TIMELY TOPICS NO. 1. Published b~' NEW ERA PUBLISHERS, LTD. 10 Wellington St. E. Toronto, Onto
Printed in Canada- INTRODU~TION
Can it happen here? Will it ever come to pass that Can adian democracy-our rights of organization, assemblage, free speech and press, our trade union and progressive move m ents, the parliamentary system of government and the rights of n ational and religious minorities-shall 'be t rampled under foot by a Canadian fascist dictatorship? Are the hard-fought-for rights won ,by the Canadian people in a hundred years of struggle, the rights championed by William Lyon Mackenzie, Louis Joseph Papineau and their fol lowers in 1837, the rights so precious to all true Canadians to day- sha ll these be wiped out by Adrien Arcand or one of the other ~ a s c i s t chieftains who aspire to the mantle of a Canadian Hitler? This is the question that is forcing itself to the forefront, There is no doubt that the Canadian fascists are doing every thing they can to magnify their strength at the present time. There is no doubt that at present the various -fa scist movements constitute a very small minority among the great political movements of our country. But this is no' reason why fascism in Canada should be ignored. Far bettJr to turn i t h e spotlight of truth and reason upon -it fight now, "a nd to take those measures at the outset of its growth, to make it impossible for fascism ever to grow into a force strong enough to challenge Canadian democracy.
It is my contention"that fascism is a menace right now, and that unless it is checked it may"succeed in causing serious harm to Canada and her people.
)". Forewarned is _fo re~rm e d ! The German, Spanish and Austrian people are Iea.rning this old' lesson at 'Ii. terrtble cost.
3 Thousands of the best people of humanity have be en murdered by the fascist gangs in those countries. Murder, pilla ge, race hatred and war have now become the state doctrines of Ger many and Italy. This was only possible because the people there did not in time gather their strength to destroy the cancer of fascism. The world has been brought to the brink of war because fascism holds the reins of political power in t hose unhappy lands across the Atlantic.
In the pages of this little pamphlet I aim to show what the fascist movement is. I have been extremely careful not to ex aggerate the picture, but to give facts that cannot be refuted. Facts prove that a widespread fascist network is at work in Ithe Dominion. This network which has the aim of destroying Canadian democracy is sheltered by important business figures and outstanding political ligihts. The network is connected with t he Berlin and Rome headquarters of the German and Italian fascist parties, and takes orders f rom these fo reign capitals. And of late, the fascists emboldened by their support from high places are making wild threats against the federal government, labor leaders and have come to th e point of drilling their storm-troopers in public halls and places. In various parts of the country the fascists have tried to instigate religious riots through their vile anti-Semitic, forgeries and slanders.
The situation has become so serious that, at the time of writing, the Hon. Ernest Lapointe, federal Minister of Justice has been forced to order the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to investigate the activities of the fascist movement. And the quotations cited in the foregoing pages clearly show that many of the outstanding public men of Canada are aware of t he danger.
It is my hope that this pamphlet will contribute towards the building up of the common front of the workers, farmers middle-classes and all those who wish to preserve our demo cratic rights from fascist tyranny and servitude. It can well be "''.tid that our present-day capitalist democratic system !has many, many weaknesses and ev1'ls. Of this I am well aware, and look forward to, and work for the day when Socialism in
4 our country will remove all of these evils. But the issue to day is not democracy versus socialism. The issue today is democracy versus fascism. Our people and our country would find that fascism triumphant would make our present-day con ditions look indeed rosy, and the task of righting conditions would be a million times more difficult under fascism than it is today. Fascism is alien to the real traditions of Canada. Fascism would tear down everything that is worthwhile in our country. Fascism would turn hack the clock of history by a few hundred years. Every Canadian who loves his country and his people, every Canadian who wants to make our land a force for peace, social progress and democracy is duty bound to lend a hand to nip the fascist menace in the bud.' Clarity and unity among the people will surely prevent a fascist victory here.
I sincerely hope that this 'little pamphlet will contribute in " I some small measure towards the clarifying of the struggle be " tween fascism and democracy, and to the job of organizing and uniting the democratic forces of Canada. tI ' , '
March 31st, 1938. F. R.
"oj "
5 "Fascism is the reincarnation of all the sins which civil ization has struggled to subdue. Class them as one and call it, greed. Greed! Greed directs the thoughts and deeds of several nations. It makes them predatory. To live, fascism must conquer. Its enemy is political and economic democracy. It, fascism relentlessly assails; today, in Europe and Asia; to-morrow, in Canada. WhY should not fascism come here, if we continue to prepare the way for It?" HON. W. D. HERRIDGE, former Canadian Minister to Washington and leading member of the Conservative Party.
"Recent events not; confined to a single province suggest that we are living in a fool's paradise if we assume that our :.- I · country is entirely free from, tendencies which have wreck ed self-government and destroyed civil liberty In other parts '0' of the world." HON. NORMAN ROGERS, Minister of Labor.
. .. "The problem of 1988 will be to unite the democratic forces in Canada. for the defense of such liberties as we already have and, to extend them into the wider sphere of our econ omic and social relationships. Our battle against the forces of reaction therefore, must not be purely defensive but an offensive struggle for wider political and economic demo cracy." M. J. OOLDWELL, National Chairman of the Co-operatlve Commonwealth Federation.
"Under the protection of the gathering forces of reaction, open fascist orp.nlsaUons are becoming increasingly ar rogant and provocative. ... The danger is imminent. It can be headed off but there is no time to lose." TIM BUCK, General Secretary, Communist Party of Canada. 6 CHAPTER ONE
The Fascist Web The web of the Fascist movement spreads throughout tl'i length and breadth of Canada. Different leaders, different \ organizations, tend to confuse the essential harmony with which the various fascist groups in our Dominion carryon their activity. But their methods of work are similar, their propa ganda-anti' democratil:' anti-semitic and pro,fascist. The two main foreign groups, are of course the Italian and German movements. The former is led by the FiSCi'o, which lSlinked with Rome and the latter, by 1i1e Deutsche Bund, an organization directed from Berlin. The largest "native" movement is in the Province of Que' bee and is led by the Nazi agent Adrien Arcand. His Party is called the National Social Christian Party of Canada. In Ontario and Western' Canada the fascist organizations use the name of Canadian Nationalist Party. Adrien Arcand is the supreme chief over all "native" fascist groups. The avowed emblem of the party is the Nazi swastika. They call themselves "nationalist." They learned it from Hitler, who attached the words "National" and "Socialist to his part. It is a good name behind which to hide their betrayal of the Canadian people. The fascist leaders are plotting to ~ destroy the democratic institutions which enable the people to defend their interests against the greedy multi-millionaires. They are conspiring to place the natural resources of our ' country at the disposal of the German, Italian and Japanese war-makers. They are selling the secrets of Canadian defences to the fascist powers. And to top their treachery they are opposing the construction of coastal fortifications so that the shores of Canada should he open to the fascist aggressors. Ana they dare to call themselves Nationalists! Arcand-Nazi Agent Right from its inception', Arcand's Party was linked with Nazi Germany. As far back as September 28th, 1933, Arcand 'I wrote a letter to Major Frank Pease, at that time an agent of the Nazi movement in the United States who was spending some time with his leaders in Germany. Amongst other in teresting instructions Arcand wrote the following: "Try and see my good friend Kurt G. W. Ludecke, Kaiserhof Hotel, Berlin. He is a friend of Hitler. My re spects to Ludecke and Madame. "We ave known' at the following papers: Volkischer Beobachter, Munich; Die Sturmer, Nurnberg; Hackenkreuz, of H. Pudor, Leipsig-Connewitz : Hammer Verlag of ]. Mannecke, Leipzig: Flammenzeichen, of Dr, Miller Calw. Other friends: Fred G. Grundmann, Viersen-Rheinland, Nuenstrasse 1; Wil helm Wesemeyer, Berlin, Auguststrasse 77-78. "If it can help you, you can act as correspondent of "Le Patriote" which is known by Hitler and which is very well ap- , preciated by the Nazi propaganda bureau. If needed, use this letter. Don't forget to reach Ludecke, a most esteemable friend, who was in the U.S , for several years. I have great faith in him. "Wishing you the best of luck and with sincere can fidenoe in your courage and future, I am, "Faithfully yours, in our great Aryan cause, Adrien Arcand." But we do not have to take Arcand's own' admission as proof of his connections with the German Nazis. Kurt Ludecke, a close friend of Hitler's, the man Arcand wanted Major Pease to see, was at one time the chief Nazi agent on the North American continent, It was he who directed all Nazi activities in Mexico, the United States and Canada. But .wiien the famous Nazi purge of June 30th, 1934, took place, and hundreds of Nazi sub-leaders were murdered by Hitler, Ludecke, in Germany a few months before this event, managed to escape and has since written a book on his experiences in the Nazi movement. Ludecke's book called "I Knew Hitler" has received wide publication in the United States because of his intimate knowledge of Hitler. 8 But wh at we are interested in is Ludeckes reference to Arcand. On page 541, we come upon this- "We were in a happy mood wh en' we drove to Montreal to keep our appoint' ment with Adrien Arcand, th e fiery lead er of the ."Ordre Patriotique des Goglus." · This was a violently anti-jewish in the main, Catholic Folkic movement, which at the time was grcwing rapidly in French Canada, with three publications, all very demagogic and clever. "He (Arcand) was greatly pleased whcn I gave him an autographed photograph of Hitler. Vle understood each other perfectly, and agreed to co-operate in every way . "W hen I appointed several representatives to serve as con tacts and to supply me with material, Mildred and I c tinned our journey down along Lake Champlain." . These undeniable fact s show that Arcand was one of the "several representatives" whom Ludecke app ointed as an agent of Hitler. Writing in En Avant, a weekly printed in St . Hyacinthe, Quebec, Mr. Damien Bouchard , leader of the Liberal Part y says, "We have proof that Mr. Arcand, the Quebec fuehrer who went to N ew York with seven of his close partisans, is in direct contact with to e world fascist movement whi ch preaches war and revolution in all countries where it has a foothold .. . In' the discussicns which preceeded and followed the meeting (Fascist meeting in Hippodrome, New York City) we can presume that directives were given to these fascist chiefs. Who gave these directives? The Germans being the largest group present we can take if for granted that toe in' structions came from the Hitlerites."
