Part 3, Chapter 3 : 
Torroella
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Author : Augustin Souchy

Author : Paul Folgare

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3. TORROELLA

WHAT CAN BE ACHIEVED BY WILL-POWER



Leaving Gerona, the highway, narrow and straight, bordered by trees,
crosses between small villages of adobe houses, in each case crowded
together around an old church, which is today deserted and useless. The
automobile can go more slowly now and we may observe the countryside. We
pass by the silhouettes, bent over the furrowed ground of the farms, of the
men and women who are patiently working, and the sadness that characterizes
the traditional peasant of the old style who, alone on “his” land,
toils to extract the surplus product that must provide his sustenance.
Compare the labor of these poor folk, so sad and so slow, with the
enthusiasm, with the cheerfulness, with the vigor and the surge of optimism
that sweeps over the peasants who collectively work the land, brothers in
labor, together in the everyday struggle for survival.



Throughout these areas, in these little villages, they still think as they
did before the Revolution concerning almost every aspect of social life.
Little by little the light will be shed on the minds of their denizens;
little by little stubborn Ampurdán, saturated with anxieties about
progress, will cease to be influenced by these humble little villages, just
as Torroella de Montgrí has freed itself of such influences.



We arrived in Torroella around dusk, and the town square, surrounded by the
typical arcades, was partially obscured by shadows. Torroella has many
large mansions of an aristocratic type; they belonged to proud magnates who
lived in them during the summer seasons. All these homes have been
confiscated and today perform the social function that their former owners
could never have imagined.



We have spoken with the comrades, young people for the most part,
enthusiastic and dynamic. Before the fascist uprising hardly anyone knew
what the Confederation stood for. There were some comrades who sympathized
with the ideals embodied by our organization, but without the direct
influence of the latter this sympathy remained a mere vague feeling. Once
the revolutionary movement began, the comrades of Torroella made the
greatest efforts to bring the town onboard with the new circumstances. And
they can be pleased with having achieved their goals.



The entire working class joined the CNT, and exercising all means that were
compatible with the process of emancipatory action, this town, which has
about five thousand six hundred inhabitants, can serve as a model for
others which, having benefited from the presence of not a few militants for
many years, were expected to achieve so much more than they did. With
enough will-power praiseworthy goals can be achieved. This has been proven
by these comrades in Torroella de Montgrí.

THE BRICKLAYERS COLLECTIVE



In order to speak with the comrades of the Construction Industry we had to
go to their headquarters, which is located in the building that previously
hosted the Banco de Palafrugell.



“One of the reforms implemented in our profession,” the comrades told
us, “was the standardization of wages. By this means we eliminated the
obnoxious difference between the wages of the unskilled laborer and the
skilled laborer. With the exception of the apprentices, all the workers are
now paid 55 pesetas a week, and we intend to introduce the family wage.”



The forty-hour workweek has been introduced, Saturday afternoons and
Sundays being set aside for work on fortifications. Those who were
previously contractors, currently work under the same conditions as the
other workers.



Employing the requisite foresight, the collective, having calculated the
expenditures on wages, devotes part of its surplus for payment of wages for
those days when rain prevents the workers from performing their regular
jobs.



In addition, these comrades also display solidarity, one of the greatest
attributes of the human being. When a worker is ill he is paid his full
wage, just like the others. We should also mention the regulation
concerning those workers of the industry who, because of their advanced
age, can no longer work. This regulation stipulates that they should
receive the same wage as those who can still work.



We have parted from the comrades of the Construction Industry with a good
impression concerning the work they have carried out and that they intend
to realize.

THE BAKERS COLLECTIVE



The Bakers Collective is composed of twenty-three individuals. These people
were the first in the town to understand the value of collectivized labor.
They are so convinced of this that they work with the greatest enthusiasm,
intensely, without any fixed working hours.



These comrades have four ovens; they are trying to save enough money to
build two new ovens and to concentrate all bread distribution in one
location.



