Evening star., 1937-04-15
VOLUNTEER SEES
L0YAL|ST VICTORY
Spanish Government Friends
Hear of War From
British FIGHTER.

Confidence that Spanish Loyalists
will come out on top in the current
war was expressed last night by David
Mckenzie, for three months COM
mander of the first group of British
volunteers in Spain.
Mckenzie related first hand expert
ence at the Madrid front to American
Friends of Spanish Democracy in the
National Press Club Auditorium. The
gathering commemorated the sixth
anniversary Of the founding of the
Spanish Republic, April IA, 1881.
The 20-year-old son of Rear Ad-
mira William Mckenzie of the
British Navy left for a vacation from
Edinburgh University and turned up
in the international column, fighting
for Madrid. Although in reality un-
hurt during three months of fighting,
he was at one time reported dead and
memorial services were conducted for
him IN his native Scotland.
Held Of Army.
When the international column
was first massed in Spain in October,
1885. We were informed that ours was
the task OF stopping insurgent forces
until a government army could be
disciplined and armed" he said.
"Antl-NaA Germans, anti-FaScist
Italians, British, French, Poles and
Chinese We're present, in fact, all the
larger countries of the world are now
represented. We had to weld our
selves together in a short time"
Our first task was to stop $4,000
advancing Moorish troops with our
poayglct 5000 volunteers. BY allow
Ing them to break through our line.
we surrounded them and the Loyalist
government shipped them back to
MOROCCO. After time the Moors got
70 like the governments free trans
portation service home, and, as their
hearts weren't in the fight. thew
started deserting to us, resulting in
their removal from front line
trenches"
The column next opposed highly
mechanical German forces, accord
ing to Mckenzie. The Nazi rank
and file didn't want to fight any
more than the Moors, he said.
"One day We were retreating I'D an
open hillside" he related. One of nv
comrades was wounded, and, as
couldn't carry him and his machine
gun up the slope, took up a position
behind some rocks near road. A
German officer had to make his men
attack the position at the point of a
pistol, and when I shot him they all
retreated.
Loudspeaker Wins Enemies.
Again anti-Fascist Italians won
over opposing countrymen simply bv
persuading them through loudspeakers
they were on the wrong side.
Now that the government has
erained army of its own, they can
carry the fight to the enemy and
win
That the Spanish war is war of
religion was denied by the youthful
soldier.
Only Survivor of %.
IN concluding the young Scot said
that, as far as he knew. he was the
only survivor of the % men with whom
he went to the war.
Marquis Childs, correspondent of the
st. Louis Post-Dispatch, presided at the
meeting, introducing Representative
Coffee, Democrat, of Washington; Err
nesto Galarza, formerly with the Re-
search Division of the Foreign Policy |
Association, and Senor Don Juan An
tonic Meana Of the Spanish Embassy.
Representative Coffee said United |
States citizens, who once fought for
democracy as Spanish loyalists are
doing now, should give them every aid. |
He was one of the 13 members of the |
House opposing the Reynolds neutral
ity bill. Senor Meana conveyed the re-
grets Of Ambassador Don Fernando de
los Rios at being unable to attend due
to his presence in New York at meet
Ing OF Spanish-Americans.