Shock Troops Drilled The National Social Christian Party of A rcand, whose exact membership is unknown, boasts that it will have 20,000 men, organized and drilled by the summer of 1938. This figurz is exaggerated. But with the encouragement that he re' ceives from Duplessis he may he in a position to recru it a great number of youn g people. Arcand plans to have his organi:a- 9 Fascists spread poisonous propaganda amongst men of Can- ada's armed forces and recruit spies for foreign fascist powers. I
10 tion built along milita rist lines, with 'companies,' centralized into "sections, ' 'brigades' and 'divisions.' There also exists a 'rnotorised section' for rapid transportation of shock troops. M ajor Scott, ex-army officer, is the chief of the military sectio n of this orga nization. Dr. G . Lambert, is one of Arcand's chief lieutenants. ]. F. Lessard, commands the Blue Shirts, I. Clement, reputed to be the Party's richest active member, is secretary of the East ern division in Montreal. Dr. Lambert, whose garage is filled with fascist literature, was the man responsible for th e compilation of the salacious material used to make up toe vicious anti-Semitic sheet, "Key T o T he M ystery ." T his vicious race-hating product was published in' both English and French in hundreds and thousands of copies. It was printed in M ontreal by L'Illustration Nouvelle, the U I1' official orga n of P remier Duplessis which is edited by Adrien A rcand. Publication costs for "T he Key T o The M ystery" amounted to more than ten thousand dollars. Who supplied th e money? The N azi Foreign Propaganda O ffice supplied almost 75 % of the material used in the sheet.
The Theory of Aryanism Arcand 's Party, like Hitler's, has adopted the theory of A ryan ism . But under Arcand, the theory rises to new heights of 'brilliance.' A ccording to him , the 'Aryans' in' our Domin ion are " the two great races who mainly make up th e C anadi an pop ulation and other A ryan s of the population', who will con sen t to identify themselves with the two races." (See poster on page 25. ) This theory of Aryanism is a glaring example of Arcand's enti re program as far as 'logic' and 'clarity' are concern ed. If Hitler can adopt the j apanese into the Aryan family for an attack on the democratic states of the world, Me Arcand is prepared to give the Aryan stamp to all who are willing to join him in an onslaught on th e democratic rights of toe Cana dian iYOPIc. . 11 Corporatism the 'Solution' A rcand preaches Corporatism as a solution for the needs of the people. H e laboriously outlines a scheme of Federations that will work together for the 'welfare of the people.' But, he says, "T here must be one man expressing the decisions taken by the councils and carry with his person the seal of offici al authority." (Extract from a speech delivered to a group of McGill students, under the auspices of The Student Christian Movement, May 25th, 1936) . His 'council' scheme tends to make Corp oratism more ap' petizing to Can adian tastes. H e spea ks of workers' repre, sentation" on the councils, but forgets to mention that trade unionism is outlawed under fascism. He also 'forgets' to tell that wag es are immediately slashed, workers are shifted by orders of high council, labor camps become a national insti tution. This, Arcand naturally does not talk about. H e prefers to use high-sounding phrases of 'Corporatism,' as a means of hoodwinking th e Canadian people into believin g that he is talking about co-operation. Religion as a Cloak Another tactic of Arcand is to pose as .a defend er of Christianity! He attacks the Free Masons with a viciousn ess only equaled by his ravings against the Jews. But Arcand "vas for many years a member of the Rose Croix, one of the highest degrees of Masonry! And his 'dear friend' Dr. Lambert has always been an avowed atheist! As to the 'Christian' character of the fascist program , it would not be out of place at this point to quote th e Catholic weekly, The Commonweal, and compare it with Arcand's claim of being a defender of Christianity on one hand, and a vicious jew-baiter, on the other. The Commonweal states: "The grave problem presented by anti-Semitism should be of vital concern to all Christians because, when. truth and justice. are outraged, the life of our own' faith is seriously en' dangered. Special discriminatory measures against Jews in any part of th e world are directed agains t us (Catholics) because 12 they are aimed only at defamation and destruction." Through their close connections with certain sections of the Quebec Catholic hierarchy, the fascists are disseminating the idea amongst the people of Quebec, that democracy and religion ate incompatible, that they are in conflict with each other. It follows, according to their reasoning, that suppression of democracy alone will guarantee freedom of religion and the existence of the Catholic church. This argument is too flimsy to be taken seriously. The anti,Christian character of Arcand's Party can clearly be seen from the failure of his organization to condemn Hitler's persecution of Catholics and Protestants, his rape of Catholic Austria, or the massacre of tens of thousands of Basque and Spanish Catholics by Hitler's and Mussolini's airplanes and aviators. On the contrary, after the British and French govern' ments appealed to the Pope to intervene on behalf of tne panish people to stop the bombardment of the Civil population and after Secretary of State Cordell Hull said that, "Reports from Barcelona leave no doubt of the appalling 1005 of life among' civilian's, men, women and children, as a result of the recent air raids," Arcand in a most sadistic manner wrote in L'Il lustration Nouvelle. of March 19th, 1938: "Barcelona is a fortified city, with military and naval fortifications capable of defending itself and therefore according to the laws of war can be bombarded." Arcand, like Hitler, knows only the laws of war, nothing of the laws of humanitarianism, and therefore can justify the worst of massacres. True Catholics are as sincere in their ideals concerning democracy and freedom as they are with regard to their Church. Certain alleged Catholics of Quebec would do well, for instance, to study the statement made by Cardinal Verdier of France on the question of liberty. He said: "Safeguard, above all, the dignity of the human being and his just liberty. In brief, tne Church places the human being above the political order. Never sacrifice to new ideologies the pre-eminence of the human being. Do not forget that the individual, the in' stit utions and the state must always remain the servants of liberty." How different these remarks are from the blood and th under language of Arcand as a defender of Christianity. 13 CHAPTER TWO
The 'Latin' Movement Another contender for the throne of fascism in Q uebec, is Paul Bouchard, head of tne Autonomist Party, and editor of the weekly paper La N ation. Mr. .Bouchard will be of special interest to our Am erican friends below the border because his program calls for a "Free French State in Am erica." He plans to include in his Corporatist State the descend ants of the French-Canadians who migrated to the N ew England Sta tes. Adding the French-Canadian descendants in the N ew England States to the French -Canadian population in Quebec and Ontario, Bouchard dreams of a French Fascist State of nearly six million souls on the N orth Am erican continent. Bouchard is a Rhodes scholar. While in Europe, he spent a lot of his time in' Italy and also came into contact with fascist elements in Spain. He, too, preaches Corporatism as the 'solution.' Canadians wo uld do well to examine Bouchard's A ut on omist propaganda and compare it with the statements being made by Premier Duplessis. Bouchard says he stands for 'autonomy.' So does Duplessis. Bouchard fights any proposed amendments to the Canadian cons titution on the ground that it infringes on Provincial autonomy. So does Dup lessis. Amendments to th e British North Am erica A ct would en able the Federal Government to pass social legislation so badly needed by the people of Quebec. But St . James Street, and its representative Duplessis, are naturally opposed to such amend ments. So is Bouchard. So much , then, for the sincerity of another fascist leader who speaks about tn,~ 'welfare' of the French-Canadian people. While Arcand is linked with the German Nazi movemen t, Bouch ard receives his inspiration' from Italy. He acts as the Italian agent in Quebec. A glance at La N ation, his weekly paper, will show this. Week after week, La N ati on 's colum ns · are filled with hymns of praise for It aly. Although it was nard to glorify Fascism during toe Ethiopian wa r, Bouchard 14 conducted a strong campaign to convince the people of Quebec that Mussolini's massacre of unarmed Ethiopians was in reality " a war .to bring the 'blessings of civilization' (what matter if via bombing planes) to the 'barbarians' of Ethiopia. Bouchard is the most vociferous opponent of Canadian defence plans. He explains this in the following manner: "The day we go to war against Japan, Italy or Germany, it will not be because these countries are attacking Canada, but because Britain has launched a war against these countries in order to ninder their commercial and colonial expansion," (Editorial, La Nation, Jan. 13, 1938). In' other words, according to Bouchard, it is not Japan, Germany and Italy who are the war-makers, but Canada which is arming to attack these countries! Under the pretense of 'colonial expansion' our 'native" fascists are quite content to allow bombings of cities in' Spain and China, and annexation of Austria, Czechoslavakia, and other countries. Paul Bouchard was the only candidate against ]. 