INTERNATIONAL NOTES

Grey River Argus, 12 February 1938, Page 6

INTERNATIONAL NOTES

Welcome Back From Spain SISTER LOWSON AND TOM SPILLER. [Contributed by “Left Wing.”] Welcome to New Zealand, Sister Lowson and Tom Spiller, who arrived at Wellington by the Awatea on Monday, 7th. February! Sister Lowson, a brave Australian nurse, is paying Australia and New Zealand a visit in order to tell the people of the heroic struggles of the Spaniards and their dire need for help. Tom Spiller, a quiet and unassuming Napier waterside worker, is home on leave from the front for the double purpose of recuperation and of telling his fellow New Zealanders the truth about Spain.

Tom, who was an officer in the People’s Army, was in the thick of the battles of Brunete and Jarama, has many thrilling tales to tell and can throw much light upon the miscalled civilar war, which is really nothing but a war of aggression by Italy and Germany against Spain. Sister Lowson has been engaged in responsible and dangerous work in the base hospitals close to the front line, .and, of course, always a deliberate target for air raids and shells. She is not a flowery orator, but it is said that her sincerity wins audiences as much as would high flights of eloquence. Her experiences have made her a convinced anti-Fascist and an enthusiastic supporter of the Spanish people. They should have interesting comment to make upon the present Government offensive against the Italians in the Aragon. The building of a People’s Army from civilians, in such a short time and under such difficulties. is one of the marvels of military warfare. At the present time, despite terrible difficulties—• shortage of heavy artillery and aeroplanes, etc. —the Spaniards are taking the offensive against the invaders and are giving more than they are getting in the way 'of punishment. Only the virtual blockade that still exists against Spain—but not against the Fascists —prevents the People’s Army from driving out the Italians. Germans, Moors and Negroes who are ravaging the coun try. Let us speed up the campaign for assistance to Spain. Let every progressive man and woman in New Zealand get behind the ■ tours- of Tom Spiller, Sister Lowson and Dr. M. Ekenburg and make them the success they deserve to be. Mr. Spiller begins a lecture tour of the Coast on Monday, 21st. inst. The contributor of these notes knows Mr. Spiller personally, and considers him one of’ the • finest characters he has ever met. POPE WELCOMES FRENCH COMMUNISTS’ UNITY APPEAL. CHURCH WANTS WORKERS TO GET JUST CLAIMS. SAYS PONTIFF. Paris. December 23.—The appeal issued by the Communist Party of. France for unity of action between

Catholic and Communist workers, received an answer yesterday from Pope Pius himself who, in a Christmas message to French Catholics, said that Catholics should accept the friendship offered by Communists, but added the reservation they must know what is expected of them.” In spite of the reservations in the Pontiff’s message, it was considered to be of far-reaching consequences, because it is the first time in the history of the Catholic Church that it officially welcomed an appeal of co-operation from the Communist Party. The Pontiff said that there could never, be any agreement between the doctrines of the Church with those of the Communists, but added that Catholics would welcome the Communists "extended hand” if it meant a desire on their part to understand better their Catholic brothers. The duty of French Catholics, the message says, is to stress their social doctrine The Church wants the workers to obtain their just claims and prepare a reign of charity and justice. The message was in answer to the campaign of the Communist Partybegun last autumn under the slogan: “Extend a Hand to the Catholic Brother.” 4

The Pope’s message continues:— “Christ never turned away from those who extended suppliant hands to Him. A . good physician does not turn down the hand stretched toward him in suffering. It is necessary that we respond in noble Christian fashion and with infinite charity to those who call us from afar. In the name of Christ who loves you. we greet you (Communists). But what do you expect of us? Your doctrines are not ours.” While the last two sentences con-, stitute the reservations in the Pope’s answer to the Communist Party’s plea for co-operation among the people of France, it nevertheless represents on the whole, in the opinion of many trained observers, a radical departure from the attitude previously taken by the Church to the Communist Party. “WE SHALL FIGHT ON UNTIL VICTORY.” Says China’s Communist Leader: “Our resistance is. of revolutionary significance. We are supporting the supreme leadership of Chiang Kaishek. The struggle will be carried on until the final victory is attained. There is no ground whatsoever for pessimism.” So declared Mao Tsetung, former President of the Chinese Soviet Republic, now Governor of the Special Administrative Areas in China, in a special interview with a correspondent of the newspaper “Takungpao,” who has just returned from a visit to the former Soviet areas. “Although the campaign of resistance has suffered certain reverses.” Mao said, “these failures help to draw important conclusions. "The whole country now - recognises our weak spots, spots . which have led»to individual defeats. “In future, therefore, we must undertake decisive counter-attacks, improve the quality of our army, develop the political consciousness of our fighters and draw attention to the' independent partisan movement

arising everywhere. . , “The Japanese,” he continued, ‘have up to the present shipped an army numbering 200,000 men to the in or th of China. While they pene-, trate deeper and deeper in the country the rear of their troops remains exposed all the time. This gives us a unique opportunity for crippling and driving out the enemy. “We are straining all our efforts in order to strengthen the unity of the country for victory in the struggle to preserve the Chinese people. ‘At present there is a lot of talk about defeat but the entire peqple and the leaders are persistently organising resistance. There is no ground for pessimism whatsoever. We follow one path—the path of struggle and determined resistance. , “Our final victory is not in doubt.” SPANISH FASCIST JUSTICE. One of the crucial differences between Franco’s Spain and loyal Spain is that the former does not welcome the foreign investigator Some English journalists have, it is true, been admitted to Franco’s side, but as that sage Andalusian, Quiepo de Llano, once said publicly: “Unless visitors are going to say every i thing is normal here, they are not wanted.” And our ex-officer jour-i nalists have already toed the line I An important and fully documented book which has just been published in Paris under the title “Doy Fe’ | (I Hereby Testify) and written by, Don Antonio Ruiz Vilaplana, a , member of the Judiciary in Fascist Bur | gos, is likely to weaken the illusion that life is normal in Franco’s Spain i Much political capital was made bv the “Times” and in English conserva-' tive quarters, of the “Red Terror in Madrid and Barcelona, town:' with a certain turbulent political tradition. Yet to peaceful, conserva tive. clerical Burgos, which had nev | er known a time of political upheav al and was remote from the scenes of the war, the military brought :< terror every bit as horrible as that which occurred' in the two capitals One of the favourite devices of the military was to make Senor Vila plana sign the papers for the libera tion of prisoners—so that they might be taken out of the safety of prison and shot by the dozens In one small place 600 men were! massacred

Granted that terrible things hav > been done by both sides, my conser vative friends say, isn’t life still near er normal on Franco’s side than or the other? Quietly the author of “Doy Fe” .. . shows that, under what may seem normal to the vis iting journalist who knows no Spanish and who meets chiefly soldiers there exists on the contrary, complete anarchy. The country is liv ing under a purely military terror The rights of property are in con tinual jeopardy, at least in the province of Burgos. You hint that you> opponent in law, the landowners you dislike, your business competitors have Left-wing -sympathies, are Freemasons, not strict Catholics, or merely indifferent,- and you take the law into your own hands and appropriate what property you want Senor Vilaplana had no political leanings when he took up his job as Commissioner of Justice in Burgos six months before the rising. He stayed till six months ago, whan he

could bear his daily contact with dead bodies and social collapse no longer, His analysis of the political forces behind Franco is verv valuable. He also holds that Ger man intervention, in Spain has been far more important than Italian and the Germans have kept much quieter about it.