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