1 , Francoeur, Liberal, in the Lotbiniere federal by-election, held December 27th, 1937. Readers who may nave a tendency to dismiss the Bouchards and Arcands as harmless cranks, should remember that Bouchard, conducting an energetic 'pro-peace' election campaign, polled over 5,000 votes.H e was defeated. But it was the first time he had ever run.He did not mention Italy ~n his election campaign. He spoke only of his 'love for peace' and 'opposition to war: Such are the tactics foreign agents use in this country! The Liberal candidate, M r. Francoeur, charged BoucharJ with receiving money from a foreign power, without naming that 'foreign power.' T he Han. Ernest Lapointe, Federal Minister of Justice, led this campaign in Lotbinierc, and it seems certain that M r. Francoeur based his remarks on informa tion received from Mr. Lapointe. A Fascist Army in Canada Bouchard poses as a staunch anti-militarist because he knows that the peop le of Quebec are opposed to war. In 15 reality his opposition' to Canadian coastal defences is in line with the desire of the fascist powers to have undefended shores which they may invade with their rapidly expanding armies, navies and air force. Bouchard wants an unarmed people so that his own fascist army, collaborating with that of Arcand's, may, when the occasion' arises, seize : power.. Keeping in mind his anti militaristic speeches during the federal by-election, examine his speech given at the Parish Circle of St. Alphonse d'Youville, September 24th, 1937: "Our people? We must militarize them . They need a certain militarization to learn how to be have. If the battle were to start in Canada, who would defend us? I repeat, a certain militarization of the youth would not be a bad thing. I dream of the day when I will see young French-Canadians, in military formation, parading in the streets of Montreal and Quebec. Some will say that I am a fascist, but that does not worry me." So, out of his own mouth, comes his own exposure. And what battle is this fascist agent speaking of? The battle in which we defend our homes against a fascist invasion? The only battle, and the only army which Bouchard and Arcand and the other fascist agents conceive of, is the battle in which their fascist army will be attacking the democratic institutions of Canada. The members of this fascist army will constitute the storm troops of the reactionary financiers and their Ger man, Italian and Japanese allies. Aryanism and Latinism 'Aryanism" and 'Latinism' are two terms imported into the province of Quebec by the agents of Mussolini and Hitler. French-Canadians; descendants of Normans and Bretons, are told by Arcand that they are Aryans, and by the Italian agent of the type of Bouchard (.1at they are Latins. As Latins, they are called upon to link themselves with Italian and Brazilian fascism, and, of course, with Franco and his 'Latin' Moors and 'Latin' Germans. The main source of the theory of 'Latinism' springs from the Italian fascist weekly, L'Italia N uova, published in M ont- 16 real. It is a sixteen-page paper with a six-page specia l French secti on called "Le Canada Latin" (Latin C anada) . There arc two pages printed in English. Are tney trying to add th e Anglo-Saxons to the 'g reat race of Latins'? The director and proprietor of L'Italia Nueva is Giulio Romano. Its editor is Camillo V etere, a. member of th e Directorate of th e Italian Fascio in M ontreal. Its French editor is Serge Brousseau . The paper is financed by th e Italian government. Mussolini is the real "managing editor" and th e Italian consul general in Canada is his local assistant. The paper is the o ffi c i~ l organ of the Italian Fascist organiza tion in Can ada, and is published in the same building in M ont real as the Italian Consulat e off ices.
II Duce's. 'Christianity'~ A glance at the French section of L'Italia Nuova will re mind the reader of things vaguely familiar. Its columns h ave a halo of religion bordering them . Any statement or person opposing Fascism is characterized with one word-e-t'Commun ist." No other arguments are given. "Anti-Bolshevism is for Christianity," states L'Italia Nuova. On the same page with this enlightening statement appears a review of Vittorio Mussolini's book, Flying Over Ethiopian Mountain R anges. The book is described as "a photograph of the spirit, without a literary drug." The spirit of which L'Italia N uova speaks, and which th e agents of Mussolini would like Canada to adopt, is described by Mussolini's aviator son in the following (n ow well known) paragraph: "GOOD FUN" "We arrived upon th em unobserved and immediately dropped 'our load of explosive bombs . .. I remember one group of horsemen gave me the impression of a budding rose as the bombs £,::11 in their midst. It was exceptionally good fun as they were easy to hit, because we were not too far up." Comment seems superfluous after this exposition of th e spirit and "exceptionally good fun" of Fascism. \Villiam C. Bullit, American Ambassador to France, was so incensed wh en 17 he read this passage in Vittorio Mussolini's book, that he re ferred to Mussolini's offspring in the following manner : "There are still at large clowns who write of their pleasure in the jolly sport of dropping bombs on helpless men: their return to sanity may be long delayed." (Paris, Jan. 22, 1938) . Intellectual Agents Following in the spirit of Vittorio Mussolini is Mario Duliani of M ont real, one of the leading spirits of the 'Latin M ovement' in that city. He is a bit of a mystery. His name is Italian but he claims that he hails from France. He writes playlets, (which his confreres characterize as 'innoc uous littl e
I bits of nothing'), but he nevertheless has managed to get him self appointed head of the French Section of the M ontreal Repertory T heatre. Duliani can be heard frequently at the Italian fascist head quarters in' M ontreal, Casa d' Italia. H e is often seen in the company of the Italian Consul, Signor de Simone. Duliani makes it a special point to be fri endly with the French Canadian intel1ectual groups. But what is most interesting is the fact that Duliani is , foreign Editor of L'Illustration N ouvelle, organ of the Union N ationale of Premier Duplessis, which is edited, you will re member, by none other than Adrien Arcand.T he connections between the Duplessis administration and the fascists take on peculiar forms. Even greater peculiarities appear in a later chapter, Duliani receives no salary from the Montreal Repertory Theatre. L'Illustration Nouvelle pays ,him the average salary of a newspaper man in M ont real (quite low) . Yet the man manages to keep a hotel suite in the expensive W indsor Hotel, and on top of that, has his own private secretary. Special emphasis is being laid by the fascists on cultivating the French-Canadian intellectuals because of the lattcrs' in timate relations with leading govern ment officials-federal, provincial and municipal. 18 This 'cultivation' Lakes on interesting forms and we see Gi ulio Romano, owner of L'Italia Nuova, who is certainly not making any money on his fascist sheet, offering pri zes of $300, S150, and $50 to young French-Canadian writers who will wri te books in the "Latin spirit." Thus able and needy young writers ane lured to prostitute th eir pens in the spirit of V ittorio Mussolini. W e have seen briefly how Italian and German agents arc using the most subtl e and insidious methods to deceive the French-Canadian people in the attempt to make the province of Quebec a bulwark for fascism in Canada, Let us pass on to sections of the fascist movement in Ontario and in the W est,
CHAPTER THREE
