5
sembly. In spite of the difficulties posed by
a split labor movement, active committees
functioned in a considerable number of
unions.
During the dark days of March and April
1938, when banner spreads proclaimed
again and again the wiping out of the
American volunteers, when our offices
were swamped with letters, telegrams,
phone calls and frantic relatives, the
Friends of the Lincoln Brigade pushed
forward energetically, lighting defeatism,
calling yet more loudly for the lifting of
the embargo for all aid to the Lincoln
Brigade and the Spanish people.
II
All Friends of the Abraham Lincoln
Brigade have today their regrets. They
regret the long, nerve-wracking (though
unavoidable) delays in getting information
from Spain. They regret the impossibility
of welcoming properly all the men upon
their return, particularly when they arrived
in very large groups. They regret the
impossibility of providing for and
returning to their adopted shores all those
foreign-born veterans who, by their service
in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, so
profoundly proved their right to be called
Americans. They regret that it has not been
possible to find jobs for more of the
veterans. Yet it has been a good record and
one to be proud of. The Friends had a top
membership of over 50,000 and in 32
months raised over $425,000.
Of this amount $5,000 went to the aid of
the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion;
$120,000 for shipments the Brigade; more
than $200,000 for rehabilitation. In
addition the Friends conducted an
energetic and effective campaign of
education - showing the savagery of the
butchers, Hitler, Mussolini and Franco, the
shameless and sinister betrayal by
Chamberlain, Blum and Daladier, the
inhuman and irresponsible indifference of
our own government when confronted with
injustice and barbarism.
III
As it closes its doors, the Friends of the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade, with most
heartfelt gratitude, pays tribute:
To doctors, dentists, nurses and hospitals
in New York and throughout the country,
without whose most generous aid any sort
of competent medical care would have
been altogether impossible.
To Friends of the Lincoln Brigade
representatives all over the United States
who from small offices led a courageous
and up-hill fight against ignorance,
indifference, and organized opposition.
To active officials and members in
certain sections of the labor movement,
who saw Spain as the front line of peace
and democracy and the International
Brigade as a great international picket line,
particularly to locals of the Hotel and
Restaurant Employees Union, Locals of
the Furriers, Locals of the United
Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers,
and to the officers and membership or the
I.W.O.
To
the
Communist
Party
which
untiringly supported all who labored and
sacrificed for the Spanish people.
To the devoted organizers and members
of the branches - the Pinky Rodman
Chapter (oldest and strongest), the West
Side Chapter, the Alvin Pastermack
Branch, The Lanser Grant Branch of the
Workers Alliance, The Schrenell and the
Dave Doran Chapters, The Spanish-
American Chapter and many others.
