Official Executions in Madrid
Writing from Biarritz he Daily Telegraph special correspondent reports that "murder has been put on a business footing in Barcelona."
" In the early days of the civil war the most terrifying feature of class hatred was the nightly tours by car-loads of armed men. These gangs would visit the houses of employers, drag the owners from their beds, take them for a ride,' and leave their bodies by the roadside.
" The Popular Tribunals which are taking the place of the murder squads are much more sinister. They cannot be bought off. They are ruthless and devoid of any sense of justice, but they function officially and are the legally constituted authority."
In an uncensored letter from Madrid to The Times, sent on November 5, its special correspondent writes: " Stringent regulations issued by the Home Minister put an end to open butchery at well-known execution grounds' all over Madrid. The peaceful inhabitants were spared gory sights.
" But a steady toll of the so-called ' Fascist classes ' continues; persons are ' lifted' from their homes or boldly ' taken' from the prisons. They are no longer shot trear by and left on view, but are conveyed in van or car some distance away. Identification has become more difficult, and relatives are deprived even of the consolation of giving their dead decent burial."