The Canadian 'Nationalists' Adrien Arcand has publicly announced that Joseph Farr has been appointed chief of the Ontario fascists. In the same public announcement, \V. Whittaker, of Winnipeg, was named as the Western 'Chief.' It is natural to suppose that the attention of the fascists would turn westward. To be successful they would nave to develop their movement in Ontario and in Western Canada. Those Canadians who believe that fascism in Canada is a 'French-Canadian phenomenon' are making the same error peo ple once made concerning Italy. It was our 'head-in-the-sand' public men who first characterized fascism as an Italian phenomenon, then a German one, then Austrian, then Brazilian, and so on. Now it is dismissed as a 'French-Canadian' phenomenon! It is true that the largest fascist groups exist in Quebec, having taken advantage of th e poverty in the province to deceive many young people into joining the fascist ranks. But the rest of Canada is not immune, The real in stigators of fascism-the multi -millionaires-are practically all English-Canadians. 19 ;; . /l . ~ K C ~L;...1;' ~ 6 • CAN ADIAN U~ I OI; Of fASCISTS d 71JL w OO ~ S T OC '-' . O N r eRA, NCH p) '-+}.G..,-. :H/' j)5. IJ ~ ;- 9"'- ~ '; _ J..tt:-J; r:r -:tJ, ~ ~ iz; r i - ,/;, '{ ~rlJf;,. ) "U ..,..;..u ".,.. f..J;;. P; 1n.;r - .tJ. ~(j r ' rrl--; A:i::i " .;..~~ ~~ : tJ;r~ J-r 7' J-L-; - i ~ . ~ . J,.-.. ~-t7 ,Wv.. JJ.-- t.~ ;..., J,I. 5..:...;A.;, . &Ie,j,_ J ;., 11...,:.1J1>< ~ ...... J >tL .-;....L--c.. i;I.J- ilJn ~ ! Y..J,.. j~;"'l;J. ..J "'" J-,U- ....LJ "" .:.; ....__'li ,~ ~. f aM -.1; ;-t4t;;J,~r;;.j-j-!/"';-". ,t;;.. jf sr -r: j~:':::- ,,;s r. ~~/ ~ ~..:.., 00-'/ ;.;-.....c.. / 1.'-; ~ ~ W) This alleged letter sent by the secreta r y of the Woodstock Branch of the Canadian Union of Fasci sts to l\lagistrate SA Jones..'.Brantford 0n.. tsows h that people holding r esponsible.. posltiqns are hnked with the fascist movement. 20 Secret Meetings To this 'end a secret meeting took place at 847 Bay Street, T oronto, on August 23, 1937, Present were : Adrien Arcand , Dr. G. Lambert, ]. Papineau, and 1. Clement, all from Mont' rea l. A doctor from Campbellton,N ew Brunswick, under th e assumed name of Dr. Day, was also present. The gathering included, among oth ers, John Ross T aylor, who, after con' siderable discussion was chosen as the leader of th e Ontario section of the N ationa l Christian Party of Canada. It was decided at th ': meeting th at a grou p of Toronto N azis would co-opera te wiu Mr. T aylor in building this Party in Toronto. Elaboration of a Plan On th at day, August 23rd, the fascist conspirators elabor ated a program for Ontario. In the course of the discussion , Arcand, with customary fr ankness coming from a confidence only govern ment prote ction could give, boasted to his colleagues th at his party now had a number of members in the Quebec lezislature as well as in the Federal Parliament. '=' The little band passed a number of resolutions calling for th e following measures: a campaign to be inaugurated in To, ronto, Spadina district (area with a large Jewish population) with the aim of 'annihilating the 50,000 to 60,000 Jewish citizens in Toronto'; a campaign to boycott all jewish-owned stores; the division of the City of Toronto into fifteen districts and the appointment of a secretary for each district. Since that very secret meeting took place, John Ross T aylor jias been unceremoniously kicked out and Joseph Parr has been appointed Ontario chief. He has his headquarters (at th e time of writing) in Room 25, Isabella Hotel, Sherbourne St., Toronto. But Farr is only the front of the fascist party in Ontario. T he real chief behind the scenes is ]. Lorimer, T oronto head of the Fischer Bearing Company, a branch of a German concern. It is reliably reported that Lorimer finances the movement in Ontario. Both he and his wife are in' constant communication with the well -known Nazi spy , W erner Haag, who was forced , to leave the United States in a rush when his activities were brought to light by the publication of documents proving that 21 Haag was the leader of a spy-ring in the United States. Haag is allowed to find refuge in Canada, covering his subversive activities under the guise of acting as head of the T oronto Office of the German State Railways. Threats of Violence Recently, a number of organizers with adequate funds were sent by the Canadian Nationalist Party to various paris of Ontario to build a province-wide Ontario Fascist Party. The fascists boast that thev have recruited into their rank- a number of 'prominent' O~tario citizens, including some civic and police officials and that they have blessings of Toronto's Chief of Police, General Draper. Perhaps this explai ns why no arrests were made after the fascists placed a black and purple funeral crepe on the door of Rabbi M. Eisendrath with a swastika attached to it and whv the people who sent a live .32 calibre bullet to Rabbi S. Sachs and a card with a swastika on it, go unchecked. The mild attitude that has been taken by the police towards the fascist criminals has encouraged A rcand's followers in Kingston to send a letter to all Je\visn residents threatening to drive them out of the city. In addition to the Canadian Nationalist Party there exists in Ontario branches of the Canadian Union of Fascists. John Ross Taylor is now linked with this movement and, with Charles B. Crat e, issues the monthly paper, The Thunderbolt. During the 1937 Ontario Provincial election, T aylor issued 20,000 copies of a circular, Jews to M adagascar. (See page 24) William W hittaker neads the Winnipeg Branch of the Ca nadian N ationalist Party, and acts as 'chief' of W estern Canad a. His representative in Saskatoon is Joh n Schio. In British Columbia the branch of W hitt aker's party is known as the You ng Citizens' League, headed by C. S. Thomas. It is interesting to note that fascist activities on the Pacific Coast have been intensified because the copper magnates are out to combat the idea of an embargo on war materials to Japan and because the Canadian Governm ent is const ruc ting fortifications on the coast. The' Canadian N ationalist Party issues a month, ly paper, The Canadian N ationalist, filled with materials sup' plied by W orld Service, a Ge rman news agency. 22 CHAPTER FOUR Nazi Activity in Canada The N ational Social Christian Par ty of Q uebec and the N ationalist Party of Ontario and W estern' Canada by no ' means give a complete picture of the fascist movement in Canada. Fascist organizations exist amongst the German and Italian minorities, which are closely linked witn the 'native' fascist movement, There are almost 500,000 people of Ge rman origin ill Canada, Most of these are either naturalized! citizens, or Canadian born. Some come from Switzerland, Au;tria and ether countries where there are German-speaking minorities. In line with Hitler's pronouncement of Nazi jurisdiction over Germans in all lands, a persistent and energetic campaign to recruit loyal Canadians for Naziism and for Nazi spying activities, has been going on' continually in our coun try. Head, ing this work are the German Consuls and special Gestapo agents who parade as officials of German firms, newspapermen, and so on. Consulates-Nazi Agencies One of the recognized principles of Intern ational Law, is th at a Consul residin g in a country must 'take no part in the intern al affairs of that country. Yet, tod ay in Canada, Ge rman and It alian Consuls are actively engaged in recruiting members into the N azi and Fascist parties, and act as a source . of supp ly for En glish and French fascist literature for the 'native' fascist movement. It would be a mistake to think th at all German'speaki ng people in Canada are Nazi. The largest percentage of the G erman-Canadian population, living in harmony with C ana dians for th e past few decades, hate Hitlerism. There are many ways, however, in which Canadian's of Ge rman descent are intimidated into joining the Nazi party and participating In Nazi activity. Some of the German' Canadians livin g in Canada have relatives in Germany 23 JEWS T v' M A D ~G:A S C AR ._ ...... __ ...... - " "1 JOHN \.YLOR The Lelld tian Party ", ,~~.ASC~::~~I ST CANDIDA~~~i~;3?'J1 :~---TE :-... -I; - · - , .- I \ ~ -I 'Z'ON'S~ i.-Circular issued by John Ross Tuylnr. 2.- I n st ruct ion s sent out "Aryans" ca n be memhe r s of the organisation. 3, 4. 5. G,--:-Ica fl et s stamp of the Canadian Xationalist (Fasc.st) Par ty on them. '. treal ending with t he sloga n "Lon g Live Fasci sm." • ...c t c -e c c r.. r_r c .... l... _F O It f.t G fIl C..O.... RRr_ES I'Ofll c:'ENCE • • •••• • _ · w ••" ' " '.' .- ...... r.-...... "'~ 0 • . 1' [{Fe (fli 1{) " AC ,O.P OL IT IC "'L ~ f O R E ' 4 tl CO't R& $P O ,. :) fhCI 'I"" ~ .~.-.t ... _, ,...... ~ ~~f"••"'" 'M .... _ ., ,t.. ,._ ... ,..."". #.J ""~,. '" J...... _~... Ill"_~, ",-«lo.,....~ .. _ Ii I, ".l.W. w.l-.J ~ ,.~:.~~:.~ ~'::.~:.':::::~-='.=-'.~~".." >Sou•• .• "'K""'" I"'~'" .-..~_...J II••, ""..ow .~ 1'9Vr ,~. ("' ;<0"''' ~ ..~j\ ·lo •... l<> ""l .1 ~ •• Ioo ·"'- .f ' ~"""" lht.~ " t""•., "'1"''''''' '- ~ _. ,, " '-'¥'- '- ~" ",. · __~u.. "' "f'"'t ""'~ .. "', ~ .~,.j, _1.< h _-'-_ n..~1._.""_,¥<,,,~.,,,,,,__,.!..,, ,,,·,,,,,1o.coo< · ( .--r ,.. ... _ • •r-o .. ~I<- _~t,;,J, ,, t_J_._ ••J""...,,~..I ,....10-,.,-. .~-.....l_,N. .. 'Io<.oo ~..... _ ... _ ...... t-.,.:n.l_~_..._ ... 00_ n~.