Chapter 30 – The Second Sino-Japanese War 1937

At the same time as the Spanish Civil War was being waged, the Japanese again invaded China  beginning the second Sino-Japanese War (July 1937). The Canadian League for Peace and Democracy undertook an additional series of meetings presenting the films, “China Strikes Back”, “Shanghai Bombed”, “Thunder over the Orient” and arranging speakers. Quoting further from Marilyn Jensen’s 1988 interview, Dad recalls:

“First of all we organized a program of opposition to Japanese imports, and opposition to Canada’s export of war materials to Japan. At that time, a train, not a car-load, but a train-load - a mile long train of scrap iron - went west everyday in Canada to be shipped to Japan.   So we launched a boycott of the scrap iron trains and the shipment of Canadian nickel, which was vital to the aggression of Japan against China, against Manchuria.  We launched campaigns against the shipment of war materials to Japan.  At that time Canada [supplied] 90% of the nickel to the world, so in effect, if you could put a ban on the shipment of nickel, you could stop acts of aggression.  Nearly all the nickel that went into bullets came from Canada.  So we made a big stink about that.  Mind you, it’s not an easy thing to go into a town like Trail, like we did, (and Rossland), and put on a meeting which advocates the banning of the shipment of nickel to Japan, but we did it and we got good meetings in those times.  I remember going into Trail and someone saying, “You won’t be able to find a hall in the first place and you won’t be able to find anybody to hire for putting up posters or being chairman or handling the machinery of the meeting” or anything like that. But we went into Trail and strangely enough in a drug store - one of the first people I spoke to was the owner of a drug store – and he volunteered to be the chairman and put on this meeting.”.

 

Returning from the third annual congress of the Canadian League for Peace and Democracy in November 1937, Dad also addressed at least two meetings, one in Fort William and the other in Regina. In Fort William, he spoke along with scholar Edward Wing and in Regina, he shared the platform with Chinese businessman Joseph Hope from Victoria.

One of the press clippings from Fort William notes: “Mr. Roberton is the president of the Calgary League for Peace and Democracy and is in much demand as a speaker throughout the Dominion.” 

Below is a Canadian League for Peace and Democracy handbill from this era.

Chapter 29 – 1937 - The Heart of Spain Tour (continued)

From Dad’s  collection of press clippings, I know the tour included the Crowsnest Pass September 6-14^th as well as  Southern Alberta (Sept 15 – 25^th) including Fort MacLeod, Pincher Creek (September 15)  Lethbridge , Picture Butte, Taber, Turner Valley (Sept 20^th) and High River September 24?) . In a High River Times article dated September 30, 1937, Dad refers to a total of 13 meetings in Southern Alberta.

Additional meetings were held that same fall in Drumheller, Bowden,Wetaskawin (October 4),  Edson (October 23),  Rocky Mountain House (November 4), Nordegg (November 5). Pictured is the 1937 advertisement from the Rocky Mountain House newspaper, the Mountaineer, another from the local Edson paper and a newspaper article from the Lethbridge Herald.

Chapter 28 – 1937 – The Heart of Spain Tour

In the fall of 1937 under the auspices of the Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy, Dad (noted as the President of the Calgary League for Peace and Democracy) began a tour of Alberta showing the motion picture ‘The Heart of Spain’ by filmmaker Herbert Kline. Brought to Canada by Dr. Bethune on his return in June 1937, it was described by the United Farmers’ of Alberta’s Vice–President Norman Priestley as “an impressive and terribly realistic picture of the war now going on in Spain” with actual footage of Dr. Bethune at the Spanish Canadian Blood Transfusion Institute collecting blood for use in the field hospitals. Besides presenting the film, Dad also addressed audiences about the urgency of combating fascism and of course, a collection was taken in each town for Dr. Bethune’s work (sometimes also referred to as the Canadian Medical Mission Transfusion Unit). Below is the letter of introduction written for Dad by Norman Priestley.

Chapter 27 – 1936 -1937 – The League for Peace and Democracy/Calgary/Anna Louise Strong

In 1937, both the American and Canadian League Against War and Fascism groups changed the name to the League for Peace and Democracy. Dad’s explanation: “We decided that was too negative a name.  It’s easy to be against something but it’s more positive to be for something. So we changed the name to the League for Peace and Democracy.”

One of the events taking place in Calgary on April 9, 1937 was a lecture by American journalist Anna Louise Strong who had recently returned from Spain. The meeting was held in the Central United Church with proceeds going to Dr. Norman Bethune and the Canadian medical unit.  The meeting was chaired by Joseph H. Ross and although neither the newspaper article nor advertisement mentions who hosted the meeting although I’m fairly sure it would have been The League for Peace and Democracy.

 Thanks to the website http://www.peace.ca/, I discovered a long list of peace/protest groups that have been under RCMP surveillance over the years. Because many of the old files have been transferred to the National Archives of Canada, I discovered I was able to request specific items through Access to Information, and for a $5.00 fee, received documentation concerning the “Calgary League for Peace and Democracy and Aliases – Calgary, Alberta (Communist Activities Within)” The pages date from June 1935 to September 1938 and again, prove to be interesting reading.

