one crowded square we burst into the Intemationale and many spectators joined in.

I can't describe yesterday's demonstration in Cerette. The whole damned town was out. They waited throughout the trial and were overwhelmingly with us. They wrung our free hands and shouted encouragement, solidarity and real proletarian love. The effect on us was almost intoxicat- ing. I was thinking afterwards that those who, in addition to political understanding, can feel the warm bonds and heart-throbs with and of the masses, can never never get seriously demoralized and never lose faith in the ability of the masses to triumph over all difficulties and obstacles. The attitude of the political prisoners too is an inspiration. A twenty—one-year old German boy, two and one-half years in a concentration camp, his hands, his face, head and body showing the scars of cruel beatings, his eyes sparkling with joy at meeting comrades, undaunted by all his past misery and’ the terrors of the mountain up ahead, anxious only to get out and over across the line and convinced he can persuade many German fascists to desert. Incidentally, even the French provincial press is full of stories of fascist de- sertions. .-

There was a Greek in jail who spoke a lot of English. He claimed to have put in several months in the govern- ment army. But his stories did not jibe with those of obvi- ously good comrades who had been on the very front where he claimed to have been. Also he was too bloody inquisitive. So we finally organized his complete ostracization and stuck a sign on his back, Jaune, which is the French equivalent of scab or traitor. So solidly did the prisoners stick (and this was when we were in the main bull-pen) that the sign stayed on for over four hours before he found out about it.

The other day an Italian was arrested and testified that he’d‘ been recruited for Spain by reps of the French C.P.,

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