= =~ ::: ..,s: l- :.::.;:.:;;~...:~:~'=:: ,.. . .. ""' "" __f &I_ ~.. h,,_' ...... ,fo.t In . GI"l", ~ bd by Arcand to the sec r et a r ies of his branches telling them that only and .boold et s printed in Germany by the "F ic h te Bund", with the n nnnou nccmcn t of a m eeting of one of Arcand's hranches in 1\lon- parents, sisters, brothers. If these G erman-Canadians express themselves openly against Na:i31l1, they arc warned in a langua ge that leave- nothing uns aid, that unless they cease attacking N azism, their rela tives in Germany will go the \\'ay of all 'enemies of the State.' Gestapo in Canada H ere is an example of the mct.iods used by the Gestapo (German Secre t Service) to terrorize German-Canadians. T he case of A dam Sharrer, a G erman-Canadian iiving in Sudbury, brings these methods to light with alarming clarity. He was not connected wi th any political party. H is sympathies 1f anythi ng we re pro-Nazi.A ft er reading the bea utiful leaflets an d tourist blurbs on the Olympic Games, he decided to go to Germany to see his homeland and the Olympic Games at the same time . H e secured his passport [rom the German Consul in Toronto and sailed for Ge rmany. H e did not know, however, that th e Gestapo were on his trail. By a peculiar coincidence, a few mon ths before Adam Sharrer applied for his passport, an ar ticle appeared in an anti-Nazi German newspaper in Canada, attacking H itler. It was signed by one, Adam Sharrer. N o sooner had Sharrer arrived in Germany, th an German police seized him and threw him into a N azi jail. He was not told why thi s was done, but even tually th rou gh questioning, he realized he had been mistaken for someone else. Luckily for him, he was able to prove that he was not the A dam Sharrer who had written the anti-Nazi ar ticle. When the Gesta po checked and found . he was tellin g tne truth, they released him. H e is now back in Can ada. Here is a case of Consular intimid ation . A German' Can adi an whose nam e need not be mentioned at the moment, living in Kitchener, Ontario, was actively engaged in attacking th e Nazi regime. H e hated everything Hitler stood for and mad e no secret about it, either in public or private. One day he received a letter from the German Consul informing h im hriefly that if he. continued his anti-N azi attacks his pare nts, in Ge rmany , would face the consequences. This Germ an- 26 Canadian' ignored the threat, and publicly read the letter from the Consul at a meeting of an anti-Nazi German club in Kitch ener. Two weeks later came the report that his parents were in a concentration camp in Germany. He was again warned to cease his anti-Nazi activities. Fearing th e N azis would go even further and take revenge on his aged patents, this man has since ceased taking part in anti-Nazi work. A Convention of the Nazi "Deutsche Bund" with a delegation from the United States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, U. S. A., recently discovered a number of members of this organisation spying in aviation plants on behalf of the Naz! War Office. The Deutsche Bund If you are of German origin and feel that you need not belong to the existing Nazi organizations, one day you may receive a letter from one of the German Consuls 'inviting' you to attend a Nazi rally The letter will announce a certain celebration at which a leader of the Deutsche Bund will speak. (See page 29). Head offices of the Deutsche Bund are situated in Mont real and supervised by the German' Consulate there. Branches 27 exist in the principal towns and cities throughout the Domin ion, under th e ever-watchful eyes of the German Consulates, All applicants for membership in the Bund must swear they are of Aryan descent, that they do not belong to any other ·or ganizations, and that they wii! not join any other organizati on . Above all, the ap plicant must swear to uphold the ideology of Nazi Germany. Membership in the organiza tion is made as attractive as possible but the organization op erates at a substa ntial loss every year. Dues are trifling and are sent to the Head Office in M ontreal. In return for these sma ll du es, members receive a sick-benefit arrangement which is obviously subsidized. Free Trips to Germany If you are a faithful member of two or more years' stand mg, you are provided with a trip to the annual Nurnberg N azi Congress. Social functions are also arranged between the Bund and other Nazi groups, and members are charged only a fraction of the cost of these social affairs. The Bund maintains schools in' Montreal, Toronto, Win nipeg and Kitchener. Here, children are not only taught the German language and German literature but are inculcatecl with the alleged glories of Hitler. Nazi camps, flying Nazi flags, exist ne ar Montreal and Winnipeg. Children are brought up, not as Canadians, but as Nazis, and are taught t o: give the Nazi salute. . The official organ of the Bund and the Nazi movement in Canada, is the Deutsche Zeitung, a weekly newspaper pub lished in Winnipeg. The paper is obviously subsidized, and exists for the sole purpose of furthering Nazi aims and ideals amongst th e German-speaking population of Canada. It is openly anti-Semitic. Very interesting is the fact that the Zeitung curies frequent advertisements of the Fichte Bund, Hamburg, which issues vast amounts of pro-Nazi and anti Jewish literature for distribution outside Germany. Practically all English and French Nazi propaganda, printed in Germany and distributed in Canada, is issued by the Fichte Bund. (See page 25 ). 28 lil" 'lI ...... ~...... " " ~~ QIIIJ~ -''''''' \ .,..()IOC'~.. , c",,~" P#<. J'f ~ t "' · " .-,j •• e, ,. ~ -""",f"'A -£l.i!"""'M ·~4"~~ l- "-~ j.'" ~".l-'~l \f~l~:.""" l~' ... lt '1M .... f,' 4."",,1>, l.'. ~~. v · ~'''" :"'.~ . ~ '''''''''''', '" "..,.<,:~,,"...... ' ...... ,~'>l" f ~:.. 4",~~.~~ 1:,~. ~"'* " ...... ""• .., ::~ ':.:':.~::: '0" fLJi.'i' " "...... oo< ••• " ..,,,..., ..... , ..- ••~ ~ "'~~• .,.~ t\~,~ ,,~t~""'''' '1.l>~~.,J' .'If....( ', A "tt~"""'<~ ,.,,1>. '!'Iwse :{ le tt e rs were sent out ill on e en vnlnpr: hy the " H a r monie " Club in Tor onto, One of I.lre letters ann uunces :t meeting to be addressed hy the head of the German Bund in Canada, V. Thierbach, signed by the German Consul. Orders from Goering and Hitler The Deutsche Bund in Canada does not even pretend to respect Canadian ideals and institutions. Letting it speak for itself, here follow some section's of r.':le proclamation which the Bund issued in connection with General Goering's four-year plan, ' "In accordance with the proclamation of our leaders, Adolph Hitler (as implemented by Major-General Goering), we hereby make public the four-year plan of the Deutsche Bund in Canada. We make it the duty of every German manufacturer and merchant (importers and exporters) to employ only Germans in their plants as far as possible. All con ' tractors and foremen of German descent are obliged to give first consideration to members of the Bund consistent with their efficiency. Every member of the Bund, when purchasing merchandise, is to demand German goods at all times, and in all places, and he is to influence all his acquaintances to do the same tning. All parents who belong to the Deutsche Bund are obliged to send their children to German schools in' order that the children may be taught the German language and history, Care should be taken that the teaching staff in German schools is composed of National Socialists, and an at tempt should be made to ' convince them to co-operate with the Bund (for example-youth groups, cultural supervisors, speakers, etc.). Furthermore, we impose as a special duty upon parents that they send their children from the ages of 10 to 18, to the youth groups of t,1e Deutsche Bund and demand that every leader of a local ,branch install such a group, if it does not now exist. Every member of the Bund is to take care to buy news' papers and periodicals (and books) only in such stores as are openly friends of the Third Reich. It must not occur that in such stores papers opposed to our aims and efforts be offered for sale. It is the business of 30 our members to take steps against such publishers and sto res in order that they either come on our side or else show their true colors. If there is not a proper store in the city, then one should communicate with Mr. B. Bott, press director of the Bund and editor of the Deutsch e Zeitung for Canada. Concluding Command: T he four-year plan of the Deutsche Bund comes into force with this publication. We command that the !\id)tlinilm Jibn bit tnitlJlitb/ J. lIufgohn. 1. Oit Orutfd'tt lhbrit.front ift Olt ~r lJQ nIfQt lo" Orr fd)atJ, nOrn [)rutfdlrn see etlW unO eee -'ilull· ball 31tl Orr l)rutfdlrn }lr~rilefr o "t III ~ ir BilOunli f lnrr mlrtlidlrn Ut"lh.• unO lfiflung'lJrrnrinrdlaft Clan n futf~ rn. eit bllt oorur,\UINDln, O Q ~ rrtrr qm~rl" r lnn en l'101\ im t1l i tt rm ~ h li dl," l,bot n Orr na tion in On grifli(jrn unO f6rprrlldlrn Du1aJJw"; rinnrbmrn tcnn, OW: i~n j ue h6.t-f1tn luIWng brfdf)lgt une Oamit "'O rn g ro~ t f n nu~t n fllt Oit Ut'lh· grmr inf·.f)aft grwaf)rh:iflcl, Nt . Jhl :I Qn~,,~rg. anlfation see Orut(d)rn lI tb tit.front. bat Don Oem R,ld'llll(1ftt Orr l:a rufrdlrn }hlmltfronr, Pa. Or. t tV, Orn }tuftrag ex bclten, {'It }lufoabrn Orr eFtS nnnQt1T1 5J aud) rllr Olr tin FtUlI~n~r { lDohnrnOtn unO fd)anrnOtn Rmh sOrutfltrn Ourd)! ula ~ tr n . Olrf' ,Rulg11 brn umlafTrn ' DI QrnOr }\tb til .g rbirtt : a) Oit f03ialt Btf rr uung euee mit glirbtr , b) Oi, e ~a lfu nll unO l)rr tD .altun; een Unttt (1fi ~ u n g •• ~ i nr j ~ tu n g r n fur Oi, m itglltOrr, um im Ra bmtn Otr oorb-anhn rn m ltttl Nt fl fl rrr n ~ Ott DlIs · m ltglirOrr tm 501ft On n ot 3u erbclten , "3m. brlahlglrn l'olf&grnDTft n nne JlufflirgmollJi\hft it 3U bieten, c) Olr SrtI,lrllgtnaltu nlil unO t'tmti n(d)I1 n"fh llt buret) Oi, n ~· t' :m l i n. rd)aft .1\ra ft Ourd) Su uOr·, Orrt n iT rdgrrin Oit Orul(d)t }hbtIU1tcnt 1(1, d) Oit Brr u l . rr3 i t ~ u n g unO SortbilOung. e) U n trrri~ lun Q IIU rt Jlu. ll1 nOsmilgllrOrr Obtt Oi, ro!icl-polltl(d)r, It'irt r~l1ftlid)r unO lulluuU t ~ n h"il1 l u ng 1m Ctutfd>rn Nt lli). Copy of directives sent f rom Berlin t o the German Labor Front in Ca na d a . Paragraph in bracket reads: "T he tasks set by Dr. Ley, the R ei ch's leaders before the German Labor Front must also be car r ie d out by Ger m a ns living and w or-king in for eign co unt r ies." 31 members of the Deutsche Bund place themselves un conditionally behind their leaders in order that we may accomplish the task