Page Two THE PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE eee Tyan PNAS ociere ry & See, Aug. 5, 1938. THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE Published Weekly by the Proletarian Publishing Association, Room 10, 163 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. Phone Trinity 2019. Three Months... $ .50 Single Copy——-—-—— 3 .05 Make All Cheques Payable to: The People’s Advocate One Year._._._.__.___..$1.80 Vancouver, B.C., Friday, August 5, 1938 Repeal the Padiock Law (Guest Editorial by Fred Rese, Montreal) TS home of a French-Canadian worker, F. X. Lessard, has been padlocked in the city of Quebec. His family, his wife and four children were thrown out of their home. Tandlords have been intimidated so that they would rent no house to the homeless family. What crime have they committed to deserve such treatment? WNone! Iuessard believed that his rights as a British subject guaranteed him the right to his po- litical opinions. But Maurice Duplessis, the premier of Quebec, gives a different interpre- tation to the civil rights of the Canadian peo- ple. According to Duplessis, every province should have the power to rob the people of their freedom. He tries to justify his fascist activities under the demagogic suise of “pro- yincial autonomy.” Duplessis is not the only one in a responsible position who raises .the issue of “provincial autonomy.” There is also Hepburn, the premier of Ontario, and behind Hepburn and Duplessis stand the St. James street and Bay street financiers. They want the right in each province to gag the working class, to cripple the trade union movement, to hinder the pas- sage of federal social legislation. They want to divide our country with full powers in the provinces to pass legislation against the interests of the people. The padlock law is one of the measures with which the reactionaries want to replace on a provincial scale the infamous Section 98 which the King government repealed. If the padlock law is allowed to remain on the Quebec statutes is there not a danger that the reactionaries in BC will try to introduce a similar measure? That danger exists. It is therefore in the best interests of the people of British Columbia to back up the heroic fight that is being put up by the French- Canadian people of Quebec, which is so well . exemplified in the fine and bold action of F. XX. Lessard and his wife. Their fight against the padlock law is the part of the struggle for Canadian unity and for civil liberties. Resolutions from Jabor and other organiza- tions should immediately be sent to the Hon. Maurice Duplessis, Provincial Parliament Buildings, Quebec. Peace Can Be Won HILE the rumble of the guns in the last world war still echoes in the lives of mil- lions, August 4, the day on which war broke out 24 years ago, has passed with undeclared war raging on three continents, with world peace threatened as much by the timidity of the democracies as by the aggression of the fascist powers. We need not recount the tragic events of the past few years—the Mikado over Man- churia, Mussolini over Ethiopia, Mussolini over Spain, Hitler over Austria, the Mikado - over China. The lesson is only too clear. Capitulation to the insatiable demands of the fascist dictatorships leads directly to war. A few weeks ago the firm stand of Czecho- slovakia, backed by the Soviet Union and France, forced Nazi Germany to abandon for the time being its threatened invasion of the Central European democracy. And now Japan, faced by the might of the Red Army, by the inflexible determination of the Soviet Union to defend itself, from fas- cist traitors within as from fascist assailants without, has been forced to give way. Here again the lesson is clear and we can learn from it. Like all bullies, the fascists are cowards at heart, seeking always to prey on the weak and divided, but cringing before the strong. In raw materials, in armaments and, above all, in the will of their peoples to defeat fas- cism, the democracies are strong. Strong enough, acting collectively, to demonstrate to the fascist bullies that they can halt their international campaign of murder, rapine and pillage. Peace can be won. But it can be won only by the mass action of the people who want peace imposing their will upon their elected governments. In Canada we must demand an embargo on war materials to Japan and the lifting of the embargo which deprives the Spanish Repub- lic of the arms it needs to vanquish fascism speedily. The expressed desire of the King government for neutrality will not save us from a fascist aggressor. But collective ac- tion of Canada with the other democracies of the world against fascist aggression can ensure the defeat of the fascists without resort to war. The millions of Canadian people want peace. By demanding that King break from the traitorous policies of Chamberlain, by de- manding that Canada take a stand for de- mocracy now, they can best ensure it. In Canada... . By Sam Carr TORONTO, ONT. HEWN over 100 years ago the great Byron left his