latest prominent American to discover the beastly way in which this country has treated its staunch ally, Generalissimo Franco. He proposes a resumption of diplomatic relations with the Spanish dictator, in the interest of strengthening Western Europe against a possible Russian attack.

If the Ohioan's speech were a solitary incident, it would not merit comment, but there seems to be a concentrated effort to line up Congress and the people behind a program of aid and comfort to Franco. Senator Pat McCarran is currently touring Europe, trying to see how relations with Spain can be improved; an American naval delegations recently visited the Caudillo, gave a big show for Spanish government officials, and was warmly received.

These demonstrations of affection greatly bolster Franco's hand in dealing with his own people and with the outside world. Although President Truman and the State Department disclaim all responsibility for such overtures, a goodly number of Congressmen and military leaders backs cooperation with Spain for various strategic, economic, and religious reasons. Motions to include Spain in ECA and the arms program mustered considerable Congressional support.

Taft does not favor direct military or economic aid to Franco, as does McCarran, but feels that Spain "is in a key military position as far as Europe is concerned." Although he voted against the Atlantic Pact and arms aid to Pact nations, he envisions Spain as a base for American troops and airborne counter-attacks. Other senators are allured by its potential market for U. S. cotten and grains.

But the fact remains that recognition of Spain, a country which denies fundamental freedoms and was an active, if not open, ally of Germany in World War II, would sabotage the 1946 United Nations resolution which requested all members to break off ties with any nation which abridged human rights.

The policy of supporting all anti-Communist countries, no matter how corrupt or undemocratic their governments may be, led to the debacle in China, and can lose the cold war for us if it is followed on a world-wide scale. The ideological side of the present struggle is more important in the long run than the military phase, and the only way to win it is to discourage all undemocratic elements in the West.

Spain's present economic position is very weak. Many observers feel that Franco's government will fall under the weight of its own corruption if it does not receive American aid and is ostracized by the United Nations. If indeed France's demise is a possibility, we should do nothing to delay it, since an end of dictatorship in Spain would greatly strengthen our own world position.