that we have placed before OUf' selves, without any omissions. In this spirit we greet: all th e memb ers of the Bund with H eil Hitler! For the leaders of the Bund, Hans Grabovski, leader of the Bund. G. Hittler, Secretary of the Bund . In addition to the Bund, there is the N .S.D.A.P. (Nazi) organizati on with instructions direct from Germany and the i\rbeits Front (Labor Front) the applica tions of which contain the pledge to propagate N azi theories by "word and deed." Members are placed under the direct leadership of D r. Ley, head of the Labor Front in Germany. The Deutsche Bun d and the Labor Front constitute the inner circle of the German N azi movement in Canada. Here are people living and workin g in Canada, told by foreign agents that th ey must buy only German goods: th at they must send their children, most of whom are horn in Canada, to be trained by N azi leaders, in th e spirit of race hatred and against t~l e democrat ic system under wh ich they live. And we have already seen how the activities of the N azi leaders and the Germ an Consuls go beyond the Ge rman' speaking organizations. German N azis are assigned by their organizations to work amongst the Canadian fascists and amongst all people of Canada. CHAPTER FIVE Mussolini's 'Veb in Canada What of Mussolini's agents in Canad a? The spotlight so far has been focussed on the N azi agents, Prior to the federal elections of 1935, a memorandum on the activities of the Italian Fascists in Ca nada, was prese nte d to the then M inister of Justice, H on . Hugh Guthrie . But nothing was done about it . T he base of activities for II Duce's agents, as we have already seen at the beginning of this booklet, is in M ontreal, but the web spreads out to T oronto, H amilton, Ottawa, Sud bury, and V ancouver in th e w est and H alifax and Sydney in the east. Just as in the case of the German Nazis, the centre of I talian fascist activities is the Italian Consulate. In stead of the Gestapo, the Opere V olontaire Repressione Antifascisto, referre d to as th e OVRA (the N at ional Organi zation for the Repression of Anti-Fascism) operates in C anada as a spying organization on Italian -Canadian citizens. Just as in It aly , the name of the Fascist organization in Canada is know n as the Fascia. Elections in this organization are forbidden and officers are chosen directly by the Bureau of Italian Fascists in Foreign Countri es, situated in Rome.. The consul in' each locality in Canada submits to Rome the names of the people he considers faithful executors of his orders. The officers, composed as a rule of five people, are known as t he Directorate of the Fascia. Under the influence of the Fascio, Casa D 'Italias, head· qua rters of Italian fascism, have been constructed throughout Canada as a means of attracting the Italian people. They are built supposedly 01'1 the basis of voluntary contributions, but in reality Italians with relatives in the land of Mussolini do not da re -to refuse a contribution. The incident which befell Dr. A . Sabeta, assistant professor in the University of M ontreal is a good example of what will happen to others woo do not comply with the requests of th e Fascio. 33 Dr. Sabeta is a naturalized Canadian and in the summer of 1932, whi le travelling in Italy he was arrested. T he OVRA had notified Rome that he was an active anti-Fascist although Dr. Sabeta had never been interested either in' Italian Fascism or anti-Fascism. A telegram from tne representative of th e OVRA in Montreal to the OVRA in Italy was sufficient to lead to the arrest of a loyal Canadian citizen while visiting his parents. Aliegiance Sworn to Mussolini To be a member of the Fascio in' Canada means to break allegiance with Canada. No one can be a Fascist unl ess he swears loyalty to M ussolini. As a matter of fact, th e majority of the Fascists in Canada are Italian-born British subjects but that does not prevent an Italian consul, Guiseppi Brigidi, from delivering the following speech which appea red in the fascist newspaper L'Italia. (See page 35). "Comrades, we meet here to-night for a ceremony which, I believe, is held for the first time in Montreal. T hat is, the official distribution of the membership cards (coming from Rome) to those inscribed in the Fascio. . T he administration or the last Fascio was not regularly directed as prescribed.. N ow it must be well understood that the membership cards (If the Fascio must exclusively come from Rome so that what we do to-day is only the last act of the proceedings of the affiliation. "After the Italian consul accepts an application, it is sent to the General Secretary of the Fascios in For eign Countries. The secretary makes an inquiry upon every app lication to the province, to the city, and the military district of the nativ e place of the applicants. The Italian police, after the inquir y, send back the results. "T he secretary of the Fascias in Foreign Countries send s th e 'nulla ostra' (no objections) which is given only to those applicants who have no penal or political incompatibilities- from this it is to be concluded that when a membership "card is granted (after the acceptance from Rome ) the authorities have mathematically ascertained th at the applicant in every re spect merits it.. 34 "In comparison with th e Fascist mem bership cards, the value of the passport, which is only a document required at the border to permit the transit, is less important. For the latter does not prove the good qualities of the bearer. When one presents himself to the Consul with the passport, he proves only that he crossed the borders regularly, but when one presents the membership card, the Consul helps him and knows that he is a gentleman. - ----_.. _-_ ....- ..._------:------: ~ ~ '___-==-1VITA'N ITALIANA A MO~rrREAL E DIN' Spe ech of Consul Guiseppi Brigidi, translation of which appears in this cha pter. "The membership card is a priceless document for every' body who changes his residence, for the Italian who goes back to Italy. From this document is ascertained that, although the bearer has lived far from his coun try, he has maint ained such great faith in himself and such great Italianism as to deserve entire confidence. T his is the individual who has well rep' resented our Fascist Italianisrn in foreign countries. After I 35 have given th e membership card to him, and I have take n h is oath, the work will be accomplished. . .. "But be careful before pronouncing the oath. There is no resignation (beware!) from th e Fascio . There is only ex' pulsion, of which Rome is notified. An expelled Fascist is a ruined man. This is the reason, I repeat, that I invite you to consider it before you swear. Once inscribed you nave a great responsibility: each one of you becomes a guard of our country.... " I shall call the attendance and will read the oath which thev will take if they wish to do so. After the oath we shall all "be comrades, we shall wear the same uniform and shall have the same duties. . .. "I shall invite you to take th e oath in groups. Do not be repentant. Cast aside your scruples. If anyone of you has any doubts, he may remain sitting when I call him . .. . "Here in Canada the situation becomes complicated be' cause the majority of the Italian residents (as in Montreal, for instance) have become Canadian citizens.... "There can be only one leader. I believe I have kept my word even in this matter, for there has been no reunion, no important decision in which I have not participated. Fascism wants unity of direction.... The advice is sent by the Italian government, good or bad you have to take it ." After this the Consul read the oath established for each Fascist, which is the follcwing: "In the name of God and of Italy I swear to execute the orders of the Duce and to serve w~th all my strength. and if necessary with my blood. the calISe oJ Fascist Revolution." More Consular Activity Since that famous speech Consul Brigidi has returned to Italy and has been replaced by Marquis Paolo de Simone who carries on where Brizidi left off. And thi s work is beine . carried on throughout Canada with a vengeance. Montreal is not the only place where Italian Ccnsuls are attacking our institutions and urging Canadian citizens to swear allegiance to Mussolini. On November 7, 1937, at a Fascist rally in Hamilton, held 36 on the occasion of the 16th anniversarv of M ussolini's march on Rome, Toronto V ice-Consul C()unt Guido Colonn a gave a clear definition of what the Italian government considers th e duty of It alians living in this country. Hi s address reported in the T oronto Fascist paper II Bulletino, sheds even more light on the subversive activities in Ontario and in Quebec led by the Italian consulates and decisively refutes the continued assertions on the part of the It alian consuls here that they and the Fascio are only interested in developing Italian-Canadian's into good Canadian citizens, Vice-Consul Colonna said: "First of all unity harmony co- operation among all Italians. . .." , "T hus 42,000,000 Italians are as one in their enthusiasm at and in their faith in the order of the great leader, under the sceptre of the great King Emperor. Every Italian abroad must keenly feel the desire or th e need of being a good, honest, loyal citizen of his land of adoption, of th e country in which he has found means