Part 3, Chapter 4 : Granollers

4. GRANOLLERS

THE PROBLEM OF PROVISIONS

The market of Granollers is traditionally famous throughout all of Catalonia. This town in the region of Vallés is one of the most lively and affluent market towns due to its traffic in poultry and livestock. At its weekly market the middlemen once swarmed, who, exercising their cleverness in this kind of transaction, departed enriched at the expense of the peasants who had no choice but to resort to these middlemen to sell their wares. As we know, commerce has relied upon a whole series of individuals who, bargaining between the seller and the buyer, have made a killing. The comrades who took control of local provisioning have abolished the middlemen, thereby preventing the abuses and the speculation that used to be the sorry norm.

In a town of such commercial importance as Granollers, it is understandable that one of the primary concerns of those who assumed responsibility for administering the Municipality was the problem of provisioning the town. And judging by the detailed explanations provided to us by the comrades in charge of this task, it is well on the way to being solved in a most exemplary fashion.

Everything that involves the market is subject to regular control. This prevents abuses. A spacious building has been renovated for the sale of all the goods that enter the weekly market for poultry, cattle, etc. The peasants only have to go to the Supply Council, and the Council handles the business of sales in a normal and fair way. The volume of sales is now forty percent higher than before, and prices have actually fallen, especially for poultry and certain food products such as sugar.

Given the circumstances we currently face, the comrades of the Supply Council have shown us how the free market, such as it previously functioned, was incapable of realizing its full potential. Hence the necessity for rigorous control measures applied to the market, for it is only by this means that its smooth functioning can be assured. The profits obtained from the renowned market of Granollers, which, incidentally, are so beneficial for local trade, are delivered to the Municipality, which assumes responsibility for distributing them for the needs of the war. The Supply department has also been able, due to its decision to abolish middlemen, to more effectively supply the hospitals and sanatoria of Catalonia than before.

There are, however, also some problems that still must be overcome. So, for example, there is a busy traffic in contraband foods; this involves those who, eager to corner the market on certain goods, later sell them at a higher price to individual buyers. It is hoped that this problem can be resolved by the committees.

The comrades of the Supply Council have also informed us of the need to limit consumption during the war. Consumption must be subject to rationing, they tell us, so that there is no waste. They have told us about the necessity of the “family card”, created by the Supply Council. On its cover we read the following words: “Comrade: this card has been designed to ensure that everyone receives what is necessary to live. So that no one can ever hoard basic necessities, which other comrades at the front and in the cities need. Do not let anything go to waste! Remember that what we have in excess may be needed by others!”

AN ARTISTIC TREASURE

The comrade Albarranch, a painter who is highly educated and possesses vast erudition in the field of art, invited us to visit the Museum and Archive of Vallès. Before we entered he told us: “This is not a museum, but a warehouse.” This is because, due to the revolutionary movement, numerous confiscations have taken place throughout the entire region of Vallès. Requisitions were carried out in a large number of opulent villas, and a great quantity of art objects has been seized; especially with regard to paintings, there is a veritable treasure trove, including canvases by the most famous artists, such as Rubens, Teniers, Andrea del Sarto, Ribera, Tiziano, Zurbarán, Velázquez, Greco, Rembrandt, Murillo and other moderns such as Martí Alsina, Rámon Casas, etc.

Rather than a museum, it is a warehouse; leaning against the walls, filling up every space in the building, paintings, display cabinets, furniture, etc., are accumulated. We were told that it is estimated that fourteen million pesetas worth of artworks are stored in this museum.

Naturally, given the enormous quantity of works of art that are piled up here, their value cannot be precisely assessed. It will be necessary for the Municipality to renovate one or two more buildings so that visitors can view these artworks.

One of the comrades told us an anecdote that is revealing of the stupidity of many of the “nouveau riche” and the confusion of some comrades who have carried out searches of the homes of people who were capable of satisfying their whims, thanks to their vast fortunes, to acquire works of art of great value. Several comrades went to a certain mansion owned by a rebel sympathizer; they carried out a search and found a magnificent painting by Murillo, which, due to its religious theme, without paying any attention to the delicacy of detail expressed by the great artist, they tore into pieces as they removed it from its frame. In the same house, sheltered in a glass cabinet, there was an ordinary plaster cast sculpture of the Virgin. The owners of the house in question seemed to attribute a great value to this image, since they displayed it in such a luxurious glass case. The comrades assigned to search the house also thought the plaster cast statue was of great value, since they gave the most respectful treatment to this insipid plaster image, after having torn up a masterpiece.

Fortunately, cases such as the one mentioned above are extremely rare, since the producers, although themselves uneducated with regard to the monetary value of things also know that they should respect and appreciate things that reflect incontestable merit, things that the powerful accumulated for themselves.

LOCAL ECONOMIC CAPACITY

Granollers has some 18,000 inhabitants, and our own Confederation is the predominant social organization.

There are 18 factories which belong to the manufacturing and textile industries. These factories are under the control of the workers, who work for three days a week and are paid for four.

The peasants belong to the “Rabassaires”, but we have been able to observe that they have a distinct sympathy for the National Confederation of Labor; they may choose to join it in the not so distant future.

The construction industry and the other trades are socialized.

The barbershops have been socialized. There are approximately one hundred barbers and hairstylists. All of them are very scrupulous about the distribution and effective control of the money they obtain for their services. We were told about a certain individual who, taking advantage of the trust of the others, kept some of the money he made which, just like all the other comrades of the profession, he was supposed to deposit in the common fund. After having been reprimanded once already for certain infractions, in view of his recidivism, his union card was taken away from him, and he was expelled from the organization. Actions carried out by individual workers that are prejudicial to the collective cannot be tolerated.

We were told that the construction section is considering submitting a proposal to the Municipality with regard to the advisability of confiscating the town’s housing, since this would constitute a source of income for municipal operations.

During the first days of the revolution, the Waiters Trade Union confiscated a splendid building that had formerly belonged to a well-known fascist. They established a People’s Dining Room in it, where approximately one thousand persons received free meals every day. At the present time, these comrades, whose Trade Union is affiliated with the CNT, are feeding about three hundred persons. The Waiters Trade Union has about sixty members, and it is collectivized. What they receive in payment from the collective enterprise is distributed equally among the members.

And we shall conclude this section by noting that the Confederation has more than 5,000 members in this town.

SUPPORTING THE REVOLUTION

More than 400 men have left Granollers to fight fascism with arms in hand.

The Construction section has sent some 130 individuals to the front to build fortifications.

We should also note, as an example of mutual aid, the fact that some thirty of the town’s bricklayers have gone to Ascó to help the peasants with the olive harvest.

For their part, the Militia Band, affiliated with the CNT and composed of 65 musicians, is at the disposal of the entire regional organization for the performance of benefit concerts. They attend all the festivals organized in the town to raise money for the Militias.

In consideration of the fact that there is no working class unemployment in the town and also in view of the fact that with regard to the educational field the greatest activity is underway to train the children as they should be trained, we may emphasize that Granollers has been one of the most active towns in the new stage of social restructuring that is in progress.