native shores to go to the aid of Greece fighting for liberty, when Lafayette sailed across the seas to enlist in the struggle for American freedom, their names were extolled by lovers of- freedom in every corner-of the world. Today, we Canadians can be justly*proud of our own Byrons and Lafayettes. With no beating of drums, with no cheers of multitudes in their ears, 1,200 sons of Canada went en their way to the battlefields of Spain, to the fields where lib- erty was meeting the beast of fascism in deadly combat. For over one and a half years Canadians have been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the vali- ant Spanish people. For 18 months through bitter battles, defeats and victories, the Canadians in Spain asked for no greater priv— llege than the-right to help the people whose heroism shall never be forgotten as long as mankind exists. While the government of this democracy has continued to heap shame upon our heads by par- ticipating in the greatest swindle of our century, in the so-called non-intervention agreement, men of Canada, miners and lumber- jacks, doctors and farmers, me- chanics and tailors, tried to atone to a small degree by pouring out their very lifeblood on the Spanish fields, proving to the heroic peo- ple of Spain that not all of Canada is -betraying them. Of the 1,200 Canadians who heeded the call of democracy, many will never again be with us. I can pay no greater tribute to them than the one paid to all fallen heroes by the father of that fine Ganadian and beloved com- rade, Adrian Vander Brugge. When informed of his son’s death, this Canadian father said: ‘He died so that democracy shall not perish from the earth.” More than 100 of Canada’s vol- unteers are maimed and injured. They require medical aid, some require artificial limbs. ‘ They must be brought home so that we who admire their courage can show them in life that we will know how to properly take care of them. AD our country a povernment fully dedicated to the idea of government by the people and for the people, the boys coming back from Spain tired and. injured would be received as returning heroes, and the government would show its adherence to the great cause of liberty by assum- ing all responsibilities for the care of *these men who brought none but true glory to the name of Canada. Tt shall be the task of all pro- gressives to press the claim of these men upon the government, whose responsibility, moral and otherwise, they should justly be. In the meantime, all of us, who humbly feel how little we have done compared to the deeds of the members of the Mackenzie-Papi- neau Battalion, can now more than ever before really do our share. Money is needed to take care of the wounded who are com-— ing back. We owe these men a debt of gratitude that money alone ean never honor. However, we ean at least resolve that the best care within the reach of progres- sive Ganada shall be theirs. E Committee of Friends of the Mackenzie-Papineau Bat- talion is conducting a drive for a rehabilitation fund: I appeal to every Canadian to help. Those who fully understand and agree SAM CARR with the cause the boys fought for will give to help the boys and the cause. The many who still feel that maybe the boys should not have gone, will give in silent trib- ute to that heroism the boys dis- played. As I write this, Republican Spain, chained by the non-inter- vention swindle, but bolstered by the undying heroism of its peo- ple, and friendship of at least one great nation, the USSR, not only stands firm on its fronts, but be- Fins onee again to strike back. fe) PAIN shall yet be the grave of fascism. To help towards this, two great tasks face us: et us help Spain by ripping the chains of non-intervention off the heroic, hardened hands of the Spanish Republic. Let us help Spain and the cause of democracy the world over by taking the best of care of the Ca- nadian volunteers returning home. Send all you can and then some. Do not delay to mail your contri- bution today. --- in Spain By Scotty McGrandle LI. the fronts around us are quiet (this was written before the recent successful loyalist offensive across the Ebro River on the Tarragona front) and where the fighting is hard, around Valencia, we cannot go because the fascists have driven a wedge to the Mediter- ranean, cutting us off by road from the south. We went through some pretty tough days, or perhaps I should say months. There was Many 2 day when I wished the sun would go down. at noon, because at that time of the day the fascist planes would swoop down on us with machine-guns rattling. We had no protection for our- selves. We could only lie flat on the ground. We have lost several good boys, but one in particular I have in mind is worthy of more than just “Killed in action.” I mean Harold (Duke) Levens, who was a mem- ber of the Vancouver Sports Club and well known in BC sports circles. s Duke was a first aid man and one of the best, too, for all his wisecracks. When one of the boys was killed while cutting barbed wire in a spot covered by