August 9, 1938

THE B.C.

LL and blonde—and Boy! can he

I blush! Bust my suspenders ... I

used to be good looking myself one time,
but never get a break like he.

What would you do if you were stand-
ing on Hastings Street in front of Con
Jones in broad daylight, and a jane, not
bad looking at that, boldly stepped up,
apparently for no reason at all, and
planted a kiss all over your map? Now,
just what would you do?

Here’s the story. This logger and a
bunch of friends were talking together
in front of Con Jones (Brunswick Club),
Hastings Street, when a couple of gals
and a guy walked past. About 20 feet
further on the trio stopped, conferred
excitedly for a few seconds, and then the
girl walked up to our hero, threw her
arms around his neck and planted a kiss
—almost. The darn chump shot his hand
in between the girl's lips and his, and all
he got was a bunch of rouge on the back
of his hand,

When it was all over the one of the
men members of the trio said the girl
had remarked about the tall, good-looking
guy as they were walking past and a bet
was hurriedly made, 25 cents, that the
girl could kiss him,

But it just goes to show what perils
we loggers are up against. A fellow goes
to camp and is ever dodging flying and
falling branches and snags, because the
boss has a bet that he can double his
profits this season, and when he hits town
he’s got to dodge designing gals all over
1a 25-cent bet. But what he
‘spoil a good thing for is beyond me. If
it had been me I would have doubled the
bet that she could not do it again. But
then, maybe I’m an optimist to think I’d
ever get a break like that.

*

+ .#
OY, the Roving Reporter is really

going to town on the Ladies’ Aux-

iliary Hospital Fund. Some of the ladies |)

must have consented to dance with him
at the B.C. Lumber Worker hop and got
him all tickled. Next day he barged into
the office and in no time had a collection
can and a sign on the office desk calling
for “a nickel—half a buck, thank-offering
to lady luck” for the hospital fund. ©
But no kidding, the boys in the hos-
pital need it, and the ladies deserve it.
It is not like a financial drive was
asked but just the odd nickel or dime,
sent in when you have the loose change

around.

YEAR ago now this column started
i A the appeal for the Mac-Paps which
brought in more than $500 from the
camps. You fellows topped the list for
the whole of Canada last fall for dona-
tions from any one industrial group. Of
course the camps were operating full
then, a little different than this season.

* * *

But still there must be some money out
there for the boys who are fighting in
Spain, and for those who have done their
bit and who are being invalided home.

Ted Gunerud is on his way back, and
with him some 30 more. These fellows
must be looked after, and that is our job.

Ted and his fellows went over there
prepared to give all to stop the fascist
butchery of Spain. They did their part,
now is our chance to do ours. And in this
connection I cannot help but quote Mike
Quinn:

“In that brief, jostled moment, when
the battered hat arrives,

Try, Brother, to remember,
men put in their lives’.”

‘Some

anted to

LUMB.UR WORKER

[NEWS ALAFRANCO |

The dozens of foreign correspondents shot at and

expelled from fascist territory tell a story of the most
rigid censorship of the news in modern times.

ARCELONA. — Correspondents of because he had filmed the blood-bath of
B some of the world’s greatest news-

papers and news-services have passed
through here from rebel Spain during the
past year with stories of the most savage
and severe censorship of the news in the
history of journalism.

It is impossible to estimate just how
many newspapermen have been expelled
from fascist Spain, but correspondents
say that fifty would be a conservative
figure. Several have been thrown into
prisop until they could give sufficient
proof that they would follow Franco’s
editorial direction; others who upheld
freedom of the press were shot at and
even killed by Burgos secret agents.

Of course, there are those like William
Carney of the New York Times, without
a doubt on Franco’s payroll, who gladly
follow the fascists’ direction of slanting
the news.

There are many true stories such as
told by Alex Small of the Chicago Tribune
after he left Burgos, Franco’s head-
quarters. Towards the end of November,
1936, Small was arrested by fascist sol-
diers and taken before the military com-
mandant of Irun.

The commandant studied Small closely
and then said stiffly, “You are an enemy
of the Spanish people. You will be shot
at once.” =

‘Small staggered back, amazed. “But I
have committed no crime,” he protested.

The commandant shrugged his shoul-
ders. “We regard a sentence in one of
your, dispatches as being, untrue.
said Madrid would not fall.”

The Tribune reporter was saved only
through the intervention of a photog-
rapher, name unknown, who raged into
the commandant’s office and said if Small
was to be shot, they would have to shoot
him too. Small was finally released.

SS SOON as he had been set at lib-
A berty, Denis Weaver, correspondent
of the London News Chronicle, wrote
‘the following:

“Today in San Sebastian, I read an
account in a Spanish newspaper of my
capture last Sunday by the rebel forces,
during my expedition by car from Madrid.

“The newspaper told the story accurate-
ly except that—

“My car was not (as the papers stated)
preceded by an armored truck.

“My chauffeur was not killed by a
stray bullet, but shot down in cold blood
within a yard of me.

“My military escort did not run away,
but was (presumably) shot also.

“I was fired at, and from close range,
repeatedly.

“T had put my hands up, and

“After being taken to General Varela’s
headquarters I was not placed at liberty,
but kept continually guarded.

“Even this morning in San Sebastian I
was threatened with the cells if I per
sisted in asking to be allowed to tele-
phone the British Consulate.”

[HE incident of Rene Bru of the

Pathe-Express is told by the London
Morning Post correspondent, in the issue
of that paper September 12, 1936.

“M. Bru was accused of taking photo-
graphs of the massacre of the Loyalist
defenders of Badajoz and sending them
to France. This he denied and was re-
leased on September 5 by the fascists who
declared that he would be shot if he con-
tinued his activities.