One memo notes that on August 16, 1937, "a meeting was held in the Labour Temple with delegates from different progressive organizations”. It names “some of those present” as Fred White (labour), A. Roberton, and Corry Campbell." Quoting item # 2 from the same page:

“The discussion centered on building of a strong Spanish Democracy Committee, but it was decided to let this rest for awhile as the MacKenzie Papinue [sic] Committee can carry on till fall, till such time as the harvest is over and all members of the progressive organizations are back in Calgary, as at present so many of them are away at the harvest. The matter will then be brought up later on for discussions and plans.”

Chapter 26 – 1936- Section 98, Social Action and the RCMP

An RCMP document entitled: No. 830 - Weekly Summary Report on Revolutionary Organizations and Agitation in Canada outlines the arrival of the Spanish envoys in Toronto, October 20, 1936 (see pages 463-465, paragraph three – ‘The Campaign in Aid of the Spanish Government’).  Also No 833 – Weekly Summary Report on Revolutionary Organizations and Agitation in Canada further describes in detail the delegations arrival in Regina on October 30, 1936 (page 499, paragraph four) as well as the Edmonton (November 5, 1936) and Vancouver meetings (November 9 & 10, 1936). Although dad recalled the Edmonton meeting being in the Capitol Theatre, the RCMP duly note that it was the Empire Theatre. 

Despite Section 98 of the Canadian Criminal Code banning “unlawful associations” being repealed in 1936, the RCMP doggedly continued to scrutinize progressive organizations they believed to be threatening. Throughout my research, I have frequently come across RCMP documents on-line pertaining to The Canadian League Against War and Fascism, The Canadian League for Peace and Democracy and The Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy. Ironically, in their fervour to monitor and expose these “threats”, the RCMP has instead, oddly enough, managed to preserve some of this significant era of Canadian history.

Chapter 25 - 1936 - The Spanish Civil War (continued)

Along with organizations such as the Canadian League Against War and Fascism came the Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy. At their invitation, Dr. Norman Bethune left Canada for Spain in November 1936 joining the MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion to head the Canadian Medical Unit. Dad provides this account:

“Bethune had this theory that battles were lost though loss of blood. Throughout history soldiers lay bleeding in the battlefield and bled to death.  If you could do something medically to revolutionize this, prevent soldiers from bleeding to death before they can reach a hospital, [then] that would be the most constructive thing to do.  So he established this blood bank in Spain. We sent over refrigerators and trucks to carry the refrigerators around.  Calgary sent one ambulance. We raised tremendous sums of money for Spain.”

 We organized vast meetings.  I filled the Capitol Theatre in Edmonton at Sunday night meetings......  The theatres weren’t open on Sundays – the Lord’s Day Act – and you could rent the theatre.  I think we used to pay $60 for the Capitol Theatre in Calgary for a Sunday night meeting.  The Capitol Theatre in Calgary held 1200 people and in Edmonton, about the same.  In Lethbridge - a little less maybe...But we had Sunday night meetings in all these cities.

 The first famous speakers that we brought for a series of meetings were a distinguished delegation from Spain, members of the Spanish Republican government: One of them was Father Luis Sarasola, a Basque priest from the northern provinces of Spain who spoke good English and a man called Marcelino Domingo who was the leading social democrat in Spain and a member of the government. There was a tremendous interest. We had no trouble filling those halls.”

Note: This delegation also included Senora Isabela De Palencia. All three are pictured below.

Photo (c) 2012 Rogers Photo Archive/Argenta Images

Chapter 24 - 1936 - The Spanish Civil War Begins

"In 1936 the Spanish Civil War broke out.  I mean it didn’t break out.  In February of ’36 there was elected in Spain a Republican government which had about a million of majority votes.

This government in Spain was a progressive government made up largely of republicans and democrats, what you would call in this country - labour elements.  The same elements made up the Labour Party in Britain.  Spain founded a Republican government.  But there were four generals in Spain all associated with the Moorish garrisons in Morocco.  One was Franco and one was Mola. When the people of Spain voted [for] this government, certain rightist elements in Spain brought Franco and Mola back from Morocco to crush the legally elected Republican government. When they came back they brought Moorish troops with them and they organized Moorish troops into a right-wing opposition to the Republican government.  The British government, playing into the hands of this right-wing government declared a non-intervention pact.

In Britain, the Clivedon Set was a set of very reactionary fascist minded people of high rank. Among that set of people was the Prince of Wales at that time – later became the Duke of Windsor. [He] hung around with that Cliveden Set [and] his American wife was a great admirer....  They launched supporting movements through Paris for this growing group of ultra-rightists who wanted to overthrow the legally elected Republican government, which they finally did.  They got support in the right way from Britain because Britain put into effect the non-intervention pact, which in effect was an intervention pact. Because the legally elected government was attacked by rightists and its own armed services, they had to have access to arms to fight..  Britain passed this non-intervention pact denying this government the right to buy arms to defend itself. And of course, we were opposed to that.”