the enemy's machine - suns Duke started out to bring him in, know- ing full well his chances of getting back safely were pretty slim. He reached the spot where his comrade had fallen, but as he started to bandage him the fas- cists opened up and he was hit. Another of our boys, Dutton, was wounded trying to reach Duke. The Mac-Paps lost one of their best and bravest men in Duke. By Ivor Anderson BARCELONA, SPAIN. fi Rapes war is far from lost and we will have the last word yet. The present government is the strongest Spain has ever had, representing as it dees a united people determined to fight to the bitter end for their independence. The last few weeks have not been easy ones. Many of us have had narrow escapes and I myself have been reported killed or cap- tured twice, falsely, as this will attest. Yorkie Burton, who was for a long time one of the leaders of the single unemployed in Vancou- ver, disappeared one night. He went into no-man’s-land to fix a wire and was never seen again. We can only surmise that he was killed. He was a real soldier and a fine comrade. At the present time we are in reserve, but we expect to go up to the front at any time. Perhaps by the time this reaches Van- couxer there will be good news trom Spain. — By John Offer BARCELONA, SPAIN. Hil rest home here is a lovely spot with beautiful flower gardens and-fountains. It used to be a big hotel, something like Banff, where the rich people came to spend their holidays. The government has turned it into a rest home for sick and wounded soldiers of the People’s Army. There were quite a few Vancou- ver boys here. Art Staub was here for a while, but I believe he is now on his way home. Tony Cos— Dawn tello was here, too. He was badly shot at Teruel, but is all right now. Jack Taylor was here a few days ago, looking very fit He re- ported that everyone in the Mac- Paps was in good health and spirits, with morale high. While I was in Barcelona there were several fascist bombing raids, but our anti-aircraft drove the bombers off before they could do much damage. I took a walk into the working- class districts where a lot of bombing has taken place. I saw row upon row of homes blown to bits. There were gaping holes in the streets. But if Mussolini and Franco think they can break the morale of the people that way they are mistaken. We have a nice library here with many books. We get the labor press regularly, the Clarion and the People’s Advocate. So far, however, we have seen no copies of the Federationist, al- though there are many CCHE’ers in the Mac-Paps. The sitdown in the post office and the art gallery was the best news we had heard from home in a long time. It shows that the people at home dre carrying on the fight To organize for jobs, that is the main task of the work- ers at home. It is by smashing fascism on the home front that we can best weaken fascism in Spain. OW that we have seen the sunrise breaking enormous into the morning, Leading us out of the dark places into its benevolence of light, There can be no hesitancy, no retreat, no capitulation With the grimed forces that would hold us in eternal night. yee that we have found the true road, hard metalled, into the daylight How can we fail to burst our chains and march, and be clear Of the dank air of the marshes; brushing aside opposition And with uplifted faces greet the dawn with a cheer. HAT if they have held us back, battered us with mailed fists, taken our birthright, Given us crusts and laughed at our distress? They are the dwellers in darkness, the evil-hearte And we have seen the great sun bursting up in cleanliness. d, the eaters of unclean things, AN we shall march into the tremendous dawn, gloriously united, Though they fight the unfair way they always have done, We shall overwhelm them, and destroy them and forget them In the clear clean light of the red dawning sun. ——Hiclamis. SHORT JABS A Weekly Commentary By Qi’ Bill WNewsmen in China have written many stories lately about the great part played by the German “advisers” of Chiang-kKai-shek’s armies. These are Boss Press eredited with ime victories of the past year’s warfare in Nonsense. China and the Chinese are blamed for the reverses. : INe greater nonsense was ever spread on the pages of the capitalist press. The victories of the Chinese armies are not the result of goose-stepping and war-games but of the tactics of revolutionary war- fare developed by the Ghinese people themselves, tactics as foreign to the understanding of the brass ig hats and staff headquarters’ ornaments of the im- | perialist armies as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is to the musician who warbles “Bei mir bist du schon.” : : The military successes of the Chinese people in defense of their country against the Japanese im- perialist aggressors, which have brought from the warlords of Japan the squawk that “the Chinese don’t fight fair, they attack us in the dark,” are due to the will to victory of the Chinese people and the mobile guerilla tactics developed by the Chinese Red Army leadership. These are the fac- tors that have led observers like Pearl Buck, a staunch friend of the Chinese people, to say that 4 Japan is already beaten. 