Situated in the vanguard of emancipatory activities, they have established
the family wage in the following form: for married couples, both the man
and the woman are paid thirty pesetas a week. Each minor child of the age
of sixteen years or younger is allocated one peseta more per week. If the
family has a second producer, he or she is paid thirty pesetas, and if it
has a third producer, this person is paid eighteen pesetas. As for the
single person, without a family, the collective assigns him or her a wage
of seven pesetas per day.



Once the weekly expenditure on wages is calculated, some one hundred fifty
pesetas are set aside, which are saved for the repair of the ovens and for
any materials that are needed.



The comrade bakers all work with the greatest enthusiasm, strengthening the
bonds of comradery with the equitable pay based on the family wage, which
should be implemented among the entire productive class of revolutionary
Spain.

THE OTHER COLLECTIVES IN TORROELLA



The barbers, numbering about 24 or 25, have formed a collective. The
barbers now all work together in a magnificent building renovated for their
purposes. The building is very spacious, with as many conveniences as the
customers could wish.



Public entertainment is also collectivized. Various events are held to
raise money for the Militias, and five percent of the receipts are devoted
to charity. The famous folk group “Els Montgrins” belongs to this
Section; it has been performing for fifty years, and is so successful that
it has made the Ampurdanese melodies of the typical sardanas [a type of
Catalonian dance and music—Translator’s note] famous not just
throughout Spain but also all over the world.



Transport and its associated trades are also collectivized, and wages have
been standardized. These comrades have sent fourteen motorcycles and seven
sedans to the front. For the transport of travelers in the everyday bus
service with nearby towns, since the industry was collectivized it has
acquired two magnificent busses.



The four tailoring shops have been consolidated into one shop, where some
sixty men and women are employed. In order to receive their wages when
there is not enough work, they have agreed to work two more hours on those
days when there is work.



Among the peasants who live in the township, some are now working
collectively. It is hoped that in a short time all of them will decide to
work collectively, having noticed the advantages that accrue to those who
work in common.



The dressmakers, who were previously divided among fifteen or twenty
workshops now work together in one workshop, and these pleasant women enjoy
the freedom that they did not posses before, happily laughing, singing and
talking together.

THE MUNICIPALITY AND ITS ACTIVITIES



In Torroella de Montgrí the Municipality was structured, at the time of
our visit, in the following manner: five representatives of the CNT, one
from the FAI, one from the “rabassaires”, two from the POUM and two
from the Esquerra.



The two palaces that once belonged to the Marqués de Robert have been
confiscated. The impressive pastures that were once owned by the Marqués
de Camps were also seized.



We must not overlook the labor of education; for this purpose several
private homes have been renovated.



The Libertarian Youth and the Trade Union have two public libraries,
enriched with the wealth of the books found in the mansions of the rich
people of the area. These books, which represent a cultural treasure-trove,
are now appropriated by the people, for all those who feel the noble desire
for knowledge, unlike before, when they only served the purposes of luxury
on the bookshelves of the libraries of the aristocrats, the property of men
who were more interested in luxury and ostentation than in culture.

POPULAR SYMPATHY FOR THE CAUSE OF EMANCIPATION



The example of hard work set by the proletariat of Torroella can only
arouse sympathy. “That is why,” a comrade tells us, “not only the
workers, but also even the middle class, those people who always kept their
distance from the proletariat, look with favor on our achievements.”



From the very first days of the military rebellion a good number of the
sons of the town have been fighting on the fronts.



And understanding the need to be prepared against the barbarous enemy, the
inhabitants of this pleasant little town spend their Sundays building
fortifications and roads.



Furthermore, there are about forty refugees in Torroella, who are tended
with the greatest solicitude, and who are happy to have found the
hospitality of other homes to supply what the brutality of the fascists
forced them to abandon.



     From : TheAnarchistLibrary.org

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     Part 3, Chapter 3 -- Added : January 11, 2021

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