4
VOLUNTEER FOR LIBERTY
December, 1940
Gallo
(Continued from Page 1)
into France. As if to crown the ignominious
betrayal of the Spanish people for which he
was directly responsible, Daladier and his
henchmen ordered Gallo arrested and thrown
into a concentration. camp. In spite of protests
from all over the world demanding Gallo's and
his comrades' release, Gallo was brutally
beaten and mistreated.
According to L'Unita del Popolo, Italian-
American progressive weekly, the following
description of Luigi Gallo during his
internment at the Vernet d' Ariege was given in
a letter from a fellow prisoners:
"His head has been shaved like a convict's.
and like a convict he is forced to do heavy
manual labor. Discipline is rigidly military ....
The food is bad and insufficient, the water
undrinkable. Besides the constant hunger, they
all suffer from colic due to the bad drinking
water. The cold and wet have brought quinsy,
grippe and bronchitis. They haven't even a
doctor. And Gallo, who still suffers from an
illness contracted during the war in Spain, is
unable to receive any medical attention; he has
big boils under his armpits which are dangerous
and so painful as to make it impossible for him
to sleep. Another prisoner who was a doctor
wanted to take care of him, but was unable to
find a bed or a cot."
Thanks to the efforts of the Soviet Union
Gallo will be freed from this living hell.
Together with his wife, Teresa Noce, known as
Estella, author of the Italian novel Gioventu
senza sole, and their children, he will soon be
on his way to restored health and peace in the
U.S.S.R.
Rescue Ship
(Continued from Page 1)
recognizes that the problem of the refugees is a
gigantic task, and that it must become the
responsibility of the U. S. government, along
with other Latin American governments.
Congress recently voted an appropriation of
$50,000,000 to the Red Cross to be used for
refugee relief. The ARSM's demand on the
President is, that a large share of this amount be
designated for the transportation of Spanish
refugees to Mexico.
The consistent do-nothing policy of Prieto
and other Spanish leaders is one of the most
serious hindrances to the development of the
campaign. They cannot claim leadership over
the Spanish people, so long as they refrain from
using the resources of the Spanish Republic in
Exile for the purpose of saving the refugees.
The "reconquest of Spain" is an empty phrase
so long as the people who are capable of
reconquering Spain are left to rot in
concentration camps.
The Veterans of the Lincoln Brigade
recognize their responsibility in this historic
and dramatic campaign. The National Resident
Committee of the veterans decided to give it
the full support of the organization and urges
all posts throughout the country to immediately
get into activity.
The success of the campaign to save the
refugees will depend to a large degree upon the
recognition by every 'veteran that his
responsibility to the Spanish people and the
Internationals in the camps in France today is
as great as it was during the war. The veterans
must assume the initiative - in organizing the
work, because they, perhaps more than anyone
else, are conscious and convinced of the
necessity for rescuing them.
In New York, the campaign is now in full
swing and it is already involving large numbers
of people. The New York Post recently held an
enthusiastic meeting and a spontaneous
collection netted $50 in cash and $1,500 in
pledges. Many pledged a day's pay, and one
veteran pledged a full month's pay. New York
adopted a plan of action which provides for
setting up of small groups of veterans to be
known as "RESCUE SQUADS" who will be
active in their organizations and communities.
Every veteran was urged to assume the
responsibility for raising a definite sum of
money. In the trade unions and mass
organizations, all
veterans are urged immediately to organize
American Rescue Ship Mission Committees.
Employed veterans are urged to contribute one
day's pay.
An integral part of this campaign is the
demand for a general amnesty for all political
prisoners in Spain. The wide popularization of
this demand will help in the development of
this campaign and will thus aid in the solution
of the refugee problem. The terror in Spain
continues unabated. Many are being executed
daily. The latest crime is the execution of Luis
Companys, former President of the Catalonian
Republic. Recently the entire staff of the Lister
Division were turned over to Franco. Their fate
is not known. Protests and delegations to the
Spanish Consulates and the demands fur a
general amnesty for all prisoners in Spain must
be renewed with a greater intensity.
A period in the history of the Spanish people
that will be decisive for the future of
democracy in Spain is beginning. The army for
the reconquest of Spain must be saved from
destruction. The full cooperation and initiative
of the Veterans will be instrumental in
mobilizing people everywhere to rescue Spain's
bravest and best sons and daughters.
__________
Hemingway
(Continued from Page 2)
for democracy, rise to condemn as a false "war
for democracy" the present bloody and
reactionary imperialist butchery, a war in the
midst of which the Soviet Union stands, now as
then, as the best friend of the Spanish people
and a great bulwark of peace, democracy, and
freedom. No book which does not at least
suggest or point in the direction of these great
lessons can be considered just to the Spanish
people or loyal to their continuing and
courageous struggle for liberty and
independence.
For these reasons we cannot accept or
welcome "For Whom the Bell Tolls" as the
accurate and sympathetic picture of the war in
Spain which we expected from an artist of your
stature. We repudiate it as a distorted portrayal
of the war in Spain; as a false portrait of the
American volunteers in Spain; as a slander of
the Soviet Union, of the International Brigades
and our leaders, and of the Spanish people; and
as, objectively and in effect, an attack on the
cause of peace, progress, and democracy to
which we are dedicated.
Fourth Annual
Christmas Dance
Tuesday, December 24th
Manhattan Center
34th St. and 8th Ave.
Music by Frankie Newton
Adm. 50˘ in advance - 75˘ at door
