Part 4, Chapter 11 : Blanes

11. BLANES

A PLACE THAT USED TO BE A HATEFUL LOCATION OF EXPLOITATION OF THE WORKERS

Just before arriving at the town we encounter the concentration of buildings of the SAFA, a well-known factory producing artificial silk.

When we look at this factory, when we converse with the workers employed in it, we must remind ourselves of all its odious past: the phases of struggle provoked by the management of this factory. SAFA operated with Swiss and French capital, and Romanones and Ventosa y Calvell were also major shareholders in the enterprise. The workers were treated with the most extreme despotism, as if they were servants born to endure every kind of insult and the most outrageous provocations; they were paid paltry wages for the unhealthiest jobs. Many became ill due to their work in the factory, so that the shareholders could see their profits rise.

There were three major strikes at SAFA that demonstrated the rebellious spirit of the proletariat of Blanes, which was not at all prepared, under any conditions, to endure the abuses that the management sought to inflict on it. The first was in 1930; it lasted four months; the second, in 1933, when the government in power at the time attempted to implement the draconian law of April 8; and the last strike, which took place three years ago, lasted until the fascist uprising. We hardly need to mention the series of abuses, the notorious reprisals directed against the workers, and the insulting actions of the Guardia Civil, who had become the guard dogs of the company.

Now the workers, who number approximately one thousand two hundred, run the factory. They thought about increasing their wages, but, after extensive deliberation, they understood that the time had not yet arrived for this reform and they decided to accept the same wage as before the movement.

Production has declined due to the scarcity of raw materials. The following elements enter into the composition of artificial silk: paper pulp, cellulose, carbonic acid, sulfuric acid, etc. Some of these ingredients come from Norway and Germany. At the present time the factory’s technicians, who from the very first stood alongside the workers, are attempting to obtain the cellulose they need by manufacturing it in the plant itself. If this is possible, the price of production will be reduced by twenty or twenty-five percent, and naturally will result in a corresponding increase in the amount of money available for purchasing other raw materials.

SAFA is the number one producer in Spain of artificial silk. The workers, now that they are liberated from the hated yoke of their employers, work with enthusiasm. The comrades of the Control Committee have spoken to us of some of the reforms they are considering introducing in the plant, so that the work will not be so harmful to the health of the workers. They would also like to renovate the former barracks of the Guardia Civil, located near the factory, for a school for the children of the workers at SAFA and for the children who live in the housing located on the plant compound.

THE NEW ORGANIZATION OF LABOR

In Blanes, the producing class, which is sympathetic towards the postulates of the National Confederation of Labor, is fully capable of rising to the occasion in order to take over the machinery of production.

The town’s manufacturing sector is composed of six factories that operate under workers control; and another factory devoted to the fabrication of belts, the most important of its kind in Spain, which is under workers control and which is being considered as a candidate for confiscation.

The Construction Industry has been socialized.

The following sectors have also been socialized: Transport, Woodworking, Barbershops, Public Services, Plumbers and an alcohol distillery.

The peasants have a collective farm, where they are planning to add to their herd of livestock, and also to increase the production of vegetables thanks to better irrigation.

The Vall María farm belonged to the magnate named Ribas, who was the executive director of the transport services at the waterfront. After the revolutionary events, the farm has been considerably improved; work is mechanized; the farm has motors, a mill and 28 cows that give a very high yield of milk. The collective farm is in its first stages of exploitation, but these comrades expect to produce great quantities of products.

The fishermen, numbering about sixty, who compose the crews of the fishing boats known as “bous”, are currently deliberating on how to socialize their industry. Previously, the owners of the fishing boats kept sixty percent of the value of their catch, and now the fishermen themselves receive this sixty percent, and the rest is given to the owners of the boats. Furthermore, the latter must pay, as a war tax, thirty pesetas a week, and they must also pay for costs relating to illness and accidents among the workers. Fish is sent to the hospitals regularly.

All those who work in the socialized regime are paid a standard wage. They receive seventy pesetas a week, including the employes of the Municipality.

All socialization in the town of Blanes is the responsibility of the Municipality and the latter collects all monies and taxes and pays all wages and expenses of the socialized enterprises.

CULTURAL WORK

The comrades have not neglected culture. They have done everything within their power to see to it that everything necessary is done to efficiently implement their projects, by creating a new mentality in the schools.

Three buildings, previously used for religious instruction, have been renovated and will be used for their newly assigned role.

For the School of Arts and Trades, the two best buildings in the town have been confiscated. One of them will be devoted to the teaching of music and the other will be for teaching drafting, modeling, painting, electrical trades, chemistry, physics and miscellaneous trades. We should point out that the technicians of the town have volunteered their disinterested collaboration in this project.

At the site currently occupied by the church, which is slated for demolition, there will be a children’s playground.

REVOLUTIONARY SOLIDARITY

The workers devote one day’s pay to help pay the costs of the war and in this way some nine thousand pesetas are collected every week.

The workers of the town devote their Saturday afternoons and Sundays to work on the town’s fortifications. They are always ready to contribute whatever is necessary to utterly crush fascism. When work is carried out with this kind of determination it is capable of enduring the most difficult ordeals.

The proletariat of Blanes has sent about seventy individuals to fight at the front. In addition, there are about 180 individuals stationed along the shorelines in the coastal defense service.

From the towns of Aragon, Pina and Gelsa, Blanes is host to about 110 children, who are lovingly cared for, now that they were forced to leave home because of the fascist threat.

THE MUNICIPALITY, THE AXIS OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY

We have already pointed out that everything that affects the economy of the town is regulated by the communal fund; when the comrades took over the Municipal fund they reported that it did not contain even one centímo. The honesty of their auditing was verified by the current balance of a surplus of 78,000 pesetas. This is an eloquent testimony of the honesty and probity of those who are working for the Revolution, which contrasts with the spirit of pillage exhibited by those who used to run the Municipalities.

As for working class unemployment, the eternal nightmare of the workers, this problem has been resolved by the Municipality; those without work have been given jobs in the neighboring forests making charcoal.

A tax has been imposed on the wealthiest people in the town.

The comrades of the Supply Committee have shown us that the health and progress of a town depend on its ability to provide for its needs with its own resources. “As long as we were expecting every kind of assistance from other towns we underwent endless difficulties. Now we provide, by means of the Committee, everything that pertains to this important question and the results are noticeable.”