of subsistence. "But en the other nand he must maintain' intact the consciousness of being of Italian blood and origin. H e must resist attempts, not always 'honest, at assimilation and natural, ization. H e must nourish the flame of his patriotism by keep' ing close to the Italian institutions of his community and by learning more and more of his country of origin and of its culture, which in' turn he must transmit to his children" The Italian consuls do not even limit their activities to the Italian population, as can be seen by the publication of a French and English section, in the official organ of the Fascio, L'Italia N uova. Schools in the Italian language for English and French speaking people have been organized in many cf the Italian-French centres. Consular interference with the internal affairs of this country has become more brazen' than ever before. Con sul de Simone of Montreal had the temerity to publicly praise in a statement to the press the infamous Padlock Law, which he as a consul has no legal right to do. 37 "The Day Shall Come" It alian fascist propaganda is not limited to adults. Cana dian born children' are being taught in a spirit alien to our country and traditions. Teachers of the fascist scheols in Canada must all be officers of the Italian militi a. When can fronted with the charge that the children were being taught anti-democratic and anti-Canadian theories, the Fascists reply that the schools were organized solely for the purpose of teaching It alian children the Italian language. This is not true. M ost of the text books come from Italy and are full of that poisonous ideology which exemplifies Fascist cultu re. Here is an example of a song " which the children in the Fascist schools in Canada are tau ght to sing: "It shall come, that day shall come When the great mother of heroes will call us. For II Duce, our motherland, Fer th e King AN oi! W e shall give you Glory and empire beyond the seas." More than that . In order to inculc ate still fur ther the minds of Canadian-born Italian' children with Fascist ideas, hundreds of voung people between the ages of fifteen and seventeen are sent to It aly every summer to attend special Fascist camps. Investigation into Hamilton children who had gone to Italy in the summer of 1937 shows that they were all children of Canadian citizens. Hene are some of the nam es : Josephina Bartolini, N edia Olivi eri, Adelina Lan za, Jimmy Gibe rti, Raymond Mustacci, j ohnny Cortulla, and A chiserina Sangui ra. So much th en for th e Italian part of the Fascist web in Canada. We cannot go into detail, but Fascist and semi Fascist organizations are also in existence amongst the Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and other minority groups all indirectly linked with the German and Italian Fascist movement. as well as with the 'native' Fascist movement. 38 CHAPTER SIX .- Big' Business and Fascism T he wide network of the Fascist organizations amongst the people of foreign extraction, as well as the 'native' Fascist groups, the work of Hitler's and Mussolini's agents in Canada, while constituting a danger to our Canadian institutions, are not, however, the main driving force that menaces Canadian democracy to-day. It is ' the multi-millionaires in Canada, tne Holts, the Beatties, the McMasters, the heads of the power ti-liSts, the ~old barons-it is they who see in the democratic rights of the people to organize into trade unions and to express themselves freely, a threat to th eir super profits. It is they who are on the one hand weakening the founda tions of democracy by interfering with the rights of the workers to organize into trade unions of their own' choice, and on the other hand passing legislation which gives them power to set wages at the lowest minimums they desire. The in ' famous Padlock Law of Quebec and bills 19 and 20 in that same province are clear examples of this. These financiers look with benevolence up on the training of future Canadian "storm-troopers" because they hope to use them in a final attack upon our democratic institutions. Let us examine a leading world statesman on this subject, one whose pro-democratic ideals make him more outspoken than most of our present day statesmen. United States Secretary of Interior Harold 1. Ickes, referring to the reaction ary financiers of his country (who are brothers in spirit, in' mind and in finance with their Canadian prototypes) warned the people of America that big business was out to institute fascism. H e said: "If the A merican people call this bluff, then America will be a democratic America, a free America. If the American people yield to this bluff, then A merica will be a big business Fascist America-an enslaved America." A nd further: "Big business must be controlled if dernoc- I 39 racy is to survive. Concentrated wealth and power is just as dangerous to-day as in time pas t when th e people fought to preserve their human' rights." A gainst these sta tements pe rhaps there is no better authority for big business in C an ad a than R oss H . McMastcr, third richest Can ad ian. H e is one of the Birr Four of Canada'. Fifty Big Shots. What he thinks about "democracy can be taken as typi cal of the small group of men who con trol this cou ntry. In a sta te ment printed in the authoritative organ of fin ancial capital in Can ada, the Finan cial Post, A pril 4, 19';6, McMaster was quoted as sayi ng: " D emocracy is n ot th e best f orm of government calcula ted to deal successf ully w ith th e problem s facin g us." In C anad a the close connections between the financiers and the . fascist groups can' best be seen in the province of Quebec, and to a lesser extent in O ntario, whe re Duplessis' fr iend, Mitchell H epburn, is running things at tne moment. Duplessis Denies Fascism in Quebec Duplessis ma de a statement to newspaper men .to the effect th at there are no fascists in Quebec and therefore no fascist dan ger. The man must have had his ton gue in his chee k. H e himself is helping to establish fascism in Canada. H is party, the U nion' Iationale, is full of avowed fasci sts. Duplessis him self has given key positions in the government to known fascists. The work of the various fascist groups in the province of Quebec is bein g centralized throu gh a secret organization to which many provincial cabi net min isters belong . T his orga nization, is called the Kni ghts of Jacques Cartier. Quebec Cabinet Ministers-Knights Bona Dussault, §(uebec A1inistcr of A ,gricultme, 1 Bourqu e, M inister of Public W o r~s , O nesime G agnon , Min ister of M ines and Fisheries, an d Joseph Bilodeau , Minister of T r.jde, C ommerce an d Municipal Affairs, are all active mcm- 40 Le Judalsme e~ ! sa , L...... -J~'....-.J ....."'" Duplessis told It reporter of the Toronto Star that no foreign fascist literature is dis tributed in Quebec. Here is 'a copy of the many anti-Semitic leaflets, printed in Ger many by the "Fichte Bund" distributed by Arcand's organisation. bers of the secret fascist organization, Knights of Jacques Cartier. This organization, is the brain trust and the co-ordinater of all the fascist and reactionary movements in the province of Quebec. It has connections with other parts of Canada and is linked with Berlin and Rome. Here is a quotation from a confidential document pub, lished by the Knights: "We should note the chain with which our groups are encircling central Ontario. This chain will choke those who oppose French domination in .the "near future. "Our French masses in the north especially may by their weight on the centre and south of Upper Canada cause a split with the view of creating a new province with a great French Canadian majority." Fantastic? Yes. So was Hitler's threat to march into the Rhineland; so was his threat to march into Austria; so was Mussolini's threat to invade Ethiopia and his invasion of Spain . Yes, fascism is fantastic, but it is quite realistic. r. bit -of close scrutiny will show that. Knowing that the democratic forces in Ontario and in Western' Canada may hinder their plans, the fascist con spirators hope as a last resort to attempt to establish a fascist state in Quebec and in other territories in Ontario where they nope to win the Fr.ench Canadian population. Government Officials SUPPOl't Mussolini While the ministers of Duplessis' cabinet themselves have not spoken .openly as fascists, there are many in the Quebec government apparatus who do not hide their fascist affiliations. Examples already cited are Adrien Arcand, the Canadian fuehrer, also editor of Duplessis' organ L'Illustration Nouvelle and Mario Duliani, II Duce's agent and also foreign editor of the same paper. But the most outspoken of all these fascists . connected with the Duplessis administration is Wheeler Dupont, secretary of Joseph Bilodeau, Minister of Trade, Commerce and Municipal Affairs. A speech which Dupont delivered in the city of Quebec on December 1, 1937, indicates the type of people who have 42 been placed in gov.e rnment positions in the province of Quebec. His speech is cne of the most astounding ever made by any Canadian governme nt officia l. H e said: "As descendants of the French race, we belong to the great Latin race. Incontestably M ussolini raises the Latin race above the Saxon race, and makes it possible for Latinity to retake its decisive