“He was kept in prison for three weeks;

Bolin personally threatened to shoot him,

ao ¥OU,

g

Badajoz.

“Jean d’Esme, too, was arrested. I do
not know for how long he was kept in
prison.

“The story appeared in the French
press. Bru and d’Esme were forced to
deny it for the sake of their colleagues,
who were still in Bolin’s hands—the deli-
cate hands of a rebel propaganda chief.

“There were no other English corre-
spondents in Seville besides myself, and
I was luéky; just before I was to be ar-
rested I escaped to Gibraltar and was
not arrested until five months later.

“I imagine that foreign correspondents
in Spain will have a lot of tales to tell
when the war is over and there is no
more need for caution.”

E HAVE F. A. Rice’s own account

and explanation of his expulsion
in the London Morning Post, the paper
of which he was correspondent.

“At Burgos, the seat of the provisional

-government in Spain, I was yesterday of-

fered two alternatives: to leave at once
for France, or to be indefinitely detained
in the insurgent territory of Spain with-
out the privilegé enjoyed by other press
representatives of access across the fron-
tier. I chose the former.

“At the same time the photographer of
The Times of London was expelled with-
out alternative.

“This action seems to have been
prompted tee the extreme sensitiveness
of the insurgent authorities to. public
opinion in England.

“The principal English newspapers ar-
vive regularly at Burgos. They are care-
fully scrutinized and all references to
Spain are filed.”

Noel Monks, correspondent of the Lon-
don Daily Express and expelled in 1937

from Franco’s territory, tells the follow-

ing story:

“Not so long ago a bunch of British
correspondents were told by a fascist of-
ficial that we were all ‘tolerated spies.’
Maybe that is why no British journalist
has been allowed near either the Guada-
rama or Guadalajara fronts.

“Hardly a day passes that British jour-
nalists are not subjected to insults by the
press authorities. Recently at Salamanca
I waited for four hours at the press office
for the chief censor, only to be told that
he was too busy to see me. I returned
the next morning with a story to be cen-
sored, but was told the censor would not
be seeing anybody that day.

“There is a Minister of Propaganaa
with headquarters in Salamanca. He has
been there for six months, but not a
single British journalist has ever met
him. We have often asked to see him,
but have been put off with excuses.”

‘AY ALLEN, a former special corre-
J spondent of the Chicago Tribune,
wrote:

“The truth about rebel Spain does not
get into print.

“The reason is clear. Correspondents
with the rebel armies can’t write the
truth and stay on the job.

“These men carry the horrors in their
breasts, where they fester. Why, other-
wise, are those who come out, unable to
stand it any longer, in such a state?
What have they seen?

“The truth will be told because there
are British and American journalists of
integrity with the rebels. But why can’t
it be told now, before it is too late?

“I wonder, then, if any questions will
be asked of the press, the press that
serves the Empire, which chose to raise
a red smoke-screen over Spain® under
which the Fascist Holy Alliance has been
able to do a job not exactly to that Em-
pire’s best interests.

“For once, the truth in the case of
Spain was to Britain’s interest.

“It was not told.”

If Franco Thinks

Air Raids

Will Break The Morale---Well

E- IS so long since I wrote you that you
will think that I have beén forgetting
all about you.

I hope you received my letter telling
about the parcels we received; they came
in very handy and we don’t know how
to thank you and the Friends of the Mac-
Paps enough.

I am feeling much better than I have
for some time and since writing you last
have left the hospital and am now at a
rest home. I feel a whole lot better and
am able to walk with the aid of a walk-
ing stick thou’ there is still quite a limp.

The rest home I am at is a lovely spot,
beautiful flower gardens with fountains
all around shooting streams of water
into the air and gold fish swimming
around in them, This place used to be
a big hotel where the rich people and
big shots came to spend their holidays
—something like Banff. The government
turned it into a rest home for wounded
and sick soldiers of the People’s Army,
also for soldiers worn out by weeks of
hard fighting against Franco and Com-
pany. It is a nice quiet spot with many
walks through the woods. The weather
has been very hot the last few weeks
but it is cool at nights,

There were quite a few Vancouver
boys here; Art Staub was here for a
while but I believe he is now on his
‘way home; Tony Costello was here. Tony
got pretty badly shot up at Teruel but
is O.K. now and several of the boys you
know have been here on and off.

Jack Taylor was here a few days ago
and is looking very fit and is doing good
work. He reports everyone in the Mac-
Paps is in good health, spirits and morale
running high.

ej eae is a pretty little town here
where we can get good wine very
cheap, also a nice movie house where
they show Hollywood pictures two or
three times a week. Since writing you
last I was in Barcelona. It is a beautiful
city with wide streets and fine build-
ings. The streets are lined with palm
trees, grass and flower borders, beautiful
big buildings of white stone. There are
several nice parks in the city, many fine
cafes and movie shows, so I had a good
time. The fascists came over several
times bombing but our anti-aircraft
drove them off and they did very little
damage. I took a walk down into the
working class district where a lot of
bombing has taken place and you never
saw such a sight—rows and rows of peo-
ple’s homes and other buildings blown
to bits and big gaping holes in the
streets. It makes your blood boil to think
of the fascist planes making a ruin of
this wonderful and beautiful city and
killing women and little children. But
if Franco and Mussolini think for one
minute they will ever break down the
morale or put the wind up these people
by air raids then they have another think
coming. The main effect is to make the
people all the more firm in their re-
sistance. When an air raid warning goes
the people run for the air raid shelters
—but with no panic, and when it is over
they go about their business as if nothing
had happened.

We have a nice library here with many
books and we get the Labor Press reg-
ularly. The Clarion and the odd People’s
Advocate but so far have seen no copies

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