Bulletin. No.3

              NATIONAL JOINT COMMITTEE FOR SPANISH RELIEF
Chairman: The Duchess of Atholl, M.P.
Vice-Chairmen: The Earl of Listowel, Miss Eleanor Rathbone, M.P. 
Hon. Secretaries: Mr. D.R. Grenfell, M.P., Capt. J.R.J. Macnamara, M.P., Mr. Wilfrid Roberts, M.P. 
Address as from March 8th: 35, Marsham Street. S.W.1.   Telephone: Victoria 2168 
Organising Secretary: Mrs. Mary M. Miller.
Co-operating Societies: Social Service Council of The Society of Friends, The Save the Children Fund, The Spanish Medical Aid Committee, The Scottish Ambulance Unit, The Spanish Women's Committee for Help to Spain, The Women's Committee against War and Fascism, The Spanish Youth Foodship Committee.
BULLETIN NO. 3.    5TH MARCH, 1937.
As we go to press, our Chairman has just received the following cable : " Impressed by the terrible spectacle of a human wave of three hundred and fifty thousand distressed women, children and old people fleeing from the South of Spain before the Fascist terror and arriving now in Catalonia. We feel compelled to call your attention to this real plebiscite and appeal to your conscience against the attack upon liberty and humanity represented by the occupation by the rebel army of towns and villages against the will of the inhabitants. Salutations. On behalf of Nations Union, Rubio, Batista, etc."
We have also heard from Mr. Alfred Jacob, of the Society of Friends, that tens of thousands of people are between Motril and Almeria, on the highway by night and in the hills by day (in order to shelter from the bombs of the pursuing enemy), totally dependent on a really large national and international effort for their salvation.
The need is urgent. We do appeal to all individuals and organisations to redouble their efforts to raise funds for relief work.
MOTOR CONTINGENT IN SPAIN
We have also just received a cable to the effect that the two Bedford buses which were sent by the Committee to assist in the evacuation of the civil population of Madrid, have just arrived in Barcelona and are now proceeding to Valencia. The third bus, an Albion, which left a day or so later, is now on its way through France.
FOOD SITUATION IN SPAIN
The Committee against Malnutrition have just issued a very valuable and informative brochure, entitled The Food Problem in Spain (price 1d., post free 1½d., or 1/3 per dozen from the Secretary, 19c, Eagle Street, W.C.1.)
The authors of this report examine the distribution of agricultural resources, which is at present slightly advantageous to the Government, as far as basic foodstuffs are concerned, the great areas producing wheat, rice, vegetables and fruit being mainly in government hands, whilst the territory held by the insurgents is mainly pasture land. If the production of these commodities were to be maintained at its normal level, estimating the population in government territory at just over 12 million, it is considered that there would be enough to supply basic needs. There is a sufficiency of oranges - normally 80 per cent. of the total crop is exported, but such exports from government areas will necessarily be limited during the coming months. But owing to the dislocation of normal civilian life, to the shortage of available man-power, to the severe pressure on transport services and to the mass movements of refugees (the large towns are now supporting perhaps twice their normal population) food reserves will be tested to the utmost. At the moment, the production and delivery of agricultural produce from the villages to the towns are fairly normal, but this cannot be relied upon indefinitely.
The conclusion is reached that though there is not at present acute food shortage in all parts of Spain, stocks are rapidly becoming exhausted and the utmost vigilance is urged to prevent the development of a famine situation such as existed in Central Europe after the War.