role. .. . The conquest of Ethiopia illustrates his qualities very well. "A lone, he galvanizes his people, mobili zes a million men. "England,-these tradesmen and clergymen, want to block his road. England sends her ships into the Mediterranean. Coldly, Mussolini organizes resistanc e . . . an air-fleet of a thousand planes with orders to bombard, at his first signal, the fleet of proud Albion. "To support his aviators, he launches three hundred torpedo boats which he boldly sends out to meet the English cruisers. " England did not move. It is a modern historic date. Do not forget it! It is the first international retreat of the Mother Country. The British lion has growled since, its head down , its tail between its legs. It has returned to its hole. During this retreat of London, Mussolini in eight months takes Ethiopia. " England saves the Negus, his treasures and his umbrella. The Archbishops of Westminster and York meow, and the old English maids, dried up morally and physically, lament on the fate of Ethiopia, the protege Of the League of Nations, the doormat on which all the hair-brained defenders of rotten' democracy which is free-Masonic, inhuman and profoundly stupid, wipe their feet. "In Spain' to-day the Duce is playing a difficult part, strenuous and very brilliant, The Spanish nationalists and Francisco Franco owe him, it seems to me, a great part of their success." . Amongst the audience which applauded Mr. Dupont's 4 :~ statements were J. E. Laforce, Deputy Minister of Coloniza tion, Dr. Felix Roy, member of the Quebec legislature . for Montmorency, Pierre Bertrand, M .L.A. for St. Sauveur, several Quebec aldermen and a few unnamed government officials. Fascist Election Victories Recently in the Quebec town of Sorel, the Union Na tionale election machine elected two aldermen and the mayor to the Sorel city council. After they were elected they publicly announced that they were fascists and members of Arcand's party. A mass meeting was held in the City Hall with Arcand as the main speaker, and Dr. G. Lambert as an other speaker. Arcand presented to the mayor of Sorel a mirror with a swastika painted on it which now decorates the Sorel City Hall! Duplessis Paving The Way Duplessis' application' of the Padlock Law is nothing less than a measure calculated to .pave the way for fascist rule in Quebec. The Padlock Law condemns everything democratic as "bolshevist," as do Messrs. Hitler and Mussolini. The Padlock Law is the most autocratic piece of legislation ever passed in the British Empire. It gives the Attorney-General (who happens to be Duplessis) the power to order the padlocking of any house or hall which he may consider is being used . for "Communist or Bolshevist propaganda." Duplessis may personally order any home searched and books confiscated. He himself may declare a person guilty and the person has no recourse to the courts to prove his innocence. The tradition' of British law under which a man IS innocent until proven guilty is trampled over and wiped out in one sweep by the Padlock Law. .The real purpose of Duplessis' application of the Padlock Law is clear from the passage of other anti-labor laws which followed it. The collective labor agreement laws have been crippled by first adding that only "bona fide" (read "Du plessis-approved")' unions can enter into agreements. Now 44 the passage of Bills 19 and 20 robs the workers of the rignt to the closed shop and therefore gives the employers the power to bring any person' outside of a union into his plant so that he can lower wages. Hepburn Too Paves The 'Yay Quebec is not the only province in Canada where the foundation of democracy-the trade unions-is being destroy' ed. In Ontario, Premier Hepburn's opposition to the C.I.O. on behalf of the automobile, gold and lumber barons, is part of the same campaign of the financiers to hinder the organiza- tion of the workers. ' Hepburn' sent special squads of hooligans to attack workers who were organizing so that they might live like free human beings. His collaboration with the gold barons in maintaining gangs of criminals to spy on the workers in the mines to prevent them joining unions; his collaboration with Duplessis, thus strengthening the forces of the reactionary financiers who are' opposed to trade union organization, federal social legis' lation and unity of the Canadian people, are all steps that lead to the gradual destruction of democracy and pave the way for fascism. Arcand places the question with startling frankness when he says: "Duplessis and Hepburn are the forerunners of fascism. We are fortunate to have men in two key offices in' Canada to-day under whom we can adequately lay the foundations for our final victory. ".." (in an interview with Duncan Aikman, former Washington correspondent for the New York Times, now on the staff of the New York Post) " But Arcand and the forces of reaction have many other supporters in high places. Col. George A. Drew is one of the people who is working for an alliance with Hepburn in Ontario and for a National Government in Canada that would pave the way for fascism. The Colonel travels from place to place, and under the guise of defending democracy, sian' ders most viciously all true democrats. Mr. Drew is honor' ary president of the Canadian Unity League, an organization 45 financed by Intenational Nickel for the purpose of comb atting trade union organisation. Such anti, labor orga nizations, using different names, exist throughout the country and are closely linked with the fascist movement. Canadian Cagoulards W ith the encouragement from Duplessis and Hepburn, with the financ ial and other aid from Hitler and Mussolini, the Canadian fascists are preparing for the day when' th ey hope to rule Canada. They know that the people of Canada hate fascism but they are piling up arms with which to make them "like it." When the People's Front Government of France began to investigate the activities of fascist agents in that country, secret caches of arms were found in quantities sufficient to supply a well,organized army. The unsuspecting people of France were shocked by these revelations and the world locked on in amazement. ' Without trying to be sensational it is safe to say that, a federal government, investigation into t'ne activities of the fascists in Quebec would result in similar revelations. Per' sistent reports of secret stores of machine -guns, rifles and am' munition throughout the Province of Quebec, make such an investigation necessary. Loud -mouthed members of Arcand's party have openly boasted that they have machine' gum and rifles stored away, and that the police of Quebec would never fight them because there were too many fascists in the Quebec police force. What Are We To Do About It? The forces in Canada prepared to fight for the: pr eserva tion of democracy and for the destruction of the fascist: forces, are truly powerful. They are to be found in all .existing political parties, amongst the people in all walks of life and amongst .all nationalities. .Organized labor has on more than one occasion condemned the fascist organizations. , The French Canadians db not want, fascism or corporatism ,\I1Y more than do the English Canadians. .T he Arcands, the Duplessis" the loud-mouthed groups of fascists varnongst the 46 students, tne Italian and German agents, do not represent th e true sentiments of the French Canadians. H ad Duplessis told the people of Quebec that he was going to apply the pro fascist Padlock Law, that he was going to destroy the rights of the workers to collective bargaining and freedom of organ ization and that he would place fascists in leading government positions, he never would have won the votes of the Quebec people. Tne same can be said for the people of Ontario, Vo,Tauld they have returned Hepburn to power if he had told them he was' going to sell out to th e power barons and that he would link him self with the worst anti-Canadian, Duplessis? Fascism is anti-Canadian and Canadians hat e it. But this hat e must find expression in a powerful democratic front de manding a public investigation of all forms of fascist activity and its Canadian and foreign backers ; disallowance of the Pad lock Law; enactment of legislation makin g it a crime to spread racial hatred; removal of fascist members and sympathizers from the civic, provincial and federal police as wel1 as from the military forces; all forms of aid and co-operation to the democratic forces throughout the world who are fighting fascist aggression in Spain, China and elsewhere, Th ese are the measures that must be immediately applied if th e Canadian people are to be saved fran}. the plieht of their suffering hrcthers in Nazi G erman y, "Fascist Italy, Franco Spain and Austria. Immediate action is imperative. r;======- TIMELY TOPICS A series of pamphlets dealing with the most important political, social, economic and cultural problems facing the Canadian people, written by outstanding leaders in public life. FASCISM OVER CANADA By FRED ROSE is the fir st in the series. At the conclusion of this series, a cardboard container for the set will be provided free of charge on sending to the publishers the full number of coupons. 1;== = = = Cut Off and Mail This Coupon ==== =jl Timely New Era Publishers, Ltd. NO.1 10 Wellington St. E. Topics Toronto Onto