4 However pleasing it might be Danger In to hear such good news, it would Optimism. be very dangerous if we imag- — ined that the struggle against © Japanese imperialism was all over and there was © nothing left to do, for the Chinese people and their friends throughout the world. The leadership of the Communist party in China, which is responsible both for the unification of China, the solidarity of the people that gave birth to the will to victory, and the military tactics that are making that will a material reality that is de stroying Japanese imperialism, have no illusions about the question. They know How big the task is and the great sacrifices that must yet be made ~ before final victory- The war is a revolutionary war and success de pends on revolutionary tactics, the tactics that ex- perience has taught the Communist armies are the | only guarantee of victory. The Communists in the ~ 8th Route Army know how to carry out these ~ tactics, but the men from the other Chinese armies : don’t. They have te be taught. And who is better able to teach them than Chu Teh and those who have studied under him? Chu Teh was a coolie; now he is commander of all the Red military forces. The victories of the armies ~ under his command are already responsible for a Chu Teh legend. Peasants tell | each other that Chu Teh can-see for a hundred miles; that he can tell what his enemies are think- ing; that he can stop a flight of bullets merely by looking at them. An Emeglish paper even credits Chu Teh and Mao Tse Tung with supernatural power which draws the common people to them — Wot supernatural power, but a thorough Knowl edge of the needs of the Chinese people and the political and military genius of their party attracts the common people to them. , Chu Teh. So You will read on another Send A Dime page Dr. Bethune’s story Or A Dollar. about the university in the cave. In this university, Kong Ta, is the Staff Military Academy, established by Chu Teh, where students from all over China are taught the manoeuvres and tricks’ of partisan guerilla warfare. They go out to become leaders of the peasants in the partisan bands against whom Japan can offer no counter-move. But this training takes money, which the school does not have and this is where we, who do 50 little otherwise, can Ip. Jean Ewen has sent a collection sheet from Mao Tse Tung and asks that I try to raise a few dollars for this work. How about it? Can we send Mao Tse Tung $50 to help turn out some more Chu Tehs? Yen dollars will pay for the training of one. One leader may direct the operations of three or four thousand guerillas so our $50 will mean efficient leadership for fifteen or twenty thousand enthusiastic fighters against aggressive, fascist imperialism. If you like this column, if you desire to see the Ghinese people drive out the fascist invaders, if you would like to see your name on this honor roll, send in your donation to Ol Bill at this office. All donations will be acknowledged in this column only. Iet’s get that $50 in a month! Here is the first installment: Bill Hope, $1; Alex Thomson, 31; Hugh MacDonald, 50c; Don Mackay, 50c; Eric Thomson, 50c. j Dissatisfaction with the German Planes showing of the German Inferior planes in Franco’s air force is, it is known, the main reason for the decision of Wazi Germany to scrap 50 per cent. of her front line warplanes. The decision to scrap these planes and to replace them is coupled with a second decision to double the entire strength of the Nazi air army and & bring the front line strength up to 5,000 planes German industry will therefore have to produce no less than 3,500 planes within the next twelvs months. According to reliable sources, the German plane .—with the single exception of one model the Masser schmidt—have compared unfavorably in Spain wit! the Italian machines and also many of those pas sessed by the republic. Lord Forbes, writing in the Conservative “Even ing Standard,” says: “The Germans have learned a lesson in Spair They have learned to fear and respect the Russian: Over Barcelona and Valencia they found their ney planes sadly inferior to the Red Army machine: Soviet plane production is large. The Russians hay 83 factories with 230,000 workmen employed i them.” = “For anyone who cares to pt Empire away a few hundred pounds ae Unlimited speculation with the hope of mak ing 50 per cent. profit within twelve months, th rubber market presents obvious scope for talent —The Financial Times. Goolies on the rubber plantations in British M: laya receive 28 cents a day. ? “£100,000,000 in gold hz There = 2: . been produced in the last + Golden Lining years (in Southern Rhodesié and numerous prospects await investigation.’’—_O ficial announcement of the Government of Southes Rhodesia. Monthiy wages of native Rhodesian miners rang between $2.60 and $5. No investigation into the prospects is proposed. Tapers ital)