Subnappers

After leaving Madrid comparatively alone for three weeks, Rightist artillery last week began dropping in shells at methodical, nerve-racking intervals. Some burst in the onetime Royal armory, beloved of tourists, where many a romantic visitor has discovered that in days of old each noble knight wore a sponge in the crotch of his iron trousers. Meantime, disclosed last week were the shocking circumstances, hitherto unsuspected by most Spaniards, in which last autumn the Leftist Cabinet, then headed by Premier Largo Caballero ("The Spanish Lenin") took flight from Madrid.

The facts came out because new Leftist Premier Juan Negrin has broken with the Largo Caballero Leftists, is only too glad to have "The Spanish Lenin" exposed. According to Minister of Education Jesus Hernandez, the Largo Caballero Cabinet on Nov. 6, when Madrid's fall seemed imminent, left a note with the janitor of their headquarters and quietly skipped to Valencia. That evening famed General Jose Miaja, military defender of Madrid, happened to come around to see Premier Largo Caballero, was told by the janitor: "I have a letter for you, but my orders are that you should not receive it until 5 a.m."

General Miaja forced the janitor to give him the letter then and there, discovered that the Cabinet had given him "full powers" either to defend Madrid or surrender it on the best terms he could get.

Subnappers. At Brest, France last week the Leftist submarine C-2 still lay tied up in the harbor awaiting repairs that were started three weeks ago. Out of the darkness appeared eleven Spaniards, one Frenchman in civilian clothes. They clambered down the companionway with word that they bore special sealed orders from Valencia. The C-2's commander, Jose Luis Ferrando, met his guests formally in the companionway, suddenly found himself squinting down the muzzles of a dozen pistols. The visitors actually were renegade Leftist officers from another Valencia submarine, the C4, also up for repairs at Bordeaux, attempting to kidnap the C-2 from French waters for a bribe of 2,000,000 Franco pesetas (about $200,000).

They would have succeeded were it not for the fact that the engines would not start and that a Leftist engineer dodged behind a bulkhead and began firing his pistol, killing one of the raiders. Before French harbor police had been able to come out to investigate the row the subernappers had escaped, taking Commander Ferrando with them as hostage. At Belin near Bordeaux French police captured one of their two escaping cars, interned the lot. Among them was Miguel Juan Las Heras, Commander of the C4. Immediately it became apparent that Commander Ferrando had not been kidnapped under great duress. To reporters he said:

"Commander Las Heras is still my pal. We have been friends since we attended the naval academy together. This affair has been misinterpreted."

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