is unprintable but you can forgive the boys because language be’
comes loose in a trench.

Resf Did Come

E rumor that we were to go on a three weeks” rest was

discounted by the boys. ‘“We”ll never get any rest,”
they said. “We are going to stay here until the whole war
is over." But rest did come. The army was beginning to be
organized into an efficient fighting unit; reserves were being
trained. If we had been incensed’ about the treacherous
Trotskyist rising in Barcelona, we knew now that it brought
things to a head and forced a showdown.

The new Negrin government filled us with confidence.
We saw the practical effects of the new efficient policy. Our
Brigade paper had explained ‘how the Communist Party had
been hammering away to build the unified command, to nae
tionalize the war industry. In short, to create the possibilities
to go on the offensive and win the war.

The Spanish boys in our battalion were of all political
shades. There were Republicans, Anarchists, Socialists, Com’
munists and those who did not belong to any party. But they
were altogether in one trench fighting fascism. You dont
need any‘ arguments about the building of a peoplels front
when you see this in front of you.

The middle of June found us in a village called Albares.
Three whole weeks of rest! VVe were really going to get it
at last. And what made us even more happy, we were going
to form our own Canadian Mackenz1erPapineau Battalion. We
had begun to call our companies in the Lincoln Battalion, that
name anyway. But now, our own commanders, 1eaders,——well
it felt good. We had made buddies amongst the American.
boys and it was hard leaving them, but, we were to fight side
by side in any event so we got our cake and ate it at the same
time.

._.14_.