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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-02-25, Page 5Wednesday, February 25, 2015 • Huron Expositor 5 1. www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com letters to the editor Boost infrastructure for our economy and quality of life To the editor, Canadians are paying a hefty price for poor infrastructure. Homeowners face expensive repairs when sewer systems backup under the pressure of extreme weather. Manufacturing workers lose wages when their assembly line shuts down because parts can't get to the factory. Commuters spend hours in stop -and -go traffic, away from their job and their families. All of that takes a hit on the economy. Our public infrastructure is approaching a breaking point. Half of it is expected to reach the end of its useful life by 2027. Just maintaining what we have will take slightly more than what all levels of gov- ernment—federal, provincial and munici- pal—are investing combined. Instead of helping addressing these needs, the federal government has cut fund- ing for its flagship Building Canada Fund by nearly 90% this year and next. Pathetically, the new federal infrastructure plan will invest less per Canadian at its peak than the one it replaced. This is irresponsible public administration and it couldn't happen at a worse time. With today's economic conditions, a soft jobs market and low interest rates, there is a historic opportunity to increase infrastruc- ture investments, improve our productivity and grow our economy. Because infrastructure matters—a lot. According to Statistics Canada, a whopping half of Canada's private sector productivity growth between 1962 and 2006 came from public infrastructure investments. Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party are building a team and plan that will provide a renewed national focus on infrastructure. That will create the right conditions for sus- tainable economic growth to finally help our struggling middle-class and all those aspir- ing to join it. By rising to the challenge and revitalizing our public infrastructure, we will build a strong, more prosperous Canada and improve our quality of life. Yours sincerely, Scott Brison, MP Liberal Party of Canada Finance Critic column `Edgar Roy McQuarrie: `Foreign Fighter' in the Spanish Civil War For Canadians, the term 'Foreign Fighter' conjures up images of masked jihadists committing dreadful atrocities in the deserts of the Middle East. Yet, there was a time when a foreign fighter's cause was perceived as noble, indeed, many thought was 'heroic: During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), thousands of foreign fighters from around the world converged on Spain to fight in the crusade against fascist tyranny. One of these foreign fighters was Edgar Roy McQuarrie, an idealistic young man with Huron County roots. Edgar Roy McQuarrie was born on June 2, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. Shortly after he was born, his parents moved back to the McQuarrie family farm in Grey Township. According to 'The Brussels Post', young Roy McQuarrie lived with his grandparents, Donald and Janet McQuarrie, attended the Cranbrook schoolhouse where 'he was well-known' by all. McQuarrie attended Detroit's Wayne State University in the mid -1930's. According to an article in the 'Detroit News,' McQuarrie joined the American Communist Party. He also became involved in the radical left-wing American Student Union which was an amalgama- tion of young Communists and Socialists. Initially, the Ameri- can Student Union was dedi- cated to unconditional pacifism, and McQuarrie signed an oath 'never to bear arms in any inter - Huron History David Yates national conflict.' Politically, McQuarrie could not have been further from his Huron County roots, but for a sensitive and idealistic young man growing up in the Great Depression, the communism offered concrete solutions to the vast inequalities of wealth that he saw around him. The rise of aggressive fascist regimes in Germany and Italy in the 1930's threatened to send Europe into yet another global war. The liberal democracies of western Europe were weak and impotent in dealing with the threat. Only the communists understood the fascist menace and were prepared to act. In 1936, when a fascist coup in Spain overthrew the democrat- ically elected government, international communist organizations in every western country actively recruited 'international brigades' to fight Spanish fascism. As a loyal Communist Party member, McQuarrie renounced his earlier stance on pacifism and, in 1937, joined the XV International Brigade, better known as the Abraham Lincoln International Brigade. Unique amongst American fighting formations, the Abra- ham Lincoln Brigade was a desegregated unit which counted African and Latin Americans amongst its ranks. Thousands of socialists, com- munists, anti -fascists and adven- turers flocked to Spain to fight against General Francisco Fran- co's fascist backed Falangists. A 1947 FBI report on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade estimated that three-quarters of Americans sup- ported the republican forces in their fight against Franco. The republican cause was also helped bywriters like Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell who wrote about their experience with the International Brigades. McQuarrie was one of hun- dreds of American volunteers who illegally headed to Spain to join the fight in January 1937. Although the FBI estimated that fewer than 60% of the bri- gade's personnel were Commu- nist Party members, and many of these were only nominal mem- bers, McQuarrie was undoubt- edly one of the true believers. In Spain, McQuarrie was selected for officer training school at Albecete, Spain. In the interna- tional brigades, only ideologically reliable party members were cho- sen for leadership train- ing. McQuarrie became a non- commissioned section leader in the machine gun company. The Spanish Civil War was a vicious struggle which deeply divided European and North American public opin- ion. Atrocities were committed by both sides. However, fascist forces were far more likely to brutalize the civilian popula- tion. Pablo Picasso's 'Guernica' depicting the German aerial bombardment of the town is arguably the twentieth centu- ry's most disturbing painting. With only rudimentary train- ing, McQuarrie's Abraham Lin- coln Brigade was thrown into battle immediately. It lost two- thirds of its strength, according to the ALBA! Archives, at the Battle of Jarama on February 27, 1937 when it assaulted heavily fortified fascist positions. After resting and refitting, McQuarrie's brigade took part in the Brunete Offensive on July 6, 1937. The following day, McQuarrie's machine gun sec- tion went into action near the ironically named town of Vil- lanueva Canada. One surviving veteran, Albin Ragner, in a mem- oir published in 'The Volunteer' (February 2013) recalled that 'we met enemy forces on hills beyond the river, overrunning their slit trenches. We forced them to retreat with six Russian tanks blasting away at them: However, a German air assault stopped the brigade's advance ldlling several men. Amongst the dead was Roy McQuarrie whom Ragner described as 'a nice guy' McQuarrie's 'badly man- gled' remains were buried in Spanish sand. It would not be until November 1937 that his par- ents learned of their son's death. The republican cause was doomed by late 1938 and the International Brigades were dis- banded and sent back to their home countries. In Apri11939, the Spanish Civil War ended with Franco's triumph. Of the 2 800 men who served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade approximately 800 were killed. Although their cause was lost, for the American left, the foreign fighters of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were heroes and martyrs in a holy cru- sade against fascist evil. Yet, many Americans viewed them with suspicion. Despite the FBI's fears that the survi- vors were a potential force for subversive activities, it is esti- mated that about 1 000 loyally served in the American forces during World War II. In August 1939, Hitler and Stalin, the Communist leader of the Soviet Union, signed a non- aggression pact, making them allies. The cynical affiance which allowed the two totalitar- ian forces to carve up Poland the next month was a betrayal of communist principals which, in effect, destroyed the American Communist Party. Had McQuarrie lived another couple of years, one wonders if his communist ideals would have remained intact. Communism may not have been the solution to the world's woes, but Roy McQuarrie's death in the Span- ish Civil War makes him Huron County's first casualty in the war against fascism.